Public defenders in Houston, Texas, are seeking a posthumous pardon for George Floyd’s 2004 drug conviction, where he spent ten months behind bars.
The Harris County Public Defender’s Office filed an application on behalf of Floyd and his surviving family members.
On February 5, 2004, police arrested Floyd in Houston and charged him with one count of delivery of a controlled substance. Officer Gerald Goines was the arresting officer who noted in his arrest report that Floyd possessed crack cocaine. Floyd was sentenced to serve time in jail.
Goines later faced criminal charges in 2019 for lying to obtain a “no-knock” warrant for a southeast Houston home.
Five police officers were injured, and two homeowners were killed during the raid.
“This is about honoring the memory of George Floyd, as well as about correcting the records of the State of Texas,” Allison Mathis of the Harris County Public Defender’s Office told CNN.
“We can’t have confidence in the integrity of the convictions obtained by Officer Goines. George Floyd suffered at the hands of a corrupt and racist system throughout his life, not just at the end,” Mathis continued.
Since Goines’s 2019 criminal charge, the Harris County District Attorney has agreed to review cases connected to Goines, including Floyd’s 2004 case.
Nothing has been publicly reported as of April 27 suggesting there was anything illegal or improper about the 2004 arrest.
The request now goes before the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. Should the panel accept the request, the final decision will come down to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, KHOU reported.