Accountability.
Governor Greg Abbott granted Daniel Scott Perry a full pardon on May 16, 2024, shortly after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously recommended clemency and restoration of his civil rights.
A Travis County jury had convicted Perry of murder for fatally shooting Garrett Foster during a July 2020 protest in Austin. Perry was serving a 25-year prison sentence and was released after the pardon.
Under the Texas Constitution, the governor may grant a pardon after receiving a written recommendation from a majority of the parole board. Abbott’s proclamation restored civil rights lost through Perry’s conviction. The pardon was politically controversial, but this report distinguishes the jury’s conviction, the board’s recommendation and the governor’s final action.