After an Austin jury unanimously convicted Sergeant Daniel Perry of murder, it took Governor Greg Abbott less than one full day to call for his pardon.
Legal experts and lawmakers have described it as an unprecedented move that has injected politics into the parole and pardon system.
“I can’t imagine that there’s ever been a time when they’ve considered a pardon for someone who hasn’t even been sentenced yet,” Allison Mathis, a longtime public defender in Texas, told the Texas Observer.
