Greg Abbott's pardon of Daniel Perry: A dive off the cliff to authoritarianism | Letters
Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick like to talk about how the ruling class can decide to “come after you” when they speak of other states (Patrick referring to New York most recently). However, Abbott shows his disdain for the real people who live in Texas and serve on juries by simply nullifying their work to provide a fair trial to Daniel Perry and convict him of murder.
This isn’t even a slippery slope toward authoritarianism - it is a dive off the cliff. No one knows where it ends, but it will not end well for Texas or America.
David Anderson, Austin
It's not the party of order. It's
a mockery of the justice system
What a disgusting display of politics by Greg Abbott. Why even have a judicial system if our governor can tip the scales any way he pleases? He’s made a mockery of our justice system. If Daniel Perry felt he was unjustly convicted he could have appealed.
Party of law and order…yeah, right.
Aaron McIntyre, Westlake Hills
Abbott disregarded the justice system.
That's alarming regardless your party.
It is truly astounding to me that Greg Abbott would pardon a man convicted, I'll repeat, convicted of murder because he did not support the protest where the murder occurred. He also obviously has a beef with the elected District Attorney who prosecuted the case after a grand jury agreed there was sufficient evidence to go to trial.
For those reasons, Abbott negated the collective decision of 12 jurors who gave of their time, away from family and work, to listen to 40 witnesses and review ample evidence to determine their finding. We have systems in place to address "wrongful convictions" and as a former attorney general, Greg Abbott is well aware of this.
This behavior is very alarming no matter your political affiliation. I feel he owes the jurors a face-to-face meeting to explain his decision and listen to them regarding theirs. Afterall, they were there. He was not.
Shari Chambers, Austin
Abbott isn't interested unless it's
an issue to manipulate opinion
Re: May 19 Bridget Grumet column, Disabled advocates held a 44-hour vigil to speak to Gov. Abbott. He wouldn't meet
Grumet's column about the disabled advocacy protest at the Governor's Mansion proves again that Governor Abbott is not interested in issues that affect the lives of Texans. The governor needs wedge issues to manipulate public opinion.
As a person with a disability, I too worry if I will be able to find help when I need it. As a disabled person with finances and access, the governor has no worries about getting help. What about the rest of the disabled community, Governor Abbott?
Steven Rooks, Austin
If killing innocent people in Gaza
isn't a war crime, then what is?
What took so long? Netanyahu should have been charged a long time ago. Maybe Joe should refresh his waning memory as to what constitutes a war criminal. Netanyahu fits all the criteria. He and his ilk like Putin and Trump deserve to be behind bars. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is doing the right thing in my humble opinion.
Netanyahu is leveling and razing whole neighborhoods and communities and killing thousands of innocent women and children. If this doesn't constitute a war crime, then what does? This is also known as genocide. He is so angry at Hamas that he wants to wipe them all out, all that stand in his way including the innocents.
If you want to get rid of Hamas militants, you have to go house by house, room by room and either capture them or kill them.
Ezekiel Enriquez, Sr., San Marcos
At Trump's 'hush money' trial, clowns
and the sycophants were already there
As I was watching the so-called "hush money" trial, I was reminded of Judy Collins' hit song "Send in the Clowns." "Don't bother, they're here." she sang near the song's end. Last week's clowns were there in the form of Republicans who took a break from creating chaos in the House to create a little in the courtroom.
They were there as sycophants seeking positions in what they believe is Trump's inevitable return to the White House. Just like court jesters of the past, maintaining dignity or self-respect was never a consideration.
Carl Lloyd, San Antonio
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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Abbott's pardon of Daniel Perry: A dive off cliff to authoritarianism
