After George Floyd’s family filed for a posthumous pardon on his behalf in April 2021 for a 2004 drug conviction and received the courtesy, The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has moved to reverse its decision on blotting out his record.
According to CNN, the board changed its mind without explanation on Wednesday, September 14th.
In a letter sent to the Harris County public defender working with Floyd’s surviving family members, the board said, “After a full and careful review of the application and other information filed with the application, a majority of the Board decided not to recommend a Full Pardon and/or Pardon for Innocence,” the letter states.
The letter said that should the family continue to pursue a pardon for the Black man killed in May 2020 by officer Derek Chauvin from the Minneapolis Police Department, they can apply again in 2024.
Allison Mathis, an attorney with the Harris County Public Defender’s Office, requested a pardon because new evidence proved Gerald Goines, the arresting officer in Floyd’s drug case, “manufactured the existence of confidential informants to bolster his cases against innocent defendants.”
On February 5th, 2004, Goines arrested Floyd, saying he had some crack cocaine and that he gave the drugs to an unnamed “second suspect” who was going to sell them in an “attempt to further the narcotic trafficing [sic] in this area and the other person was never arrested.”
The lawyer for Goines said, “We stand by the original case. We certainly sympathize with Mr. Floyd’s cause, but that doesn’t change the fact that his former conviction was a legitimate one.”
