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The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has denied a posthumous pardon of George Floyd for a minor 2004 Houston drug conviction, The Marshall Project reported. The decision comes 11 months after the agency initially recommended a pardon before reversing course and rescinding that recommendation, citing a procedural error.
In a letter Thursday, the board did not explain its reasoning for rejecting the requested pardon. The letter does not include Floyd’s name, but his attorney, Allison Mathis, confirmed to The Texas Tribune that his application was the only pardon she applied for. The letter said Mathis can reapply for the posthumous pardon in two years.
Floyd’s 2020 murder at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis set off a wave of protests against police violence that disproportionally impacts people of color.
Floyd was arrested by embattled former Houston police officer Gerald Goines in 2004 after he was found to have less than half a gram of crack cocaine. Goines said at the time that Floyd had given the drugs to an unnamed person. Floyd ultimately pleaded guilty and received a 10-month sentence in state jail. But Goines has since been accused of repeatedly lying or making up confidential informants to bolster his word against defendants, which was revealed after a botched, deadly raid in 2019 led to murder charges against the officer.
The Texas Tribune Festival is almost here! From Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 22-24, in downtown Austin, TribFest attendees will enjoy three days full of mind-expanding events, conversations and panels featuring more than 350 big names including Chris Bosh, Pete Buttigieg, Liz Cheney, Annette Gordon-Reed and many others. Join us for Texas’ biggest politics and policy event when you buy your tickets today.