Governor Greg Abbott’s decision to refer an Austin jury’s murder conviction of Daniel Perry for shooting and killing Garrett Foster to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has stirred controversy. Now, Garrett Foster’s mother is pushing back on Abbott’s decision.
As The Dallas Express previously reported, Perry was convicted of murder in connection with an incident from 2020’s Black Lives Matter protests.
Perry, a U.S. Army sergeant, was driving for Uber through downtown Austin on July 25th, 2020. He drove into a crowd of demonstrators just a few streets from the Texas Capitol.
Among the crowd was Garrett Foster, a 28-year-old Air Force veteran who legally carried an AK-47-style rifle. Witnesses dispute who aimed his weapon first, but both men reportedly drew before Perry shot and killed Foster.
The defense argued that this was done in self-defense, but a jury convicted Perry of murder and deadly conduct.
Abbott referred the conviction for pardon, noting that Texas has firm “Stand your Ground” laws.
Garrett Foster’s mother, Sheila Foster, told CBS News that the news “buckled” her.
“And when [Abbott’s announcement] happened on Saturday, it literally buckled me over,” said Sheila Foster. “I haven’t left my house. I didn’t do anything on Easter. I’m shaking like a leaf right now. I’m sick to my stomach. I can’t eat anything, and it’s almost like all that weight was lifted in that verdict and now it feels like the biggest hammer in the world is come down crashing on me.”
Sheila Foster’s civil attorney, DFW-based trial lawyer Quentin Brogdon, also decried the governor’s decision as an attempt to subvert the rule of law.
“Nobody, including the governor of the State of Texas, should shut down the process of the rule of law and it appears that’s what the intent is here,” argued Brogdon, per CBS News.
On the other hand, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released a statement applauding Governor Abbott’s decision.
“Self-defense is a God-given right, not a crime. Unfortunately, the Soros-backed DA in Travis County cares more about the radical agenda of dangerous Antifa and BLM mobs than justice.”
The Board of Pardons and Paroles is looking into Perry’s case following Abbott’s request but has not yet announced any action on the matter.
This mother is part of the problem, obviously.
Texas Law is CLEAR and concise. The fact that Foster was surrounded by a mob who blocked and stopped his vehicle (kidnapping him or falsely imprisoning and threatening him according to law) and that someone threatened him with a weapon is more than enough to question guilt and give clear and legal defense of the charge.
It takes a very special jury in Texas to find a man guilty of killing someone when he was being assaulted and kidnapped. IT takes a very special prosecutor in Texas to even want to convict him for that. In fact it takes a very special JUDGE to not overthrow the jury verdict as unlawful based on FACT. This judge is a problem.
BLM has been accused of and meets the general requirement of being a terrorist organization. Many of the leaders in different states have been arrested for financial fraud as well. The problem is violent protest and certainly kidnapping (arresting the travel and activity of another citizen) a driver who is doing his profession is violent and unlawful activity. Protest of government is one thing, attack on private citizens another. Foster is a MASTER SERGEANT who is specifically trained in rules of engagement and defense in battle conditions which were clearly present in this case. The protesters are not, and they are the witnesses used to convict. I see a major issue with any testimony by criminals that were committing the crimes I have enumerated herein toward the conviction of an innocent bystander who protected himself. These protesters need to be made to understand that there are consequence to their actions. One of their group paid the consequence and they wanted BLOOD for that.
I have no pity for anyone in a large group that surrounds an innocent bystander, stopping his WORK activity, and keeping him PRISONER and being threatened by that mob. As far as I am concerned, Foster could have legally ran over all of them with his vehicle and probably should have. It took a lot of courage by him to stop at shooting ONE instead of many. He probably had the right to shoot many. The “protestors” need to have consequences instead of power to incarcerate the innocent.
This mother should have taught her little boy better than this.
State Prosecutor needs to arrest all the ones that came forward as witnesses for kidnapping Foster. and possibly others. If those in J6 can be found these can be found.
Very funny to see Ken Paxton talking trash; Texas’ top law enforcement officer who is under indictment on securities fraud charges. And, in a separate case, recently agreed to pay $3.3 million and apologize to four whistleblowers who accused him of bribery and abusing his office.
Sheila Foster is part of the problem. She raised her kid. She believes that he had the right to surround an Uber vehicle and stop its progress. In Texas this is known as Kidnap and False Inprisonment.
I call on Ken Paxton to see that the “witnesses” that surrounded the vehicle and caused this death are arrested for Kidnap and prosecuted for it. They committed a felony and became witnesses against an innocent man who had to protect himself because of them.
It is time for those who surrounded the vehicle to stand trial.
the man is a Master Sergeant. Guess what, he has been fully trained and knows the rules of engagement. This was a BLM riot that stopped Daniel Perry’s natural and desired movement. That is called false imprisonment.
TX AG needs to make some arrests for false imprisonment and kidnapping if their actions caused Perry to move based on the rioters desires. Then the local DA can be arrested and charged for prosecuting a victim.
Sorry that her baby is dead, but he FAFO