The Cory Maye matter
Many have grown weary of the controversy over whether or not to spare the life of Tookie Williams.
I’d like to call your attention, though, to a capital punishment case that (I would hope) you’re far more likely to agree may be more deserving of reconsideration — that of Mr. Cory Maye.
Cato wonk Radley Balko has the scoop:
“Let’s summarize: Cops mistakenly break down the door of a sleeping man, late at night, as part of drug raid. Turns out, the man wasn’t named in the warrant, and wasn’t a suspect. The man, frigthened for himself and his 18-month old daughter, fires at an intruder who jumps into his bedroom after the door’s been kicked in. Turns out that the man, who is black, has killed the white son of the town’s police chief. He’s later convicted and sentenced to death by a white jury. The man has no criminal record, and police rather tellingly changed their story about drugs (rather, traces of drugs) in his possession at the time of the raid.”
The money shot:
“What’s relevant is whether or not he reasonably believed his life was in danger. Seems pretty clear to me that that would be a reasonable assumption.”
Hat tip to Rational Review News Digest.
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[...] Props. More on the story here, here, here, here and here. [...]
[...] Angelica at the liberal blog Battlepanda suggests a left vs. right competition in publicizing the plight of Corey Maye, condemned to execution in Mississippi for daring to defend himself and his infant child. [...]