Erasing his two-decades-old record would require the rightwing Texas governor’s goodwill
Criminal justice reform experts are hopeful that if Texas governor Greg Abbott approves a pardon request for George Floyd’s drug-related charges, which are almost two decades old, it will send a strong message about the prejudices of a justice system that disproportionately incarcerates Black and Latino people.
Floyd was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer and his death triggered a wave of outrage over police violence and systemic racism that spread across America and to the rest of the world. At the trial of his killer, Derek Chauvin, defense lawyers attempted to portray Floyd’s history of drug use as somehow a cause of his death.