The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles decided to deny George Floyd a pardon after his arrest in 2004 for a drug trafficking offense.
Floyd's family requested his pardon in April 2021. At first, the board accepted his pardon by majority vote but later redacted the decision. In a letter sent to the Harris County Public Defender, the Texas Board of Pardons noted that the family can reapply for pardon in two years and did not cite a reason for its change of heart:
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.
Allison Mathis, an attorney with the Harris County Public Defender's Office, accused Floyd's 2004 arresting officer, Gerald Goines, of "fabricating a network of informants to bolster his cases against innocent defendants." At the time of the arrest, Floyd was in possession of crack cocaine as stated by Officer Goines.
Goines' legal team expressed solidarity with George Floyd's family after his death, despite that it "does not change that his previous conviction was legitimate."
May 25 marked the second anniversary of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which triggered a series of riots throughout the entire United States.
