A Texas pardon board voted unanimously on Monday (Oct. 4) to grant George Floyd posthumous clemency for his 2004 drug conviction in the state, NBC News and other outlets report. The vote arrives six months after the Harris County Public Defender’s Office applied for Floyd’s clemency this April.
“The board does not conduct interviews regarding individual clemency recommendations. A recommendation is rendered on each case after the totality of information is considered,” board spokesperson Timothy McDonnell told NBC in an email.
The board’s recommendation to grant Floyd posthumous clemency will now go to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has the final say in either approving or denying the pardon. Abbott’s office did not respond to NBC’s request for comment.
“We lament the loss of former Houstonian George Floyd and hope that his family finds comfort in Monday’s decision,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement. “We do not support the integrity of Mr. Floyd’s conviction and agree these circumstances warrant a posthumous pardon. We urge Governor Abbott to follow the board’s recommendation and grant clemency.”
Floyd was arrested by former Houston police officer Gerald Goines in 2004 for selling $10 worth of crack cocaine to an undercover cop, Associated Press reports. At the time, Floyd pleaded guilty to the drug charge and spent 10 months in jail.
However, ex-officer Goines was later charged with two counts of murder in 2019 and was accused of lying to obtain search warrants for a drug raid that ended in two people being killed. Prosecutors allege that Goines fabricated information to obtain a warrant and the subsequent raid resulted in a shootout that wounded five officers and killed both people living at the home.
Goines was allowed to retire from the police department after the incident. However, D.A. Ogg pledged to review over 1,400 of his criminal cases. This May, two people arrested by Goines were exonerated and Daily Mail writes that more than 180 of his convictions have been dismissed.
The ex-cop remains under indictment for his murder charges but has not yet gone to trial. Another officer, Steven Bryant, also pleaded guilty earlier this summer to falsifying records in an effort to protect him.
On Monday, Ben Crump released a statement asking Gov. Abbott to pardon Floyd. “… It’s even more important for the governor to assert his leadership to pass meaningful police and criminal justice reform,” he added.