A Texas board denied a posthumous pardon for George Floyd for a drug arrest from 2004.
In October 2021, the Texas board unanimously recommended that George Floyd be pardoned. Although the committee rescinded the recommendation two months later, citing a procedural error, the committee left the possibility open for Floyd to receive his pardon.
“The Board will review and resolve procedural errors and issues related to any pending applications in compliance with their rules,” Greg Abbott‘s press secretary Renae Eze said in a statement. “As a result of the Board’s withdrawal of the recommendation concerning George Floyd, Governor Abbott did not have the opportunity to consider it. Governor Abbott will review all recommendations that the Board submits for consideration.”
But, on Thursday, the board declined the request for Floyd altogether, even though the arresting officer has since been fired, investigated, and indicted for lying and providing false evidence in several cases, possibly including Floyd’s.
“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 board wrote in a letter.
The letter didn’t detail the board’s reason for blocking the posthumous pardon.
“This was a chance for Texas to do a small, good thing: to take an apolitical stance that no matter who a person is, their rights need to be respected and an accurate record of their life is important,” Floyd’s attorney, Allison Mathis told the Texas Tribune. “Last year, the board unanimously recommended that Mr. Floyd be granted a pardon, acknowledging that what happened to him was wrong. I have given no other facts or evidence for the board to consider, and it is unclear to me what happened to completely reverse their decision,” Mathis said in the statement.
Floyd can be submitted to be pardoned again in two years.
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