Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing

By TChris, Section Death Penalty
Posted on Wed Oct 04, 2006 at 01:24:19 PM EST
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by TChris

Last year, Radley Balko brought the nation's attention to the plight of Cory Maye. The police broke down Maye's door during a drug raid in Mississippi. The officers claimed they knocked, but having gone to the trouble of securing a "no knock" warrant, that claim is suspect. Maye, not realizing that the people invading his house in the middle of the night were police officers and concerned about the safety of his young daughter, shot an intruder without realizing he was shooting a police officer. The officer turned out to be the son of the police chief. The police turned out to have busted down the wrong door; their warrant was for the adjoining unit in the duplex where Maye lived. Maye is black; the officer and jury were white; and Maye, who seems to have been acting in self-defense, was nonetheless sentenced to death.

TalkLeft first wrote about Maye here, and followed up here. Thanks to Balko, Maye's case stayed in the spotlight, attracting the attention of Danny Glover (as TalkLeft reported here) among others. Balko's efforts on Maye's behalf also attracted the attention of a lawyer at Covington & Burling, who persuaded the firm to represent Maye pro bono. Balko reports on the results of their work:

Recently, a private investigator discovered the identity of the confidential informant whose tip led to the raid: a poor, uneducated local resident named Randy Gentry. When Gentry found out the investigator was working for Maye's defense, he left a profane 45-second rant on the answering machine of one of the defense lawyers, complete with racial epithets and threats. Gentry, described in police affidavits and search warrants as reliable and trustworthy, has apparently been used as an informant on several occasions.

Last week in Poplarville, Miss., Maye was finally given a hearing on his post-trial motions. His new legal team mounted a vigorous defense, calling new expert witnesses, showing computer animations, and presenting significant new evidence - the fruits of several months of investigation.

Here's the happy news: Maye is, for the moment, off death row. The judge found that Maye's representation at sentencing was constitutionally ineffective, entitling him to a new sentencing hearing. The judge hasn't yet decided whether Maye should also be granted a new trial.

There's a bigger picture here, and Balko nails it:

Maye's plight is a case study in the problems with drug policing in America, from questionable confidential informants to invasive paramilitary tactics, overworked and underfunded defense attorneys, and how all of the above seem to disproportionately affect low-income people, particularly African-Americans.

Politics played a huge role in this case. Want to be disgusted? Read this:

In December of last year, Prentiss Mayor Charles Dumas called Bob Evans, Maye's chief counsel and Prentiss public defender, to tell him that the town's aldermen were unhappy with his decision to represent Maye in his appeal. Dumas told Evans he might well lose his job should he continue representing Maye - an odd threat, given that as public defender, this was Evans' job. In January, Evans was fired.

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Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing | 35 comments (35 topical)

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#1)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Oct 04, 2006 at 02:11:31 PM EST

The officers claimed they knocked, but having gone to the trouble of securing a "no knock" warrant, that claim is suspect.

To be fair, if the above claim is suspect, why is the following claim not?

Maye, not realizing that the people invading his house in the middle of the night were police officers and concerned about the safety of his young daughter, shot an intruder without realizing he was shooting a police officer.

Are not both claims self-serving?

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#3)
by roy on Wed Oct 04, 2006 at 02:13:51 PM EST

Balko updates his blog with Maye-related info pretty often. One bit from his most recent

As defense attorney Abe Pafford argued at the hearing, the only evidence the prosecution offered suggesting Maye should have known the men outside his home were police was the officers' testimony that they repeatedly announced themselves, and one officers' testimony that he saw someone peer out the window shortly after they arrived. The latter testimony is suspect given that it doesn't jibe with the same officer's testimony given shortly after the raid, and that he actually changed his testimony on the stand at trial, at the prodding of DA Buddy McDonald. Even then, that officer -- Stephen Jones -- ultimately conceded on cross-examination that he didn't see anyone peer out. So it's disingenuous for the prosecution to cite Jones' original testimony without pointing out that he eventually changed it in a way quite favorable to Maye. As for the announcement, the defense correctly noted that the only officer to testify at trial who was actually inside the duplex when the raid took place -- officer Darryl Graves, who was in Smith's half of the duplex -- said on the stand that he couldn't hear any announcement.

He's found plenty of other problems with the prosecution, including its physical evidence.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#2)
by wishful on Wed Oct 04, 2006 at 03:19:15 PM EST

Good for Maye. Hope he gets a new trial, too. Maybe we should (re?)institute, in full, our Constitution and Bill of Rights. In the meantime, thanks are due to fighting defense attorneys doing what they can to get just outcomes in cases like this.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#4)
by Gabriel Malor on Wed Oct 04, 2006 at 03:19:15 PM EST

sarcastic, The first claim is suspect because it seems internally inconsistent. If the officers had a no-knock warrant, why would they knock? The second claim does not suffer from a similar defect.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#5)
by kdog on Wed Oct 04, 2006 at 03:19:15 PM EST

That is good news. I wish Mr. Maye all the luck in the world as he and his lawyers fight for his life.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#6)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Oct 04, 2006 at 03:59:45 PM EST

GM, I think to label the cop's version a "claim" and present the defendant's version as fact:

Maye, not realizing that the people invading his house in the middle of the night were police officers...

seems somehow asymmetric to me. That said, the event was a tragedy and I hope he didn't know the guy was a cop. If he did, I hope he gets what he deserves.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#11)
by John Mann on Wed Oct 04, 2006 at 05:56:51 PM EST

The first claim is suspect because it seems internally inconsistent. If the officers had a no-knock warrant, why would they knock? The second claim does not suffer from a similar defect.

Given the circumstances, I can't imagine the cops NOT lying about it.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#7)
by terryhallinan on Wed Oct 04, 2006 at 07:14:47 PM EST

I wish Mr. Maye all the luck in the world as he and his lawyers fight for his life.

Now that the fight is over for Mr. Maye's life, he is in danger of being forgotten. There is a remarkable argument for the death penalty that it almost forces more scrutiny of cases in what we laughably call our justice system. Best, Terry

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#8)
by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Oct 04, 2006 at 07:14:47 PM EST

Why wasn't the NRA all over this case. The Castle doctrine? must be only for whites.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#9)
by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Oct 04, 2006 at 07:14:47 PM EST

Sarcastic, It's a good point you're making. There's no way to be absolutely certain about it, but for those of us who've been following this case closely, the evidence most definitely leans towards the conclusion that the police came into Maye's residence unannounced and there was no way he should have known who they were. Either way, this man should be nowhere near death row, and IMO, should be a free man.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#12)
by HK on Thu Oct 05, 2006 at 06:17:53 AM EST

suo, it is reasonable to assume that officers who had gone to the trouble of obtaining a 'no knock' warrent would not then knock. It is not reasonable to assume that a law-abiding person whose door is kicked down in the night while he was asleep by unknown persons would assume that they were police officers. I can see why you are saying that both are versions of events, but I think that logic suggests that Mr Maye is being truthful and the officers are not. In the interests of personal safety, if I were a police officer raiding a suspected drugs dealer's house, I would take the precaution of not knocking first. Equally, in the interests of personal safety (and that of my children, as with Mr. Maye) if was woken by my door being kicked in, I wouldn't wait to establish if those people were police officers at the wrong house before attempting to defend myself. It is appalling that this man and his lawyers are being treated in this way simply so no one else has to hold up our hands and say, 'actually, it was due to our mistake that this happened.' As a mother, one of the most important things I teach my children is the value of personal responsibility. And yet in the adult world, buck-passing is fast becoming the norm. It's a total disgrace.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#13)
by kdog on Thu Oct 05, 2006 at 06:17:53 AM EST

If he did, I hope he gets what he deserves.

Even if he knew they were cops ...the cops still illegally invaded the guys home, and he has the right to defend himself, his property, and his family. He'd still deserve to be released.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#14)
by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Oct 05, 2006 at 07:47:28 AM EST

Sarcastic, Both claims may be self-serving, but in only one is there clear evidence to contradict the claim. We have a reason to doubt the police, and no reason at all to doubt Mr. Maye.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#15)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Oct 05, 2006 at 10:18:25 AM EST

I get what you are all saying. My point is that I think there is reason to question the claims of both parties here - considering what's at stake - and that we should not present one side as a "claim" and the other as fact. From a previous TL entry:

Maye testified that it was dark in his apartment when he heard someone breaking into the back door, which was located in the bedroom. "That's when I fired the shots," Maye said. "After I fired the shots, I heard them yell 'police! police!' Once I heard them, I put the weapon down and slid it away. I did not know they were police officers."

If this is true, it sounds like he shot through the bedroom door at someone who was not in his home. I haven't been able to find any other info as to if the cop was actually inside the home or not. I don't know, this sounds like a grey area. Can you defend your home with deadly force if someone is inside it? Of course, and you should be able to. Can you shoot someone who's outside your home on the other side of a locked door? I'd probably say yes...assuming there is a reasonable belief that that person had malevolent intent.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#16)
by Radley Balko on Thu Oct 05, 2006 at 01:38:17 PM EST

Sarcastic, It's undisputed that Maye shot Officer Jones while Jones was in his apartment. A volunteer cop kicked the door open, Jones ran inside, and after he was just a couple of steps in, in the dark, Maye fired.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#18)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Oct 05, 2006 at 02:49:58 PM EST

Radley, thanks for stopping in. The trouble with posting on TL is that you can't make a quick comment and then duck out, sometimes you actually have to do some digging...which is not a bad thing! Anyway, I just looked at your 12/13/05 update here. I do note, to your credit since these wouldn't seem to bolster your case, that you clear up some items in that update, like

The narcotics task force did have a warrant for Cory Maye's apartment.

and

The warrant itself didn't specifically allow for a no-knock entry.

My bolds. Other items in your update do bolster your case. To me the case boils down to: "Should it have been reasonable for Corey to know that the guy busting into his home was a cop, or not?" If the police did not identify themselves before entering, I think Corey was well within his rights. If they did, well... iyo, will this case come down to a "he said, she said" as to whether the cops did in fact identify themselves before entering? Or is there no (present) claim from the police that they announced before entering?

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#19)
by Patrick on Thu Oct 05, 2006 at 03:09:01 PM EST

Sarc, Yes, Mr. Balko has stated those facts, and T-chris made the same erroneous comments before, and they were pointed out, by me, in one of the threads he links to..This one. So my question for T-chris and others, is do you read the stuff you link to...Much like Big Tent was asking in the other thread and chastizing Reynolds over...If you do, then you must know that what you are writing...

The police turned out to have busted down the wrong door;

...are lies, not mistakes. This is not a vagaries of the English language issue. Those two statements, on which T-Chris bases most of his comment are false, and he did or should have known. He gets it handed to him time and time again, but never admits his error. TL should stop him from posting obvious falsehoods. Says a lot about his firm, Kelly & Habermehl, too. Is his lawyering this sloppy? Thankfully, I'll never have to find out.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#20)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Oct 05, 2006 at 03:37:22 PM EST

Patrick, I've pointed out TChris's, er, "misrepresentations" of fact to him in the past as well, also to no avail. Conclusion - he just doesn't care. Whatever. He's the one who's got to look at his reflection in the mirror every morning.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#17)
by Patrick on Thu Oct 05, 2006 at 08:42:31 PM EST

I believe this claim was laid to rest. They had a search warrant for both sides of the duplex. Since Mr Balko is commenting on this thread perhaps he'd care to comment. With respect to the no-knock warrant, I think that is also in error or not stated as clearly as it should. One side is claiming the police executed a warrant without first knocking and announcing. The police claim they did. I don't think, IIRC and Mr Balko can again correct me if I'm wrong, the warrant was endorsed for "no-knock." T-Chris has no regard for the facts which might tend to mitigate the liability of the police. That's been clear for quite some time and in many different threads. He prefers to inflame rather than report accurately, IMO.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#21)
by Patrick on Thu Oct 05, 2006 at 08:42:31 PM EST

Sarc, He's not the one I'm concerned about...It's those who believe him and form opinions based on the information he provides.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#22)
by Radley Balko on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 09:59:48 AM EST

There are lots of questions about the warrants that still haven't been (and may never be) answered. I've written a bit about them on my site. But it now seems clear -- and the defense team is taking the position -- that Officer Jones took some shortcuts on the warrant to Maye's apartment. Basically, he merely cut and pasted the information on Smith's home to the warrant and affidavit for Maye's home, probably after realizing the house was a duplex (the wording on the two warrants is exactly the same, save for the fact that Smith is named, Maye is not). If true, this would amount to bad faith on the part of Officer Jones, in which case the warrant would be invalid, the raid would be illegal, and Maye would be legally permitted to defend himself. Maye's first attorney takes it a bit further -- she still believes that there was only one warrant, and that the second one was put together after the raid to save face. Though there's some evidence to support her contention, there isn't nearly enough to incorporate that theory into his defense. What does seem clear, though, is that from whenever or wherever it came, the warrant to Maye's home was based on flimsy evidence, and was probably illegal. Whether police announced or not isn't all that relevant. What's relevant is whether or not Maye knowingly and intentionally killed officer Jones. Given the circumstances, Maye's character, and his lack of any criminal record, that seems highly unlikely. And there's certainly not enough evidence of that to execute the man, or send him to prison for the rest of his life.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#23)
by Patrick on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 11:44:45 AM EST

What's relevant is whether or not Maye knowingly and intentionally killed officer Jones.

That is exactly why the question of the knock and announce is so important. To state that the police obtained a "No-knock" warrant is innacurate. Yes or no? It was a standard search warrant not endorsed for "no-knock service" The police did not go through the effort to obtain that endorsement and therefore the claim that they complied with knock and announce is not suspect on that point as t-chris, John Mann, HK and Gabriel Mayor have stated. There is a warrant for the residence Maye was occupying, yes or no? Whether or not they complied with the knock and announce requirement is the key to whether or not Maye knew or should have reasonably know LE was at his door. If they show LE lied and did not knock and announce then I would agree, he does not deserve to be in custody. That the warrant is alleged to be poorly written is not centeral of the case IMO. Courts in California have ruled time and time again, that warrants written, "in the heat of battle," (IIRC the quote from one of the cases) should not be reviewed hypertechnically. Whether the police should or shouldn't have been there or used the tactics they used, is meaningless in the context of what Maye knew when he shot through a closed door.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#24)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 01:19:19 PM EST

Radley, you're confusing me. First, the main issue: Whether or not the warrant was legal, illegal or ginned-up after the fact (which doesn't seem very likely to me because LE obviously knew Maye's name after the fact and therefor would have put it in the warrant) seems immaterial to me. If LE announced before Maye pulled the trigger, Maye should have known who he was shooting at. If LE didn't announce, then Maye should not be reasonably expected to know they were LE. I'll give Maye the benefit of time however, ie., if Maye was already pulling the trigger when LE announced, he may not have had time to react, that is, not finish pulling the trigger. Of course that wouldn't explain why he continued firing two more times after the first shot... Second, a side issue: Can we clear up another point of fact - did Maye shoot through a closed door or not? (As his testimony I quoted above suggests, and Patrick comments on above as well.) I recognize here there may be a timing issue here as well, ie., Maye may have shot 3x during the process of the door being busted open and Jones entering the home. In this scenario one or two of the shots could have been through the closed/just opening door and the other after the door was open and Jones was in the home. I know you've stated above that Jones was inside the home, but can you link us to your source for that info? Thanks.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#25)
by Patrick on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 01:28:19 PM EST

What does seem clear, though, is that from whenever or wherever it came, the warrant to Maye's home was based on flimsy evidence, and was probably illegal

Some other points of clarification... (1) If something is "clear" as stated in the above sentence, wouldn't we know if the warrant was illegal or not? The use of the word "Probably," seems to exclude the use of the word clear and vice versa. (2) Just because a defense attorney and a protagonist for the defense say the evidence is flimsy, doesn't really mean it is. "Flimsey" evidence is still evidence, and it need only rise to the level of probable cause for the warrant to be valid, not to the "beyond a resonabel doubt" necessary for a conviction. For the layman, probable cause means, more likely than not. (3) Dovetails from point #1, if one thing is "clear", when talking about the warrant, the author can't even say with specificity where or from whom it came. Once again, I think that rules out the use of the term, "Clear." The thing that is clear to me is, there are only a handful of people who know what went on that night. Corey Maye and the cops who were there. If the cops have a reason to lie, so does Corey Maye, and to me, his (Maye's) potential benefits from being a successful liar are far more than any of the officers. Mr. Balko is intimately aquainted with many of the details of this investigation, one has to give him that. I've read everything he has written on it. (At least everything at his site. He is a proponent of limiting SWAT teams in law enforcement, and the repeal of drug laws based on my readings, and can not be considered an unbiased reporter in this case.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#26)
by Patrick on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 01:40:13 PM EST

Actually my mistake, he is a proponent of limiting tactical teams, including SWAT and other types of teams, namely narcotic teams, that use tactical entries. Not all tactical entry teams are SWAT, and it's an important distinction, having served in both capacities simultaneously for many years. FWIW, some of my posts are being posted immediately while others seem caught up in the problems that TL has been having. It's progress in any event.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#29)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 05:24:19 PM EST

Court transcripts and stuff are here if anyone's interested. I didn't have time to read through them all, but, LE said they announced and Maye said they didn't.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#27)
by Patrick on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 07:40:34 PM EST

Man, t-chris is really at it today adding topic after topic after topic. One might think he was trying to get this thread off the front page...And he was successful with that last post.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#28)
by Dadler on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 07:40:34 PM EST

The truth still remains they burst into an innocent man's home. And that man somehow ended up on death row by merely reacting, though he isn't currently on DR. There is something wretchedly wrong with the laws and circumstances that led to this occurring. And, in this case, the police bear more responsibility. They CHOSE to do this, they didn't have to. And they were wrong. Period. The Drug War is as useless and tyrannical an effort as exists currently. Legalize it all and stop wasting time and resources and lives. Otherwise, start calling for prohibition of alcohol, which kills infinitely more people. The irrationality of our puritan roots is killing us.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#30)
by Dadler on Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 07:40:34 PM EST

How on earth, announce or no, did this become a death penalty case??? Beyond absurd. Beyond insanse. Inhumane and uncivilized.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#31)
by Patrick on Sat Oct 07, 2006 at 08:48:09 AM EST

Dadler, Because the police don't make the laws and can't pick and choose which ones they want to enforce. Based on your posts you seem a kind person, but I'm afraid you are way off base. If Maye knew they were the police he had no reason to shoot. It doesn't matter whether you think drugs should be legalized or not, the fact remains that they are not, and that's the measure of how we should view this case. I plan on keeping this thread alive til the coward who posted the lies fess's up. That may be strong, but to knowingly post a falsehood and then when called on it hide without changing or admitting it, that's cowardly.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#32)
by Patrick on Sat Oct 07, 2006 at 08:48:09 AM EST

Dadler, If you'll read the court documents linked to by SUO, you'll see the very first one is a motion to dismiss the evidence, namely, the marijuana found in Maye's apartment. IIRC correctly, it was a small amount, but illegal to possess just the same, regardless of whether it should be legal to possess, it was not at the time.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#33)
by Patrick on Sat Oct 07, 2006 at 08:48:09 AM EST

Guess I got caught up in reading the links to Maye's testimony. Wow, that was enlightening. The part about his "high life" tattoo, or the part about how he was protecting his daughter, but left her on the bed, exposed to the the "intruders" while he hid at the foot of it and shot through the door. Or that he was asleep right next to the door and never asked who was there or said, go away I've got a gun. There's tons of testimony from multiple officers that there was a knock and announcement, several of them, including the fact that they first tried one door before going to check the other. Even Mr Maye testified the he heard them at one door and then the other. I also found it interesting how Maye used the terms when he said, "They did not knock and they did not announce." Now don't any of you find it funny that he used those two term in his testimony? That's pretty sophisticated legal jargon and not how a normal person would describe it. Sounds coached to me. Or how he claims the entry was made in 10-15 seconds, yet in that time, he woke up, ran to the bedroom, retrieved the unloaded weapon, loaded it, hid at the foot of the bed before firing three times at someone he did not see or know...all in 15 seconds. There's plenty there, and it's very interesting, and it doesn't put Mr Maye into the best light IMO. He's not very believable. SUO, Thanks for those links, I think they paint a very clear picture. Hell, the judge testified that he signed two warrrants, one for each side of the duplex...Kinda shoots Ms Cooper's argument about a fabricated warrant out of the water. I certainly don't see Mr Balko's point that there is some evidence to support the fabricated warrant theory.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#34)
by Patrick on Tue Oct 10, 2006 at 10:02:14 AM EST

Hmmm, Almost three days, at least 12 other posts and t-chris still hasn't "realized" his "mistakes" in this one.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#35)
by Patrick on Tue Oct 10, 2006 at 04:45:32 PM EST

t-chris says:

That's false...There was no endorsement on the warrant for a "no-knock" entry. Nor has it ever been alleged by anyone else invovled in the case that there was. That whole concept is a figment of the author's imagination. I'd give a link, but since there's been no defense claim regarding this, there's no argument for or against it...Just t-chris' imagination. The fact is that Maye is arguing he didn't hear a knock and announce and therefore the police did not give one. There is tons of testimony in the court record from multiple sources that the knock and announce was complied with. t-chris says:

That's not a fact...That's the question the jury answered when they found him guilty. Oh yeah and the fear he felt for his daughter was commendable...Leaving her in the line of fire, lying on the bed while he hid at the foot of it. t-chris says:

The officer turned out to be the son of the police chief.

I'm not sure about that one, but so? t-chris goes on to say:

The police turned out to have busted down the wrong door; their warrant was for the adjoining unit in the duplex where Maye lived.

False again! Even the judge who signed the warrants says there were two warrants for the duplex. Once for each side. How'd they get the wrong house again t-chris? t-chris again spreads lies

Maye is black; the officer and jury were white;

Corey Maye is black...Good job there Jimmy Olson. False, the jury makeup according to Radley Balko had at least two black females on it... t-chris says:

Maye, who seems to have been acting in self-defense, was nonetheless sentenced to death.

Well that's a possible punishment for killing a police officer in the performance of their duties...and a jury found him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. As to the part about the self defense, well, he did have a lot to hide. He did have marijuana, although a very small amount. The gun he used was reported stolen (A serious crime even to possess), but of course although Maye could recall many details about when he last shot it, how much ammunition he purchased etc, he just couldn't remember the name of the "friend" who gave it to him a few months earlier. Some friend...or did Maye lie? Wait, I found something true...

The judge found that Maye's representation at sentencing was constitutionally ineffective, entitling him to a new sentencing hearing.

But what does this mean? His defense was ineffective? I'm sure this is something t-chris is intimately familiar with judging from his reporting skills, but it has little bearing on any of the other issues he raised in his post full of false information.

Re: Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing (none / 0) (#36)
by Patrick on Tue Oct 17, 2006 at 02:30:20 PM EST

Since the comments are fixed, I'd like to know if t-chris has any for this particular thread.

Cory Maye Awarded New Sentencing Hearing

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