USA - Mississippi. Former Death Row Inmate Cory Maye To Be Released From Prison

Former Death Row Inmate Cory Maye To Be Released From Prison. Cory Maye, 30, black, a man once sentenced to death for killing a police officer, will go free after pleading to manslaughter 10 years after the 2001 shooting death. Maye was charged with capitol murder in the death of white police officer Ron Jones, Jr., white, the son of the town's police chief. Maye shot and killed Jones after a group of officers, including Jones, mistakenly burst into his home. The officers were acting on a tip from a reportedly racist drug abuser that someone was selling drugs out of a nearby apartment and police officers kicked in the wrong door. Maye fired 3 shots at the officers, later testifying that he thought they were robbers and after realizing he shot a cop, immediately surrendered to police. Maye was charged with the intentional killing of Jones Jr. Following lengthy delays, Mayes' trail started in 2004. In the fall of 2007, Judge Michael Eubanks threw out Maye's death sentence, citing that he had received inadequate defense. Prosecutors agreed not to seek a new sentencing hearing, which resulted in Maye being re-sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In November 2007 the Mississippi State Court of Appeals granted Maye a new trial. The following year, the Mississippi State Supreme Court upheld the order for the new trial. After serving 10 years in prison Maye will soon be a free man due to time already served. (see also Jan. 23 2004, Sept. 21, 2006, and Nov. 2, 2007).