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Daniel Perry, convicted in Austin for self-defense, is a free man

By Andrea Widburg

A free nation cannot survive when its legal system is no longer used for justice but is, instead, used for political ends. When justice breaks down, society breaks down.

During the height of the violent 2020 BLM riots, Daniel Perry, a U.S. Army Sergeant, found himself in the middle of one of those riots in Austin, Texas. An armed man aggressively approached his car, so Perry fired, killing Garrett Foster. However, in the People’s Republic of Austin, that act of self-defense saw Perry tried, convicted, and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Now, though, he’s a free man, thanks to an unconditional pardon, including the return of his right to bear arms.

Despite efforts to paint Foster as a victim, the undisputed facts weren’t complicated. Perry, a ride-share driver in his off hours, dropped a passenger off on Congress, the main street in downtown Austin. He then headed to Fourth Street, a busy area, to be available should another request for a ride come in. He was unaware that a BLM riot was afoot, although he had expressed before his belief rioters had put themselves at risk of a violent response through their actions. (He expressed them in crude, jocular fashion, but they were still legitimate statements about self-defense.)

The moment Perry got onto Fourth Street, people attacked his car. Foster approached Perry’s car carrying a rifle and used the rifle to indicate that Perry should open his window. Because Foster was acting authoritatively, Perry thought Foster was a member of law enforcement and complied. However, he quickly realized that Foster was a rioter who was in the act of raising the weapon toward Perry...so Perry fired, at which time someone else in the crowd started shooting at Perry.

Perry was able to escape and immediately called the police, for whom he waited and with whom he cooperated fully. Those are the facts, and they were supported by video footage and police records.

Texas laws take self-defense very seriously. Penal Code Section 9.31 makes it clear that, on the facts, Daniel Perry was justified in using self-defense, and Section 9.32 adds that, once a person believes he is at imminent risk and has an right to be at the location in which violence finds him, he has no obligation to retreat.

Daniel Perry’s conduct met every metric of reasonableness, given that Perry had done nothing at all while Foster was waving a gun at him as Perry sat in his car. Perry should have walked away a free man.

But Austin, Texas, is one of the most progressive (i.e., socialist) cities in America, and the prosecutor got into office thanks to George Soros money. So, of course, Perry was charged with murder. It helped that the district attorney, Jose Garza, allegedly told the lead investigator to withhold exculpatory evidence from the grand jury that indicted Perry.

Then, during closing, the prosecution made an argument that effectively nullified Texas law:

During closing arguments in Perry's murder trial, defense attorneys said Perry had no choice but to shoot Garrett Foster five times as he approached Perry’s car with an AK-47 rifle. Prosecutors countered that Perry had plenty of choices, including driving away before he fired his revolver. (Emphasis mine.)

Under Texas law, Perry didn’t have to make that choice. He had the right to act instantly in his own defense.

Now, with the full concurrence of the Texas parole board, Daniel Perry is a free man thanks to Governor Greg Abbott’s pardon. In the proclamation, Abbott emphasizes Texas’s broad self-defense laws, its “stand your ground” principles, Perry’s reasonable actions in the face of imminent threats to his life, and Garza’s improper behavior.

But that’s not where this should end. Currently, Garza’s job is on the line as a Travis County resident tries to use a newly passed Texas law aimed at reining in rogue prosecutors who refuse to enforce duly passed laws (i.e., refusing to indict people for abortions banned under Texas’s pro-life laws). However, that’s not enough.

If Garza gets the boot under the new law, he’ll go on to a profitable career as a Democrat operative. Perhaps he’ll run for higher office or he’ll get a comfortable gig at a big, Democrat law firm. MSNBC will have him on speed dial.

That’s all wrong. Garza deliberately acted to deprive a man of his liberty by withholding exculpatory evidence and by misleading the jury about the state of the law in Texas. What he did was not about justice; it was about politics. Garza needs to be prosecuted for criminal fraud against Perry and against the people of Texas. (I’m sure that there are other laws that could apply, as well.)

A free nation cannot survive when its legal system is no longer used for justice but is, instead, used for political ends. When justice breaks down, society breaks down. I’ll close with Moses:

And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.

Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s... (Deuteronomy 1:16-17; emphasis mine.)

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/05/daniel_perry_convicted_in_austin_for_self_defense_is_a_free_man.html