Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles withdraws George Floyd clemency recommendation citing procedural errors

‘It really strains credibility for them to say now that it’s out of compliance,’ says campaigner

Texas’ Board of Pardons and Paroles has been accused of a “ridiculous farce” after a clemency for George Floyd was withdrawn because of “procedural issues”.

The Texas board had recommended granting Floyd clemency for a 2004 drug arrest in Houston after his death in Minneapolis in 2020, but according to governor Greg Abbott’s office, had encountered procedural issues.

The governor’s office was recently alerted to “unexplained departures” from the board’s processing of 25 pardons, including Floyd’s, a press release announced on Thursday.

“The Board of Pardons and Paroles has withdrawn 25 clemency recommendations that contained procedural errors and lack of compliance with Board rules,” said the governor’s office.

“Among the recommendations withdrawn was one concerning George Floyd.”

“As a result of the Board’s withdrawal of the recommendation concerning George Floyd, Governor Abbott did not have the opportunity to consider it,” a spokesperson for Mr Abbott, Renae Eze, added,

Allison Mathis, a Houston campaigner who filed the application for Floyd’s pardon, told The Associated Press that it was a “ridiculous farce” to withdraw and review Floyd’s pardon.

She added: “It really strains credibility for them to say now that it’s out of compliance, after the board has already voted on it.”

Floyd, who was arrest in 2004 in a police sting, served 10 months in prison after pleading guilty. His family and campaigners have said a pardon for the crime would show commitment to police accountability.

He grew up and was laid to rest in the city in June 2020.

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.