Harris County Commissioners Court supports 'the posthumous pardon of George Floyd' in new resolution

Government
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In May 2020, the killing of George Floyd, a black man, in Minneapolis prompted worldwide protest against racial injustice between black assailants and white officers. | Facebook

The Harris County Commissioners Court approved a resolution on May 11 that posthumously pardons a 2004 drug conviction on George Floyd's record.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo took to Twitter to discuss what the resolution would do for Floyd's record. 

"Today we passed a resolution supporting the posthumous pardon of George Floyd for a 2004 drug conviction based on now-discredited testimony of Houston Police officer Gerald Goines. We can’t bring George Floyd back, but we can try to provide a semblance of justice," Judge Hidalgo said in a tweet.

ABC 13 reported that Commissioner Rodney Ellis, whose Precinct 1 included the neighborhood Floyd once lived in, introduced the resolution to the court. 

"We'll never get true justice for George Floyd and his family, but he deserves that we set the record straight. Today, Harris County Commissioners Court adopted a resolution I presented requesting a posthumous pardon for #GeorgeFloyd," Ellis said in a tweet.

Ellis followed up on Twitter and said that Floyd's family deserves to have some vindication which was only possible through pardoning the former charges. 

"Mr. Floyd and his family deserve vindication, which is possible through a full pardon in this case. We must continue working to find alternatives to mass incarceration and provide legal defense for all residents. With the adoption of this resolution, justice rings," Ellis said. 

In February of 2004, Floyd was arrested by Goines in a police sting for selling $10 worth of crack cocaine, ABC News reported. Floyd later plead guilty and was sentenced to 10 months in a state jail. Goines is now facing charges of two counts of murder, and other charges in state and federal court, for a deadly raid that ended in Dennis Tuttle, 59, and Rhogena Nicholas, 58, being killed. 

Part of Floyd's pardon came because the testimony from Goines about a botched Harding Street raid in 2019, ABC News reported. More than 160 drug convictions tied to Goines being the arresting officer has since been dismissed by prosecutors.

In May 2020, the killing of Floyd, a black man, in Minneapolis prompted worldwide protest against racial injustice between black assailants and white officers.