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A Texas Pardon Council voted unanimously on Monday to recommend that George Floyd receive a posthumous pardon for a drug conviction in 2004.
In a statement to NBC News, the Texas Board of Pardons and Lyrics said it voted 7-0 to recommend pardon.
“The board does not conduct interviews regarding individual leniency recommendations. A recommendation is made for each case after all of the information has been considered, ”board spokesperson Timothy McDonnell told NBC.
The Harris County Public Defender’s Office requested a pardon in April, NBC noted. Floyd grew up in Harris County.
The recommendation will now reach Texas Gov. Greg Abbott
Greg AbbottAlyssa Milano says it’s “most dangerous time to be a woman in America” No quick fixes for southern border crisis Thousands take to the streets of Washington, Texas to protest restrictive abortion laws MORE (R) who will have the final say on the matter. The Hill has contacted Abbott’s office for comment.
“We do not support the integrity of Mr. Floyd’s conviction and agree that these circumstances warrant a posthumous pardon. We urge Governor Abbott to follow the recommendation of the board of directors and grant leniency, ”Harris County Attorney Kim Ogg told NBC in a statement.
Floyd was killed in May 2020 shortly after former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly 10 minutes. Chauvin was convicted of two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter in April. He was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison.
Support for a posthumous pardon for Floyd has grown in recent months. In May, all five members of the Harris County Commissioners’ Tribunal voted in favor of a resolution supporting a pardon request for Floyd.
Floyd was arrested in February 2004 for selling crack cocaine for $ 10 to a police officer during an undercover operation. The officer who arrested Floyd, Gerald Goines, is currently facing two counts of murder in a 2019 drug raid in which a husband and wife were killed.
Prosecutors allege that Goines lied about drug deals taking place in the house that was searched in order to obtain a restraining warrant. As a result of this allegation, hundreds of Goines cases have been investigated.
More than 160 Goines-related drug convictions have since been dismissed by prosecutors, according to ABC News.
“No matter what you think of Mr. Floyd, his life or his death, Mr. Floyd does not deserve to have this stain and to have a wrongful conviction on his record”, Allison Mathis, lawyer in the office of the defender Harris County Public. told commissioners in May.
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