Juror blasts Texas Gov. Abbott’s threat to pardon Black Lives Matter protest shooter as a ‘travesty’

An alternate juror in the trial over the 2020 shooting of a Black Lives Matter protester in Austin called Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s threat to pardon the convicted murderer a “travesty” and an “egregious overreach,” the Associated Press reports.

Jere Dowell told the wire service on Wednesday that prosecutors assembled a strong case against defendant Daniel Perry, who was working as a ride-share driver when he shot and killed protester Garrett Foster. Foster had been legally carrying an AK-47 while on a 2020 BLM protest march.

Dowell — the first juror to speak publicly about Abbott’s claim he’ll pardon Perry — didn’t have a vote in the murder conviction, the AP reports. Even so, she was present during jury deliberations and agreed with the verdict.

“I just think it’s a travesty,” Dowell said of the Republican governor’s statement, which came via twitter less than 24 hours after the verdict.

Abbott pledged to pardon Perry as far-right figures including Fox News personality Tucker Carlson expressed public outrage at the conviction. 

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This article appears in Apr 5-18, 2023.