Dear Board Chair David Gutiérrez and Honorable Members of the Board,
We are the attorneys for Sgt. Daniel Perry, and we want to reach out to you regarding Governor Abbott’s request to review the case of State of Texas v. Daniel Perry. While we had initially decided to stay out of this process and wait until we were contacted by the Board, recent events have led us to contact you directly.
We would like to address some of the concerns that have been raised about the pardon process in general. It is important to note that the Texas Constitution requires a conviction before a pardon can even be considered. Moreover, the pardon process exists to correct wrongful convictions, so if there are any disagreements with the process, they should be directed towards amending the Texas Constitution.
We are prepared to explain the nature of this case and the political machinations that led to it being brought to trial. The lead detective in this case was forbidden by the Travis County District Attorney from mentioning exculpatory evidence to the grand jury that considered the case in the first instance. Additionally, the District Attorney did not allow us to present almost any evidence to the grand jury. We believe that political opportunism resulted in this case being indicted in the first place, and we urge the Board to consider how the case even got to trial.
We believe that the trial judge in this case was fair, despite our respectful disagreement with some of his legal rulings. It should be noted that one of Garrett Foster’s fellow protestors was interviewed immediately following the incident and demonstrated how Mr. Foster was holding his assault rifle that night. That fellow protestor repeatedly acknowledged that Mr. Foster “pointed” the assault rifle at Sgt. Perry. In addition, while Texas is a right-to-carry state, a person is not permitted to carry a firearm “in a manner calculated to cause alarm.”
We understand the grief of Mr. Foster’s family, and we want to assure the Board that we are willing to provide any additional information that it may desire.
Sincerely,
Mick Mickelsen* (Attorney for Sgt. Daniel Perry)
