Topline
U.S. Army sergeant Daniel Perry was sentenced to 25 years for murdering a Black Lives Matter protester in 2020 following his conviction in April, according to reports from CNN and Associated Press, which Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) has said he will pardon.
A vigil was held for Garrett Foster the day after he was shot and killed by Daniel Perry.
Key Facts
Perry, 35, was convicted Wednesday morning of shooting Garrett Foster, a 28-year-old Air Force veteran who was participating in a racial justice protest in Austin, Texas, following the police murder of George Floyd.
On July 25, 2020, Perry, who was an acting sergeant in Fort Hood at the time, drove his vehicle into the crowd that was protesting and where Foster was legally carrying an AK-47 rifle—Foster then approached Perry’s car and motioned for him to lower his window and Perry fatally shot him with a handgun, prosecutors said.
Perry faced between five and 99 years, and his defense team on Tuesday asked for a sentence of 10 years, citing self-defense and Perry’s psychological issues—prosecution requested a minimum of 25 years.
After Perry was convicted in April, Abbott said he would seek to pardon him and issued a request for the state Board of Pardons and Paroles to expedite a review of the case before the sentence was handed down.
Key Background
A major point of contention in the trial was whether Foster raised his rifle at Perry, which could have helped Perry’s legal team argue his actions were self-defense. However, several witnesses testified that Foster had not raised his gun. Prosecutors also highlighted several of Perry’s online posts, including a Facebook post he wrote a month before the shooting, saying, “It is official I am a racist because I do not agree with people acting like animals at the zoo.” He also sent a text message a few days after Floyd’s murder saying, “I might go to Dallas to shoot looters.”
Tangent
Abbott has received criticism in the past week after mass shootings in Cleveland and Allen, Texas, and a vehicle killing a group of pedestrians in Brownsville. In statements after the shootings, Abbott said he is working to address the “anger and violence” he sees as the “root cause” of the tragedies. Democrats, including Texas Senator Roland Gutierrez, critiqued Abbott’s responses for being too soft on gun control issues, as the two shootings come less than a year after 19 children and teachers were killed during a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Abbott received further backlash as he pivoted this week toward cracking down on immigration along Texas’ border with Mexico, after saying in a statement the Cleveland shooter “killed 5 illegal immigrants.”
Further Reading
Army sergeant who killed a Black Lives Matter protester in Texas sentenced to 25 years in prison (CNN)
Army sergeant who fatally shot BLM protester in Texas sentenced to 25 years (Associated Press)
Active Duty Sergeant Charged With Murder After Killing Black Lives Matter Protestor (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/katherinehamilton/2023/05/10/army-sergeant-who-killed-black-lives-matter-protester-sentenced-to-25-years/