Texas board recommends Abbott give posthumous pardon to George Floyd in 2004 case

A Texas pardon board voted unanimously on Monday to recommend that George Floyd be given a posthumous pardon for a 2004 drug conviction.

In a statement to NBC News, the The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles said it had voted 7-0 to recommend the pardon.

“The board does not conduct interviews regarding individual clemency recommendations. A recommendation is rendered on each case after the totality of information is considered,” board spokesperson Timothy McDonnell told NBC.

The Harris County Public Defender’s Office had applied for clemency in April, NBC noted. Floyd grew up in Harris County.

The recommendation will now got to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) who will have final say over the matter. The Hill has reached out to Abbott’s office for comment.

“We do not support the integrity of Mr. Floyd’s conviction and agree these circumstances warrant a posthumous pardon. We urge Governor Abbott to follow the board’s recommendation and grant clemency,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said to NBC in a statement.

Floyd was killed in May of 2020 shortly after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nearly 10 minutes. Chauvin was convicted of two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter in April. He was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison.

Support for a posthumous pardon for Floyd has grown in the past few months. In May, all five members of the Harris County Commissioners Court voted in favor of a resolution supporting a pardon request for Floyd.

Floyd was arrested in February of 2004 for selling $10 worth of crack cocaine to a police officer in a sting operation. The officer who arrested Floyd, Gerald Goines, is currently facing two counts of felony murder in connection to a 2019 drug raid in which a husband and wife were killed.

Prosecutors allege that Goines lied about drug transactions that were taking place in the home that was raided in order to obtain a no-knock warrant. Due to this allegation, hundreds of Goines’ cases have gone under review.

Over 160 drug convictions connected to Goines have since been dismissed by prosecutors, according to ABC News.

“No matter how you feel about Mr. Floyd, about his life or his death, Mr. Floyd does not deserve to have this stain and take a wrongful conviction on his record,” Allison Mathis, an attorney with the Harris County Public Defender’s Office said to the commissioners in May.