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The fate of an Army sergeant Daniel Perry, who was found guilty of fatally shooting a protester at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in 2020, is up in the air as the Texas pardon board reviews the conviction for a possible pardon at the governors request and Perrys attorney pushes for a retrial.

On April 7th, Perry, a 35-year-old active duty sergeant at Fort Hood, was convicted of murder in connection with the death of Garrett Foster, 27, who was killed after Perry shot him during a protest in Austin, Texas, in July 2020. Perry claims he acted in self-defense because he feared for his life after Foster, who was carrying an assault rifle under Floridas open carry law, allegedly made him feel threatened.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott believes that Perry should be exonerated based on Texas stand your ground law, which allows using deadly force to defend yourself if you feel youre in danger.

Abbott called for an expedited review of Perrys conviction on Saturday. I am working as swiftly as Texas law allows regarding the pardon of Sgt. Perry, Abbott tweeted. I look forward to approving the Boards pardon recommendation as soon as it hits my desk.

Travis County District Attorney Jos Garza said in a statement that Abbotts attempted intervention in the case is deeply troubling.

As this process continues, the Travis County District Attorneys Office will continue to fight to uphold the rule of law and to hold accountable people who commit acts of gun violence in our community, Garza said.

Heres what we know about the case.

The conflict between Perry and Foster took place during a protest on July 25, 2020 in Austin, Texastwo months after the death of George Floyd. Perry was driving for Uber and was legally carrying a handgun in his car, which his attorney, Clint Broden, said he had for protection. Perry came upon the Black Lives Matter protest and encountered Foster who was also legally carrying an assault rifle. But accounts of what happened next differ.

According to Perrys attorneys, Perry made a turn onto Congress Avenue and protesters began to bang on his car. Perry claims he was not aware a protest was happening at the time, and that Foster approached him and motioned with the assault rifle for Mr. Perry to lower his window. Perry obliged, and later fired at Foster with a handgun five times before driving off, resulting in Fosters death. Perrys attorneys said that Foster was acting out of self-defense because Foster raised his assault rifle towards Perry.

At least three witnesses, however, testified in late March that Foster was holding his rifle down when he approached Perrys car, according to the Austin American-Statesman. (One of the witnesses first said that she could not remember where the barrel of Fosters rifle was pointing, though she later changed her mind and said it was not pointed at Perry. During an interview with the Austin Police Department, Perry seemed to contradict his own defense argument when he said, I believe he was going to aim at me. I didnt want to give him a chance to aim at me.

Critics have also questioned Perrys intentions after online users identified a tweet he sent out in response to then President Donald Trumps post ahead of his Tulsa, Oklahoma rally in 2020 about protestors, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes, saying they would not be subject to the same treatment as demonstrators in New York or Seattle. Send them to Texas we will show them why we say dont mess with Texas, Perry tweeted in response, per the Texas Tribune. Perrys attorney told the Tribune that anyone who thinks he went to Austin with an agenda was wrong and was taking Perrys posts out of context.

In July 2021, Perry was indicted on murder charges, and was convicted of murder on April 7. A jury found Perry not guilty of an additional aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge. He has not yet been sentenced.

In the meantime, Perrys lawyers filed for a retrial on Tuesday, saying that they were not allowed to display evidence that they claim shows Foster instigating confrontations the night before he was killed.

While Abbott supports overruling the jury and pardoning Perry, he does not have sole power to do sounlike the President of the United States. He does, however, still have a lot of say in the matter.

The Texas constitution says the governor may only issue a pardon if the states seven-member Board of Pardons and Paroles recommends it. All the members of the board were appointed by Abbott.

Jennifer E. Laurin, a law professor at the University of Texas School of Law, tells TIME that its possible Perry may serve no time if a pardon is granted.

The implications of a pardon here depend on the timing of it. Perry has not yet been sentenced so if a pardon happens tomorrow [before the sentencing], it would mean that you would never serve a sentence, Laurin says. If it were to happen after he began his sentence, it would mean that he wouldnt have to serve any more of it.

Laurin adds that it is also possible that Perry could receive a partial form of clemency that would reduce his sentence.

District Attorney Garza has since written to the chair of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles asking for the opportunity to present evidence before they make a decision. In addition, I ask that you request to hear from the family of the victim, Garrett Foster, before you make your final recommendation, he wrote.

Laurin notes there is no clear deadline for the Boards decision to be issued, and that when a decision is made, the Board does not need to file a reasoning for their choice.

The Board of Pardons and Paroles, and the governor ultimately can face a clemency determination, on many factors that have nothing to do with sort of discrete questions on legal correctness in the judgment, says Laurin. A pardon is a determination that notwithstanding a finding of guilt, that individual deserves mercy for one reason or another, perhaps evidence of reformation over time, or perhaps evidence that the purposes of punishment are no longer sort of given the advanced age of the individual.

However, because of the early timing of the request for a pardon, Laurin says that the basis for a pardon would have to be related to concerns about the way the trial was conducted.

Supporters of Perry suggest that he acted in self-defense, and should thus be exonerated from culpability. There are different types of self-defense laws across the United States. The castle doctrine, for instance, protects individuals right to use force, even deadly force, to protect themselves against intruders in their home.

Florida expanded on this concept in 2005 when it passed the countrys first stand your ground law, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. That law legalizes self-defense outside of a persons home, saying that a person does not have a duty to retreat from an attacker and can meet force with force.

At least 28 states, including Texas have laws that say there is no duty to retreat from an attacker. Other states have laws that require a person to retreat before they use deadly force as a form of defense.

However, Laurin notes, Texas law also says that a person cannot use deadly force in defense of themselves, if they provoked the use of deadly force that they are responding to.

This fact played a substantial role in the case against Perry. Witnesses testified that Perry looked to be driving into the crowd of protestors intentionally, according to the Tribune, which would make him culpable for the aggression he says he faced.

The states contention was that he deliberately drove into the protesters the victim was part of because he had a desire to essentially make trouble and use force against that group, Laurin says. While it is true that Texas has a strong stand your ground law, there are provisions of Texas law on self defense that were at issue in this trial that provide a plausible legal basis for understanding why the jury rejected the assertion of self defense here.

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Gov. Abbott Wants to Pardon Man Who Murdered a BLM Protester - TIME

My best shot

The Casualties Union act out injuries for hospitals, emergency services and police preparing for suicide attacks. Their work requires precision performance

Wed 19 Apr 2023 10.08 EDT

This was my first project after my 20-year collaboration with Adam Broomberg came to a close in 2021. I had never really worked as an artist or a photographer on my own, but I think we both needed to see what it felt like. Our photos had been highly conceptual, and I wanted to return to why I first became a photographer: going out into the world with a feeling of wonder, watching and having experiences with strangers. So thats what I spent 2022 doing: meeting pensioner groups, carnival troupes, gender activists and, as this image shows, attending a meeting of the Casualties Union, who were perfecting wound makeup.

The Casualties Union, a group of volunteers that has been operational since the second world war, is used by hospitals, the emergency services and even corporate clients, to test out catastrophe scenarios. If the police were staging a hypothetical suicide attack in London, they would need casualties that not only looked like the real thing but acted like the real thing. Theres a lot of performance required, and real precision about the way the volunteers act out injuries.

Ive worked all over the world in some difficult situations, including the Afghanistan war and some psychiatric hospitals, always thinking of myself as a neutral witness. But through the making of this recent work, and because of seismic changes in our culture, I became very aware of being white and male, and the privilege and complexity that brings. In some cases, it made it quite hard for me to make the pictures I wanted to.

So many things came up during this project, called A Perfect Sentence, that I could never have imagined. The world is so much more interesting than the contents of my head. And it has changed in such a radical way: we had Brexit, the pandemic, George Floyds death and Black Lives Matter. I encountered a huge amount of anxiety from people about being in front of the camera, and about who was taking the picture. I had had this daydream about meandering along and capturing a moment in time in this country. But actually it was very fraught. Things shifted with the focus now being on the power dynamic between photographer and subject.

I shot this project on film, which had a big impact on the pictures. Theres a time lapse between the moment that you take a shot and when you see it. I retreated into my darkroom for months. Im not a very experienced colour printer, so I made a lot of errors, got the skin tones wrong, the exposure too light or too dark, and sometimes the pictures came out way too magenta or cyan. Then, at a certain point, I realised some of those prints were more interesting to me than whatever the final picture was. Although they were imperfect, they demonstrated that a picture is not an objective thing, not a piece of evidence, but something more subjective and nuanced.

If you look at the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson, or even Martin Parr, a lot of that sort of street photography is not really morally acceptable any more. I think that style of working has been neutralised by the internet. Its a mixed blessing: on the one hand, it means the person being pictured has a lot more authority. On the other, all the images we see today are more constructed, with less spontaneity. What I love about the Casualties Union photos is that the volunteers are trying to capture moments of trauma, yet the pictures are incredibly staged, robbing them of any real sense of urgency. These pictures speak to this tension.

A Perfect Sentence by Oliver Chanarin, produced by Forma, is at the Museum of Making, Derby, until 3 September. A book of the project is published by Loose Joints on 1 June

Born: London, 1971.Trained: Artificial Intelligence at Sussex University.Influences: August Sander, Annie Ernaux, my mother.High point: Winning the Deutsche Brse photography prize in 2013.Low point: The death of Broomberg & Chanarin.Top tip: As Wim Wenders said: The most political decision you make is where you direct peoples eyes.

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A man with a knife in his back: Oliver Frank Chanarins best photograph - The Guardian

Artist and activist Patrisse Cullors is leaning into her art these days, gaining sustenance and perspective from it.

She speaks of it as not just a vocation, but a means of salvation: At one point, the impact of accusations of financial mismanagement at Black Lives Matter from which she resigned in 2021 wounded her so deeply, her mental health was imperiled and she felt her very life was in danger, she says. What has ultimately saved her more than once, she feels, is her art.

"So much of the last few years has been, to be really honest, just deep depression and anxiety and a lot of trauma, a lot of freezing, a lot of fear, " she said. "And I just kept going back to my art practice. I kept going back to art, and every time I would go back to art, I would feel like myself again. I would feel more connected again, and I would feel more hopeful.

Cullors says that her art was deeply integral to her healing and that her art practice saved her life over and over again. The artist is best known for her role as co-founder of the Black Lives Matter organization.

Her recent show at the Broad, her second at the contemporary art museum, was part of an evening focusing on the effects of colonialism on literature, language, and music of people of color. It reflected her experience with what she describes as the impact of right-wing media on Black people and Black leaders through targeted misinformation and disinformation campaigns, and focused on healing. The performance, titled Dont Disappear Us/Keep us Leaping/Low Riders and Bonnets that Heal, centered on a few seemingly mundane artifacts: the bonnet, which she says has a protective symbolism for Black women; a partially built lowrider; and a trampoline. The piece included a live singer and a recording of Cullors chanting in her daily Ifa religious practice.

Her religious practice is the theme of her current gallery show in Chinatown, Freedom Portals, a collaboration with fellow LA-based artist no olivas whom she met during graduate school art studies at the University of Southern California that has been extended to April 15. Highlighting Ifa, it comprises 12 tapestries, illustrations of Od, or oral literary books containing poetic teachings. Eventually, she wants to create 256 such tapestries, accounting for all Od poetic tutorials.

This work is really an ode to the Ifa tradition and to the ancient symbology," Cullors says. The objects are meant to honor tradition but also to be viewed in response to the contemporary moment and its accelerated pace and attendant exhaustion, the gallery materials say, referring to community building and self-care.

And self-care is something Cullors is focusing on these days, especially through her art.

I have spent the better half of my own life fighting on behalf of others, she says. But in the last couple of years it has taken a lot to figure out how to fight for myself, and to fight for my mental health, spiritual health and emotional health."

These artworks are a really deeply personal call to fight for myself, especially as a Black woman, she adds. "Because many people dont fight for us.

Excerpt from:
For BLM's Patrisse Cullors, art is both vocation, salvation - Africanews English

Tennessee state Democrat Rep. Justin Jones one of two lawmakers expelled from the state House last week took part in a May 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in Nashville, where he reportedly walked on top of a police car and was subsequently charged with a crime before he was let off.

The incident, which was captured on video, showed Jones, along with fellow activist Jeneisha Harris, walking atop a police car as dozens of rowdy and seemingly uncontrollable protesters surrounded them.

Following the incident, charges were brought against Jones and Harris, and arrest warrants were issued over damage that was done to the car during the protest.

Less than three hours after the warrants were issued, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) announced that "after a review of additional information" the "MNPD and District Attorney General Glenn Funk agree that the arrest warrants issued last night against Justin-Bautista-Jones and Janeisha Harris will be recalled for the present."

TENNESSEE DEMOCRAT'S TRANSFORMATION FROM COLLEGE TO NOW GOES VIRAL ON SOCIAL MEDIA: 'THIS IS LIKE AN SNL SKIT'

Tennessee state Democratic Rep. Justin Jones took part in a May 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in Nashville, where he reportedly walked on top of a police car and was subsequently charged with a crime before her was let off. (Seth Herald/Getty Images, Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)

Around the time the warrants were issued in June 2020, Nashville's Fox 17 reported that "Metro spokesman Don Aaron states 60 detectives have been sorting through video and photographic evidence from last Saturday's protest which resulted in a courthouse being set on fire along with other vandalism."

"In reviewing video and photographs, the detective observed Jones and (Jeneisha) Harris standing on the roof of a marked police car," Aaron said of the incident at the time, according to the outlet. "This same car was significantly damaged by several persons Saturday spray painted, windows broken, etc. The detective at the South Precinct identified Jones and Harris as persons who were on the roof of the car, and Daniel Lane of Franklin as a person who spray painted it."

After Jones and Harris stepped down from the marked police car, other protesters climbed on top and began kicking in windows and damaging the car.

Both Jones and Harris two prominent activists in the Nashville area when the protest took place claimed the MNPD had sent SWAT teams to their homes after the arrest warrants were issued, according to Nashville Scene. However, Aaron said the claims that SWAT teams were sent to their homes were "untrue," according to Fox 17.

REINSTATED NASHVILLE LAWMAKER JUSTIN JONES CALLS ON TENNESSEE HOUSE SPEAKER TO RESIGN: 'ENEMY OF DEMOCRACY'

State Rep. Justin Jones listens as Linda Sarsour speaks before Jones is reinstated to his seat in municipal court on April 10, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Seth Herald/Getty Images)

Jones did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment about his behavior during the 2020 protest.

Jones, who represents Tennessee's 52nd District in the state House, was one of three lawmakers, along with Democrat Reps. Gloria Johnson and Justin Pearson, who riled up gun control protesters and took to the House floor to call on their colleagues to take action against gun violence last month.

As a consequence of their actions, both Jones and Pearson were expelled from the House by Republicans. The protest from the Democratic lawmakers came after a transgender shooter killed six people, including three children, at a private Christian school in Nashville.

A 2019 report from The Tennessean stated that Jones "was charged with two counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of disorderly conduct after" police said he threw a cup of coffee into an elevator and struck then-House Speaker Glen Casada, a Republican, and GOP state Rep. Debra Moody.

Tennessee Democrat Reps. Justin Pearson, Justin Jones and Gloria Johnson as they exit the House Chamber doors at the Tennessee state Capitol in Nashville on April 3, 2023. (Nicole Hester/The Tennessean via AP)

Amid his controversial past and expulsion from the state House, Jones, who was sent back to the legislature on an interim basis Monday following a unanimous vote by the Nashville Metropolitan Council, has called for the Republican speaker of the statehouse to resign.

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"He is an enemy of democracy, and he doesnt deserve to be in that office of a speaker of the house any longer," Jones told CNN of House Speaker Cameron Sexton.

Pearson is the only one, as of now, who did not get to keep his position in the House. While Johnson faced expulsion, she ultimately survived a vote.

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'Tennessee Three' Democrat Justin Jones pictured standing on police car during 2020 BLM protest - Fox News

Black Lives Matter activist Marlowe Jones. (Screengrab via YouTube)

Marlowe Jones, the activist and father of three acquitted of all wrongdoing during a Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest, filed a $2 million federal civil rights lawsuit against the Florida city of New Port Richey, its police department, and multiple government and police officials, for wrongfully arresting and charging him in July 2020.

Jones complaint raises allegations against the city for pervasive wrongdoing that ranges from brutality to racism and antisemitism to sexual misconduct and even to mistreating arrestees such that one woman was forced to defecate on herself while in police custody.

The complaint alleges:

due to the brutal, unlawful, and unconstitutional way [New Port Richie] has treated individuals of color, individuals who are of faiths other than conservative Christians, such as those of Jewish faith, and others in the community who do not look or think like the politicians and individuals that govern the city.

Jones was prosecuted for battery on a law enforcement officer during a protest in the summer of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, but hewas acquitted of all wrongdoing after a two-day trial.

Jones is a community leader and Black Lives Matter activist. In his 43-page complaint filed in federal court in Florida, Jones railed against New Port Richey for what he says is a long history of contention between its government officials and/or agents and residents of the City, especially residents that are minorities or residents that speak out against injustices.

Jones alleged that the city has been repeatedly sued for its brutal, unlawful, and unconstitutional way [of treating] individuals of color, individuals who are of faiths other than conservative Christians (such as those of Jewish faith), and others in the community who do not look or think like the politicians and individuals that govern the City.

More Law&Crime coverage: Philadelphia to pay $9.25 million over violent rubber bullet and tear gas attacks during George Floyd protests

In an attempt to support those general allegations, Jones claimed that New Port Richey cops commingled with the Proud Boys and espoused white supremacist ideologies. The complaint even included a photo of one officer (shown below), Elizabeth Dennison, posing in front of a Confederate flag.

New Port Richey Police Officer Elizabeth Dennison shown posing in frontof Confederate flags. (image via court documents)

Jones also included images of text message exchanges sent by now-fired New Port Richey police officer Corey Oliver, claiming those messagesshow that Oliver purposely leaked sensitive police information about Black Lives Matter protests to right-wing extremists who are often armed and looking for an excuse to harm demonstrators.

Text exchanges regarding Black Lives Matter protests shown. (image via court documents).

The complaint also took particular aim at New Port Richeys top officials. Jones claimed that former New Port Richey Police ChiefKim Bogart received so much criticism for supporting and defending the racist and unlawful behavior of the men and women that serve under his command, that he was forced to retire.

According to the filing, the citys mayor, Robert Marlowe, publicly defended many officers, including one who broke into a Jewish womans home under the guise of code enforcement issues and made jokes about Holocaust victim Anne Frank while another police officer stood by and laughed. Jones went on to allege that later, when the same Jewish woman spoke up at a public meeting, Marlowe responded with a tirade and brushed off her comments as garbage.

Jones asserted that Bogart maintained that the officers, whose behavior was captured on body camera footage, engaged in routine police business and had not been antisemitic or discriminatory.

The defendants did not respond to a request for comment. Then-Chief Bogart reportedly defended Dennison back in December (Dennison isnt anamed defendant, but her name is mentioned in the filing). He also said that officers didnt know who the Proud Boys were when they were recorded praying with the group in September 2020.

We didnt even know who the Proud Boys were, Oathkeepers and some of those other groups that have come to the forefront, Bogartsaid, according to the alternative newsweekly Creative Loafing: Tampa Bay. They were not in our town enough to where we knew who they were and dealt with them.

The complaint alleged several other kinds of misdeeds by New Port Richey officers, including unchecked sexual misconduct against a minor, kneeling on the neck of an African American boy in the same manner that led to the death of George Floyd, and the prevention of an African American woman to use the restroom while she was in a holding cell. Per the complaint, the supervising officer failed to make the required visual checks every 10 minutes, and Consequently, [Shinikki] Whiting was unable to properly use the restroom and was forced to defecate on herself.

As for the allegations relating to Jones himself, the complaint described an incident on July 24, 2020, during which a white male officer lunged at and ultimately punched a female activist during a peaceful BLM demonstration. Jones claimed he rushed over to assess and deescalate the situation, and that although he never touched or approached the officer, he was arrested and charged with battery on a police officer and obstruction of justice.

The complaint also described the dramatic scene of Joness arrest: While the activist was at the local police station filing a missing persons report for the same female Black Lives Matter protester, he was surrounded by 30 cops and aggressively handcuffed while his arms were twisted painfully.

Joness civil complaint brought federal claims under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and asserted that he was deprived of his First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Jones also raised claims for failure to train, false arrest, malicious prosecution, abuse of process, conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and battery.

Kevin Ross, one of the attorneys representing Jones, said in a statement that his clients wrongful arrest caused his client to suffer substantial harm.

Our goal is to seek justice for Mr. Jones and ensure that he receives the compensation he deserves, the attorney said.

See more here:
Acquitted BLM activist sues city over unlawful treatment of individuals of color and people of faiths other than conservative Christians - Law &...