Texas parole board recommends posthumous pardon for George Floyd


The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has recommended giving a posthumous pardon to George Floyd, after it was found that his 2004 arrest in Houston involved a police officer who was later charged with murder and tampering a government record.
Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died in May 2020 after then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes. The incident was caught on camera, leading to worldwide protests against police brutality, and earlier this year, Chauvin was found guilty of murder and manslaughter.
In 2004, Floyd was arrested in Houston by Gerald Goines, then an officer in the Houston Police Department. Goines was involved in a deadly 2019 raid that was later determined to be based on false statements he made under oath, and he has since been indicted on charges of felony murder and tampering with a government document. In a letter to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said Goines was the "sole fact witness against Mr. Floyd in the alleged sale of a $10 crack rock," and Floyd was prosecuted "based on Officer Goines' testimony alone."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Since Goines' indictment, at least two people convicted because of his testimony have been exonerated. Goines is "not credible," Ogg said, adding, "we do not support the integrity of Mr. Floyd's conviction and agree these circumstances warrant a posthumous pardon." It is now up to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to decide whether to grant this clemency.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Anshu Ahuja's golden coconut and butter bean curry recipe
The Week Recommends Plump, creamy beans in a sweet, spicy sauce
-
The treasure trove of platinum on the moon
Under the radar This kind of bounty could lead to commercial exploitation
-
Sudoku medium: June 23, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Crime: Why murder rates are plummeting
Feature Despite public fears, murder rates have dropped nationwide for the third year in a row
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrial
Speed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside home
speed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confession
speed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulder
speed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC parade
speed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack
-
2 Israel Embassy staff shot dead at DC Jewish museum
speed read The suspected gunman chanted 'free, free Palestine'
-
Bombing of fertility clinic blamed on 'antinatalist'
speed read A car bombing injured four people and damaged a fertility clinic and nearby buildings in Palm Springs, California