The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has rescinded its recommendation that Gov. Greg Abbott pardon George Floyd, the Houston man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis in May of 2020.
The governor鈥檚 office announced the decision Thursday, along with the board鈥檚 reversal on 24 other clemency suggestions due to what it described as procedural errors and a lack of compliance with board rules. But it appeared to leave the door open to Floyd receiving a pardon at a later date.
鈥淭he Board will review and resolve procedural errors and issues related to any pending applications in compliance with their rules,鈥� Abbott press secretary Renae Eze said in a statement. 鈥淎s a result of the Board's withdrawal of the recommendation concerning George Floyd, Governor Abbott did not have the opportunity to consider it. Governor Abbott will review all recommendations that the Board submits for consideration."
Allison Mathis, a Houston public defender who had put the request before the parole board, told The Texas Tribune Thursday that she was 鈥渇urious鈥� by the decision. She said the request had already been through a compliance review and none of the seven appointed board members had raised an issue with it.
The state鈥檚 parole board, in a surprising unanimous decision, had recommended in October that Floyd be pardoned for a minor 2004 drug conviction in Houston. Days after the board's recommendation, Abbott briefly told reporters at an unrelated event that his office would analyze Floyd鈥檚 case. The governor has since been quiet on the matter.
Abbott鈥檚 rhetoric on Floyd鈥檚 killing has ricocheted over the past year and a half. At first, he called Floyd鈥檚 killing senseless and reprehensible, promising change and waving at a potential Texas George Floyd Act to prevent police brutality in the state.
As Floyd鈥檚 murder continued to spur a new wave of protests nationwide against police brutality and racial injustice, the Houstonian became a symbol of the Black Lives Matter movement. Calls for widespread change to American policing included efforts to cut police budgets and shift law enforcement responsibilities to other government programs.
Abbott then shifted defending law enforcement funding and 鈥渂acking the blue鈥� while quieting on potential changes to policing practices.