syntax error at ./script.pl line 8, near ""facts":"
[download]

Perl can parse JSON, but only from a string, not directly from the source code. In Perl hashes, keys are separated by commas or fat commas from the values, not colons. Then, you can do:

my $DATA = {
            facts => [
                {
                    name => 'A',
                    type => 'Normal'
                },
                {
                    name => 'B',
                    type => 'Broken'
                }
            ],

};

print $DATA->{facts}[0]{name}; # A
print $DATA->{facts}[0]{type}; # Normal
[download]

It's a hash containing an array containing hashes, not a hash of hashes of arrays.

Or, parse the JSON, but remove the trailing comma after the array, JSON doesn't support it:

#!/usr/bin/perl
use warnings;
use strict;

use Cpanel::JSON::XS;

my $DATA = decode_json('{
            "facts": [
                {
                    "name": "A",
                    "type": "Normal"
                },
                {
                    "name": "B",
                    "type": "Broken"
                }
            ]
 }');

print $DATA->{facts}[0]{name}; # A
print $DATA->{facts}[0]{type}; # Normal
[download]

Perfect, thank you!!!

More info on working with complex Perl data structures (once you get them into the right syntax :) is found in the Perl Data Structures Cookbook (perldsc).