03/16/2024
Garret Foster’s mother sent this letter to the Texas Parole Board.
“Good afternoon,
My name is Sheila Foster, and I am the mother of Garrett Foster. He was murdered on July 25, 2020. We waited nearly three years for a trial, and the anxiety of that process made me quit my job of ten years. I currently have no income, no source of income, and no ability to work right now because since the Governor announced his plans to pardon my son's killer, I have been crippled with social anxiety and unable to live a normal, productive life. That announcement came less than 24 hours after we got a guilty verdict. Guilty of Murder 1. He planned it. His defense attorneys and his family continue to slander my son, my amazing son who was protesting for 50 straight days. My son was a selfless, loving, giving and generous individual who just wanted to see police officers held accountable when they kill unarmed black men. It's been happening for too long. He was out there open carrying because there were counter-protesters threatening protesters on a regular basis, and one of them had pointed a gun at Garrett's fiancé. He was carrying because he thought it was a deterrent that would protect his love and his friends from these extremist racists who were trying to hurt them.
When my son saw that car run that red light into those people, my son approached that car and told him to "move on." Garrett's weapon was never pointed, by Daniel Perry's own admission that night, the gun was on safety and no bullets were chambered. My son used his second amendment rights to protect those peoples' first amendment rights. And this is an open carry state. Perry claimed he was surrounded by a mob who was beating on his car with bricks and paint cans; neither was true. He claimed he was just driving along when we was surrounded. No. He drove through a red light directly into those people crossing the intersection. He instigated it. If the board recommends a pardon for this troubled, racist individual, you are opening the door for more self-defense traps going forward. Because if I can claim to be afraid of someone who is doing nothing wrong, simply carrying a gun, and shoot and kill them on that basis alone...this can no longer be an open carry state.
The Honorable Clifford Brown presided over our case. That man needs a medal. He is black, and he saw the racist rhetoric text messages, the comments about black people being "monkeys" and his desire to sit on the roof of his father's business and just open fire on a bunch of "rioters." He saw all of that, and he kept it from the jury, to give a fair and impartial trial to that person based on the facts of the case alone, and the evidence proved that he is a violent, hate-filled racist who still to this day believes he did nothing wrong. What he did, is rob this world of someone who'd been taking care of his quadruple amputee fiancé for ten years, someone who was feeding the homeless every Wednesday, someone who loved animals and people so much that he never hurt anything or anyone. He was a beautiful soul. He wanted a better world, and this world is a darker place having lost Garrett Foster.
We take so much pride in our second amendment rights. We tell people all the time that the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. My son, Garrett, was the good guy. Because if he hadn't stood and taken FIVE bullets to the chest, there would have been more than one death that night. My son stood there as long as he could. Please, I am begging you to search your hearts and do what is right in this case. My family cannot handle anymore hate, and we need closure and peace in this hellish nightmare. It's been nearly 4 years.
My grandfather is Lloyd Briscoe, he was the first American Indian Battalion Fire Chief in Dallas. My father, Milton Wright, served the Dallas Fire Department for 37 years. My mother was a court clerk in the Old Red Courthouse, and my best friend's mom was a dispatcher for the Dallas Police. Garrett grew up going to the Fire station with my dad, we have many police officer friends. Garrett was not anti-police. He was anti-police brutality and saw qualified immunity protecting criminals. A badge does not automatically make someone a good person. Bad people can become cops too. Garrett grew up seeing good cops, and he didn't understand what was happening and why it was still allowed. The love of his life is a black woman. He was such a good person, he was a protector and he deserves better than what he's getting right now from the state his family has always called home.
As his mother, ideally, I would like to not only keep his killer in prison for the rest of his life; but I would like to see the state of Texas hold these bad actors accountable for the things they did wrong in this case. The homicide detective was told in the interview with Perry that the gun wasn't aimed at him. And Perry was released that same night. How? They knew that night it wasn't self defense and they let him go just hours after he basically did a drive-by shooting and murdered my son. In the court documents, you will also see medical examiner testimony claiming that Detective Fugitt instructed her to leave the bullet proof vest and extra ammo out of her report. Kenneth Cassaday, the APA President got on CNN less than 48 hours after my son was murdered, and blamed him for his own death. The following weekend my son's memorial was destroyed by the Austin Police. I have video of that. Since all of this has happened, I am no longer proud to tell people I'm from Texas.”
