A Mississippi man who received a prison sentence far exceeding what state law allowed has been granted clemency by Gov. Tate Reeves, just weeks after his brother was released under similar circumstances. Reeves announced Wednesday that he approved clemency for Maurice Taylor, calling the case a clear miscarriage of justice that required executive action. Earlier this month, Reeves ordered the release of Maurice’s brother, Marcus Taylor, who had also been serving an illegal sentence for the same offense.
The Taylor brothers accepted plea deals in February 2015 and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell hydrocodone acetaminophen, a Schedule III controlled substance. At the time, Mississippi law capped the maximum sentence for that crime at five years. Despite that limit, Maurice Taylor was sentenced to 20 years in prison with five years suspended, while Marcus Taylor received a 15-year sentence. Reeves noted that both sentences were more than three times longer than allowed under state law, writing that “when justice is denied to even one Mississippian, it is denied to us all.”
In Marcus Taylor’s case, the Mississippi Court of Appeals initially ruled in May that his sentence was illegal but declined to grant relief because he had missed the deadline to seek post-conviction review. After reconsidering the case in November, the court reversed its position and ordered his release. Maurice Taylor’s case followed a different path. Reeves said Maurice’s post-conviction attorney contacted the governor’s office several weeks ago and provided legal documentation detailing the unlawful sentence, prompting the clemency decision.
Under the governor’s order, Maurice Taylor must be released within five days. Criminal justice reform advocates welcomed the decision but criticized how long it took to correct the error. The Mississippi Impact Coalition said the injustice should have been addressed years earlier and argued that it should not have required sustained advocacy and public pressure to resolve a case involving such a clear violation of sentencing law. The Taylor brothers are the only individuals to have received clemency from Reeves during his time in office.
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