INFURIATING

Texas Board Denies George Floyd Posthumous Pardon for Drug Conviction

Last year, the parole board had unanimously agreed to grant the pardon—only to withdraw the decision several months later, blaming “procedural errors.”

The Texas board that had unanimously supported a posthumous pardon for George Floyd over a 2004 drug arrest—then abruptly yanked that support several months later—on Thursday denied Floyd that clemency. In a letter first reported by an investigative journalist with The Marshall Project, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles told Allison Mathis, the Harris County public defender representing Floyd in the matter, he would be “eligible to re-apply for a Full Pardon two years” from now. The letter did not name Floyd, but Mathis confirmed to The Marshall Project it was addressing Floyd’s case. Floyd’s 2004 conviction involved embattled Houston police officer Gerald Goines, who has been indicted for fabricating information in his cases, and was hit with murder charges in 2019 after a botched raid turned deadly. In October 2021, the board voted to recommend Floyd for a pardon, only for it to rescind its recommendation in December, after kicking the decision to Gov. Greg Abbott’s office. The board blamed “procedural errors” for the reversal, but Mathis slammed it as a “ridiculous farce.”

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AJ McDougallBreaking News Reporter

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