♪ ♪ >> this is "nightline." >> tonight, pardon power. an army sergeant found guilty of murdering a protester during the black lives matter march. >> i remember hearing gunshots and then just him falling over in front of me. >> now the texas governor says the shooting was justified under the state's stand your ground law despite the jury's decision. >> the law says that you're not entitled to start a fight and then kill someone and claim self-defense. >> why governor abbott wants to fast-track a pardon for the convicted killer before he's even sentenced. hiv.

is just the fifth person seemingly cured. >> what was it like art of walking into the history books? >> you know, i'm really happy i'm able to come out and tell my story. >> with a medical moon shot up with the virus in emission. but now the new hiv concerns as cases climb in several major cities. and, music mission. ♪ ♪ country superstar brad paisley with a special performance in ukraine's capital city. >> "nightline" will be right back. when you find your reason to go on, let it pull you past the doubt. past the pain, and past your limits. no matter what, we go on. biofreeze age is just a number, and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein

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>> good evening and thank you for joining us, we begin tonight in texas with the controversy that's drawing national attention. a newly convicted murderer with the governor wants to pardon. it's been less than one week since a jury found an army sergeant guilty of fatally shooting a black lives matter protester in 2020, but if it were up to governor greg abbott he would be a free man tonight. abc's john quinones is in aus austin. >> he was my best friend. love of my life. we were just a couple of teenagers and still felt like a teenager with him until the day he died.

>> for whitney mitchell, garrett foster wasn't only her caregiver, he was her protector. >> he did the best he could to take care of me and a lot of people didn't expect him to be there, but he was there. >> in sickness and in health, foster was there until the night he was taken from her. >> been trying to figure out how to cope and live without him, because he was everything to me. i don't know how to live without him. >> it seemed like an open and shut case for this family. >> we, the jury, find the defendant guilty of the offense of murder. >> but made now feels like a little closer they did have could be erased. the man who was convicted of killing her longtime partner could soon be a free man. daniel parry was found guilty of murder last friday in the fatal shooting of black lives matter protester garrett foster. it happened at a demonstration

in austin, texas, back in july of 2020. the 35-year-old could be facing a sentence of life in prison. but now all eyes are on texas governor greg abbott, who is looking to pardon perry under state law. >> how would you describe his determination to have daniel. pardon? >> well, i think the governor's demand that esther perry be pardoned really undermines the rule of law here in the state of texas and it threatens the public safety of our community. vehicle less than 24 hours after unanimous jury announced a guilty verdict, governor abbott took to twitter about writing texas is one of the strongest and your ground laws of self-defense that cannot be nullified by a jury or a progressive district attorney. adding i have made that request and instructed the board to expedite its review. i look forward to approving the

board's pardon recommendation as soon as it hits my desk. >> to see that it to just have that taken away, i can't understand. it just seems like a political stunt for him to get political points. >> these jurors heard all of the arguments the governor is making and they ruled that self-defense does not apply. this should not be a political discourse, this should not be we like this defendant more than that defendant. it flies in the face of due process, the jury system, prosecutors. >> in a response to a request for comment or maybe see the board said they will be commencing that investigation immediately. upon completion, the board will report to the governor on the investigation and make recommendations to the governor. >> it's been two and half years since my son's death. and we finally got some semblance of justice on friday. and less than 24 hours later it

was just -- the rug was pulled out from underneath me and i'm right back here where i was imme s's death death. >> on july 25th 2020 the country was flooded with. following the murder of george floyd in may 2020. 2020, thousands took to the streets to protest police brutality. at the time, daniel perry was an active-duty u.s. army sergeant at fort hood. he was driving for the ridesharing company uber to money. that evening he dropped off a passenger on a black lives matter march in downtown austin. perry's lawyers say he found his car quickly surrounded by protesters. but the prosecution argued that perry initiated the encounter with the protesters. according to police, he stopped his car and honked at people

protesting as they walked through the street. seconds later he drove his car deeper into the crowd. authorities said after his car stopped, that's one foster, also a veteran with the air force, approached the vehicle with a bandanna on his face while carrying an ak-47 style rifle strapped across his chest, which is legal in texas. >> i don't let us march in the streets anymore, so got to practice some of our rights. >> perry claims foster raised his rifle towards him, threatening his life. and that's 15 shots rang out. the 23. >> i see him on the ground. and he wasn't moving. at all. >> foster was shot by. multiple times with a handgun h was legally owned. >> seone g st! pry's lawyers argue he

acted inbumultiple wne testified that the barrel of foster's was facing down during the entire encounter. >> was daniel perry standing his ground? >> well, i think -- you know, it's important for member that under texas law, your ability to claim self-defense is really diminished if you instigate conflict. the law says that you're not entitled to start a fight and then kill someone and claim self-defense. in the jury had the full opportunity to have the law explained to them and to analyze that against the facts. >> whitney was one of the witnesses who took the stand >> all i remember is hearing gunshots and garrett just falling over in front of me. >> throughout his trial, the

prosecution also argued that this was a premeditated attack, even bringing forth his previous social media posts as evidence. on may 31st, perry posted on facebook that he might "kill a few people on my way to work," adding "they are riding outside my apartment complex." in response to the post a friend asked can you legally do so to which perry replied if they attack me or try to pull me out of my car, then yes. >> and those postings prove that he was not just standing his ground? >> what the state argued to the jury is that there was evidence to show that mr. perry provoked despite, and i think the jury had heard the evidence and took that evidence very seriously. >> that fight leading the jury to find perry guilty of murder. >> i believe they used that against him saying this isn't

self-defense, you have already contemplate of what you would do in the scenario and it has come up to shooting or deaths of another and here was her opportunity to do so. >> texas is 1 of 30 states in the country stand your ground laws. geico stand your ground laws are meant to allow victims of violence, whether it be nondeadly or deadly force, to act without the need of retreating. and with so many guns out there, stand your ground laws and the ability to react without even seeing force but maybe it's just reasonable, could lead to unfortunately far more deaths like that of foster. >> that same summer a similar case rocked the country. >> a group of men, many armed, had been patrolling the area where the violence happened. >> 17-year-old kyle rittenhouse shot three men, killing two in civil unrest in kenosha, wisconsin. following the police shooting of jacob blake. he was acquitted of all charges

at the time and is now speaking out, defending perry on the tucker carlson show. >> he devoted himself, he knows what he did was right. >> what to think of the kyle rittenhouse case, that's a little different than your typical standard ground case because there the defense was able to articulate and show the jury that deadly force was about to be used against him and he in turn responded with deadly force. he didn't necessarily have to mistreat affect them point. he could use deadly force in response. while the texas parole board reviews the case, garrett foster's family anxiously waits. >> and to the governor what would be her message? >> i want him to know that -- it's impacting me and garrett's family. and not just use this to get some type of political plants for this, that it's just -- this is just inhumane. >> hoping that justice will stand. >> how do you want the world to

remember garrett? >> just he was just fighting for racial equality and fighting against police brutality and that's all we wanted, was to fight for a better place. that's what he wanted. >> our thanks to john. up next, the medical moon shot in the story of one man apparently cured of hiv. sickle in my ozempic® tri-zone, i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. and you may lose weight. adults lost up to 14 pounds. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family

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but three decades after his diagnosis, he's now one of the lucky few who may be completely cured. he sat down with my feet and coanchor. >> chairs. >> chairs to many more years. >> what was it like sort of walking into the history books? >> you know, i'm really happy i'm able to come out until my story. >> after being hiv positive for more 30 years, paul edmonds is only the fifth person in the entire world to apparently be cured from the virus. but it was another devastating diagnosis that led him there. until today, the 67-year-old has remained anonymous, known as the city of hope patient, named after the hospital where he was treated. >> so few people this has happened to. not sure how i became so fortunate. >> a small town boy from the south, he spent his youth struggle and to find where he fit in. >> what was it like growing up gay in georgia in a southern

baptist family? >> yeah, it was very, very difficult, confusing for me, and he just knew i was different. >> is a young adult paul decided to take a big leap. >> when i was 21 i was hearing about culture in san francisco, so i took off. >> san francisco was long recognized as the capital of the u.s. by the parked homeland of their -- paul landed there in the mid-70s. >> it was very exciting. i just have never experienced anything like this. >> but by the early '80s a dark cloud had moved the liberation movement. >> a potentially fatal disease unknown just months ago is spreading so quickly doctors are saying it's a national epidemic. >> it was really quite scary, no one really knew what was happening. >> game and across the u.s. died by the thousands of aids grade he lost friends and loved ones with no cure in sight. >> every week -- >> it still to emotional.

it's a lot of friends to lose. that must have been really scary time. >> in the beginning it was like a curse, people were afraid of each other. like i wasn't ready to be tested because i kind of felt that's going to mean a death sentence. >> but in 1988 he finally got tested. the results? positive for hiv. >> it shocked me, something i didn't want to believe. >> what went through your mind when you saw the result? >> well, death. >> more than three decades later he is still here. so is the threat of hiv. for paul the disease became manageable, but for others it is still a looming threat. as of 2019 an estimated 1.2 million people in the u.s. were living with the disease and one in seven don't even know they are hiv positive. major cities like d.c., new york, and san francisco are all seeing increases in new cases between 2020 and 2021.

doctors say the real key to treating and ultimately ending hiv testing. >> back in the act of days it was silence equals death. in many ways stigma can equal death. >> it's a huge barrier because by having that stigma, people are less likely to get tested and by being less likely to get tested they are also not going to be offered the therapy that they need. >> four years into his diagnosis, the skies cleared a bit when paul fell for an air force veteran. >> we met in san francisco. i was at a happy hour. >> paul walked in and i saw him and i immediately knew that i had to talk to him. so i went over to him and whispered in his ear. i said i want to know you. >> the two became inseparable. paul eventually convincing arnie to get tested. >> he took me to the clinic and said we need to find out.

and that saved my life. so finding out when i did, i was able to start medication and start a new lifestyle. >> over time, better antiretrovirals brought both of their levels to undetectable, which equals on transmittable. medication, boosting, and prolonging the life span. but another diagnosis was looming. in 2018, all learned he had leukemia. >> did it feel like a second brush with mortality? >> you know, i didn't allow myself to go to the worst-case scenario because i had dealt with hiv for so many years. i was much better prepared to approach this and deal with it. >> what kept you going? >> that positive attitude. i wasn't ready to die. >> after chemo, he was offered a bone marrow transplant as a permanent cure for leukemia.

plus an added bonus, this particular donor was resistant to hiv infection due to a rare mutation. >> it exists in roughly 1% of the population, so it's not -- it's not something we find very commonly. >> what was that like hearing the news that this moon shot was even possible? >> yeah, just incredible. almost unbelievable. >> the chemo for the transplant challenging. the outcome, game changing. paul's leukemia remained in remission. >> that was like the best news i've ever heard. >> but the news only got better. >> we watched him extremely closely with blood tests and every week when i was like your virus is still undetectable, it was just so exciting. >> it's been two years as paul has been able to stop taking his hiv medication altogether. his story bringing many hope for the future of a virus that's infected with an 84 million people worldwide.

>> grateful to be alive, i was grateful there was a donor, very, very grateful. >> our thanks. up next, the country superstar with an inspiring performance in a war zone. ♪ ♪ 's skyrizi. ♪ things are looking up ♪ ♪ i've got symptom relief ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me. ♪ ♪ ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ feel significant symptom relief with skyrizi, including less abdominal pain and fewer bowel movements at 4 weeks. skyrizi is the first and only il-23 inhibitor for crohn's that can deliver both clinical remission and endoscopic improvement. the majority of people on skyrizi achieved long lasting remission at 1 year. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to.

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♪ ♪ >> finally tonight, music with a mission. ♪ ♪ >> country superstar brad paisley visiting ukrainians to show support, shaking hands with

president galinsky in performing his song in st. michael square in kyiv, a song he released one year after russia's invasion that features the ukrainian president. the grammy winner called the resilience of ukrainians one of the most inspiring things he's ever seen. is a comusical >> and that's "nightline" for this evening, see you right back here, same time tomorrow. thank for the company, america, good night.