Controversy Surrounds Texas Governor's Pardon Request in BLM Protester Killing

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles is investigating the jury's decision to convict Daniel S. Perry, a U.S. Army sergeant, of murder in the shooting death of a protester during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in 2020. Perry's defense team has contacted jurors, visiting some at home, as they seek to show that at least one of them relied improperly on information not presented during the trial. The governor suggested that the verdict was wrong and said that he would grant Perry a pardon for the killing. The legal and political wrangling put a glaring national spotlight on a case that already featured some of the most familiar political flashpoints in modern American life.