An Army soldier, Daniel Perry, who was found guilty of murder in the fatal shooting of an armed Black Lives Matter demonstrator in Austin, Texas, in 2020 was given a 25-year prison term.
He was convicted of murder in April for killing 28-year-old Garrett Foster during the downtown Austin protest in July 2020.
“After three long years we’re finally getting justice for Garrett,” his mother, Sheila Foster, told the court.
“Mr. Perry, I pray to God that one day, he will get rid of all this hate that is in your heart,” she said.
Perry attorney Clinton Broden said in a statement after sentencing that his client would appeal. He called Perry’s conviction the product of “political prosecution,” and said the defense team would “fully cooperate in the pardon process.”
Perry’s legal team argued his actions were justified as self-defense. He told police during an interview that he believed Foster was going to aim the firearm at him.
He was indicted by a grand jury nearly a year after the killing. In April, a Texas jury convicted Perry of murder but found him not guilty on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. A deadly conduct charge is still pending
