Daniel Perry (photo, left) was driving an Uber when he encountered a protest crowd blocking a street on July 25, 2020.
Perry ran a red light and drove into the crowd. A protester legally carrying an AK-47 walked up to Perry’s car to tell him to stop. Perry shot him dead, then claimed self-defense. Witnesses said the victim never raised his rifle or threatened Perry.
Perry was no ordinary motorist. He’d made shocking social media posts about hunting Muslims, shooting protesters and getting away with it, declared himself a racist, and made racist comments, although the man he shot was white (read details here).
It’s the job of a jury to weigh conflicting evidence and choose among conflicting facts. Jury findings carry great weight, and absent juror misconduct, appeals courts don’t second-guess juries. A jury of 12 Texans who listened to the evidence, including the reconstruction of the incident below, convicted Perry of murder. He was sentenced to 25 years.
On May 15, 2024, after Perry had spent a year in prison, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pardoned him (see story here). The D.A. who prosecuted Perry called it “a mockery of our legal system.” He said it sent a message that the victim’s life “does not matter,” and to the jurors that their service doesn’t matter, either.
Abbott’s stated reasoning is that Perry was wrongly convicted because of Texas’s “stand your ground” law. This sounds like second-guessing the jury’s factual findings, something courts don’t do. The pardon “will restore Perry’s rights as if he were never convicted, including the right to own firearms,” even though he clearly is a very dangerous man.
Republicans don’t like protests against war, racism, or police brutality. Republicans do like vigilante killers. They closed ranks behind George Zimmerman and Kyle Rittenhouse. During the George Floyd protests, there were dozens of car rammings of protesters, some resulting in deaths (including one in Seattle). Republican legislators in Florida and elsewhere responded by introducing bills to legalize car attacks (see, e.g., story here).
Actions sometimes lead to unintended consequences. If politicians give immunity to those who attack protesters, that won’t stop protests, but it will encourage attacked protesters to take the law into their own hands if they know there’s no justice in the courts. Knowing this Daniel Perry walked free, and is still out there, the next Daniel Perry who drives into a crowed might not escape mob justice.
That’s why governors should uphold juries and only use their pardon power to correct miscarriages of justice.