US EditionMississippi man ordered freed after serving more than 10 years of an illegal 15-year sentence
Marcus Taylor served more than 10 years of an illegal 15-year sentence for a crime with a five-year maximum before Governor Reeves granted clemency.
- On Wednesday, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves granted clemency to Marcus Taylor, who was illegally sentenced to 15 years exceeding the five-year statutory maximum.
- Marcus Taylor accepted a plea in February 2015, but both the trial court and plea petition misstated the maximum as 20 years, leading a judge to impose a 15-year sentence.
- Taylor has served more than 10 years, exceeding the five-year maximum; the Mississippi Court of Appeals ruled in May the sentence was illegal but ordered his release last month after a rehearing.
- Reeves ordered Taylor's release within five days, marking his first clemency since 2020 and saying it's `This is about justice, not mercy`.
- The appeals court characterized continued incarceration beyond five years as a mischarge of justice, and Taylor's lawyer was not immediately available for comment.
25 Articles
25 Articles
Gov. Reeves Grants Clemency to Black Man Who Was Illegally Sentenced to 15 Years
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves granted clemency to Marcus Taylor, a Black man whom a judge illegally sentenced to serve 15 years in prison for a Schedule III drug offense. The law only permitted a maximum five-year prison sentence. The post Gov. Reeves Grants Clemency to Black Man Who Was Illegally Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison appeared first on Mississippi Free Press.
Associated Press News
Mississippi man ordered freed after serving more than 10 years of an illegal 15-year sentence
A man illegally sentenced to 15 years in prison on a drug conviction is set to walk free after Mississippi's governor granted him clemency. Gov.
For the first time, Gov. Reeves grants executive clemency to a prisoner
For the first time, Gov. Reeves grants executive clemency to a prisoner JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Gov. Reeves has granted executive clemency to a prisoner for the first time since taking office. The governor granted clemency to Marcus Taylor, who, in 2015, accepted a plea bargain and pled guilty to conspiracy to sell a Schedule III substance. The state of Mississippi recommended a fifteen-year sentence, which was accepted by the trial judge. All t…
Mississippi governor grants executive clemency to man sentenced on drug charge
JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) - For the first time since taking office, Governor Tate Reeves (R-Miss.) granted executive clemency to a man who was sentenced on a drug charge. Reeves said he signed Executive Order 1590, which grants executive clemency to Marcus Taylor. He said Taylor was illegally sentenced to 15 years in prison. In February [...]
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 53% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
