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Maye and the Blogosphere

By TChris, Section Death Penalty
Posted on Tue Dec 13, 2005 at 01:28:34 PM EST
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by TChris

TalkLeft wrote here about Cory Maye, a man who shot a police officer in the middle of the night, after the officer broke down Maye's door, believing Maye was a drug dealer. The cop's mistake (the dealer lived next door) and his aggressive approach to search warrant executions led to his tragic death, but Maye is black and the cop (son of the police chief) was white, so a Mississippi jury found Maye guilty of murder. Maye is facing a death sentence for doing nothing more than protecting his family from a perceived intruder.

TalkLeft credited Radley Balko at the Agitator for pursuing this story. Today, the Public Eye at CBS News reviews the reactions of other bloggers to Maye's case and asks whether the mainstream media will follow the blogosphere in reporting this important story.

Will it? This isn't a story about an attractive white girl gone missing in Aruba, so the answer is: don't count on it.

< Byrd on the Nuclear Option | Alito and the Death Penalty >

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    Maye and the Blogosphere | 61 comments (61 topical)
    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#1)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:58 PM EST
    For all those who get up in arms and outraged over things like Hollywood names rallying round Tookie Williams demanding and end to CP... keep in mind that the kind of publicity those names can draw to an issue is probably one of the few things, if not the only thing, aside from a strong and flush defence fund or a high profile pro bono offer, that can save Cory Mayes from the hell on earth he is living through.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#2)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:58 PM EST
    Will it? This isn't a story about an attractive white girl gone missing in Aruba, so the answer is: don't count on it.
    Yet TL spends thread after thread on the attractive white girl behind bars in Singapore. I have a question for the defense atty's around here. How does the appeals process work for those on death row? Specifically, how does the death row inmate get the appeals? Does he get them only if he has lawyers pushing for them? If so, how does he get the lawyers? Do they do this work pro bono? Is this a situation where TChris and Jeralyn can use their contacts to get Maye a good lawyer or two and some good appeals?

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#3)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:58 PM EST
    It looks like edger answered my question before I asked it. Kinda freaky.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#4)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:58 PM EST
    sarc, glad I'm not the only one thinking that way :)

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:58 PM EST
    Now, see - it's cases like this that Mike Farrell et.al. should be using to get the death penalty overturned - not mediagenic gang leaders.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:58 PM EST
    I wonder if Joan Baez will be singing at his execution. This is the case lefties and righties should and are taking up. What Michael Heinz said!

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#7)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:58 PM EST
    Yet TL spends thread after thread on the attractive white girl behind bars in Singapore. TL only reports on her when something is happening regarding her trial and incarceration, not thread after thread. Lighten up. This is one of the few sites talking about Maye this early on.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#8)
    by Lww on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:59 PM EST
    This is a bogus CP case and he won't be executed, Joe Namath this one. Why, when they have a good cause and a good case,why do people like Tchris have to reach into their bag of racial anomosity and bring up someone like poor Ms Hollaway? You already have a black guy who killed the white son of the police chief. Leave it at that.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#9)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:59 PM EST
    Thank you, LWW, my point exactly. I've brought this type of thing up several times before to TChris, but apparently he won't listen.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#10)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:59 PM EST
    T-Chris says the cop was killed partly due to "his aggressive approach to search warrant executions" OK, so in another thread a poster commented that the officer was unarmed. What exactly about this approach was "Aggressive"? I would like to know. There may be issues with this case, I don't know, but attacking the dead victim without facts that support it is deplorable in my opinion. Some nebulous comment about his aggressiveness is not a fact, and certainly not from someone who never even knew him. Your anti-law enforcement attitude is clear and luckily enough for all of us, you're entitled to that opinion, but you've stepped over the line on this one. Based on what I know about you, you seem the kind of person who would pervert the facts of a case if it suited you, never to be bothered with the truth. That sad, and you’re sad. Integrity lives not in you.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:59 PM EST
    I agree that it is wrong to attribute aggression to the fallen officer personally, rather than to the institutions as a whole who practice this utterly illegitimate tactic. Interesting to see how this plays out. If the police know they might get killed in a knock-knock-bang-bang raid, and no one will swing for it, they will probably be much more reluctant to participate in them. And that's unequivocally a good thing.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#12)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:59 PM EST
    Patrick, basically, no knock, go the wrong house, break into a person's bedroom in the middle of the night. Gee, anyone else who had done that would have rightfully been shot ... and cops aren't treated any different or above the law, right!?

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#13)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:59 PM EST
    To the righties saying THIS is the kind of case lefties oughtta be taking up...who the F*CK do you think is taking it up NOW??? Blame the media, if anything, for only covering DP cases like Tookie's. Hate to break it to you, but people who oppose the death penalty actually do it all the time, not just in high profile cases. Sure, some do, but mostly you simply don't hear about, or attempt to hear about, all the work being done when you're napping.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#14)
    by The Heretik on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:59 PM EST
    For those who care, if the Streamlined Justice bill ever becomes law, any appeal someone like Cory Maye might have on grounds of habeas corpus would be severely limited. The government now is more interested in limiting appeals to justice more than it cares for justice itself. What strange priorities we have when procedure counts more than the citizen. One can almost here Kafka now whispering to Faulkner

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#15)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:59 PM EST
    Patrick, basically, no knock, go the wrong house, break into a person's bedroom in the middle of the night. Gee, anyone else who had done that would have rightfully been shot ... and cops aren't treated any different or above the law, right!?
    First off, it was not the wrong house. If you'll read the updated post that T-Chris himself links to, you'll see the police officers had a search warrant for both apartments. That's of course taking his account at face value. If there is something there that indicates aggressiveness on the part of the dead police officer, I've yet to see it. If your comments are related to police tactics, that's fine and obviously a valid point of contention. To accuse the officer, who was merely invited along to witness the end of an investigation his information started, of aggressiveness is a deplorable act and smacks of cowardice. as I said this case may have issues, and Maye's defense in those avenues may be proper, but in reviewing the facts of the case, I can find nothing in the records to indicate the officer who was killed was doing anything "agressive" or has an "aggressive approach to search warrant executions." If you have information to the contrary please provide it. Slandering him in an attempt to justify the actions of the other man is repulsive. T-Chris' comments are indicative of a whorish defense counsel who will say anything to muddy the water. People like that deserve no respect, and cast a negative light on all the ethical defense attorneys in practice. But of course, he knows all this already.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#16)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:59 PM EST
    Patrick, after an incredibly contentious beginning I would like to think we have a certain (grudging;-) mutual respect. I think you made your point in the first 20 lines of your last post. The rest was kind of a gratuitious attack. I see your point about the warrant, perhaps we can discuss this further tomorrow.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#17)
    by scarshapedstar on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:59 PM EST
    T-Chris' comments are indicative of a whorish defense counsel who will say anything to muddy the water. People like that deserve no respect, and cast a negative light on all the ethical defense attorneys in practice. But of course, he knows all this already.
    Oh, and prosecutors won't say anything to muddy the water? I wonder how many wrongfully executed people are spinning in their graves. Maybe you ought to try defending a big ugly black guy in a capital murder case in the deep south. Or just ask my dad about it, he has a deal with the public defender's office to handle every capital case in St. Tammany Parish, the reddest parish in Louisiana (home of David Duke). And you know, I'm sure he'd tell you that he'll say anything to muddy the waters. Hell, he gives a seminar on an all-purpose method to terrify jurors out of even considering the death penalty. He's certainly taken his share of sh*t over the years from people (usually of the Republican persuasion, curiously enough) who are convinced he takes some sort of pleasure in defending rapists and murderers and, most recently, girls who put their baby in the dryer. (After all, it's not like the pay is good; if he wanted to lie and help people do unspeakable things and get rich, he could just start working under Alberto Gonzales.) Well, that or he strongly believes in limiting the power of the government and doesn't take lightly the duty of being the only friend on earth to someone whom the State wants to kill. And I'm pretty sure that after 30 years in the nation's most corrupt state, he's seen a lot of bullsh*t in the courtroom. In fact, even I have; I went to the sentencing phase for one of his trials not too long ago, and the prosecution's arguments for why a guy accused of killing his parents should die despite the wishes of his siblings and children were about as lame and muddying-the-waters as it gets. On second thought, screw all that, let's just let the State do whatever it wants.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#18)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:59 PM EST
    Hopefully your father could do all that without making up lies about the victim.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#19)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:00 PM EST
    Dadler: Gimme a break:
    Hate to break it to you, but people who oppose the death penalty actually do it all the time, not just in high profile cases. Sure, some do, but mostly you simply don't hear about, or attempt to hear about, all the work being done when you're napping.
    You got a link to a Mike Farrell quote about this case? Which flights are Joan Baez and Jesse Jackson booked on to fly to Mississippi? You can bet they would not have shown up if Tookie was only a member of the Crips instead of the Founder when he murdered those four people. The MSM is not going to cover it because the Limosine Libs are not going to cover it.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#20)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:00 PM EST
    Wile, You are humorously unaware, or too lazy to easily research, Mike Farrell's decades-long activism in this area. And, of course, Joan Baez has NEVER been protest-oriented. Where have you been napping? I'm no fan of the MSM, or limousine liberals or conservatives, but I can clearly recognize activists who've been so for eons.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#21)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:00 PM EST
    Add Wile, And here's your Mike Farrell link... to the ANTI-DEATH PENALTY ORGANIZATION OF WHICH HE'S PRESIDENT.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#22)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:00 PM EST
    Patrick, as I understand it the police chief's son was invited along as a courtesy. Is it your experience that guests are 1st thru the door? And I see your point about the warrant. Boy, was that a bad warrant, it should never have been issued for Mayes residence.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#23)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:00 PM EST
    Dadler: I think you missed my point. This is the execution that, if exploited, could mobilize alot op people against the death penalty. But... Thanks for the link to Farrells site! I knew he was active in this area, but I looked on the site and found nothing on this execution up coming. He only lists upcoming CA executions! Like I said, he has not mentioned this case. Not even on his web site. I ask again, will we see Joan at this exectuion? I know she has protested. This execution though does not seem to be on any of their scopes. I guess he should have founded a gang or written childrens books.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#24)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:00 PM EST
    TChris wrote:
    but Maye is black and the cop (son of the police chief) was white, so a Mississippi jury found Maye guilty of murder.
    Since TChris is an attorney, I wonder how he can write something like the above. His bias towards the citizens of Mississippe is so glaring obvious I find it difficult to believe anything he has written about the case.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#25)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:00 PM EST
    Patrick, I took TChris's reference to aggressive police tactics to mean the breaking down of the door. There is a lot of debate about how much time there should be between a knock and breaking down a door (wasn't there just a supreme court decision about this? I think decided in the police's favor). I don't know the details of this case, but did the police knock and if so, how long did they wait before knocking down the door? Because if you are going to be doing this sort of thing in the middle of the night, I would think it reasonabl to give people some time to wake up and realize that it is the police banging at the door and not some intruder. Some cops think it is more important to get in fast before evidence can be destroyed, but this could fairly be categorized as "aggressive" and could fairly be considered a reason that this police officer ended up shot. I don't think that is just a "whorish defense counsel" reading of the situation.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#26)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:00 PM EST
    I think the 'destroy evidence' excuse is bogus in this case. Kinda hard to flush pounds of pot.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#27)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:00 PM EST
    Oh, I get it, serving a search warrant, signed by a magistrate in a manner authorized by law is what's aggressive. Well, that certainly clear it up.
    The cop’s mistake (the dealer lived next door) and his aggressive approach to search warrant executions led to his tragic death,
    If course the use of pronouns in this sentence indicates the statement is about one cop, not the profession or the practice of serving no-knock search warrants. Both of which would be valid points of argument even if I disagree. Sorry J.B., I'm not buying it. BTW, according to the Radley Balko link, the cops had a search warrant for both apartments, so how that is the cop's mistake also escapes me.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#28)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:00 PM EST
    Sailor, No, he usually wouldn't be first in the initial entry, but it's possible to be first entering an interior room. Depends on how they do it, but SWAT operations are pretty much standardized. Without looking at their op plan and knowing how they train, I couldn't comment on it intelligently

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#29)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:01 PM EST
    I believe the "aggresiveness" comes into play when knowing that one informant, with no other corroboration, was used to get a warrant for the drug dealers apt., in which the dealer was named, and for Mayes apt., in which none of the occupants were named but instead had it made out for "occupants unknown". Don't know that I would call sloppy police work "aggresive" or just downright lazy on the part of officer Jones. More than one informant, hopefully the one they used provided the correct information, and an attempt to find out who exactly lived at the adjoining apartment would have been what most, and I am only going on what PO's I have known have said, officers in this situation would have done. If any research had been done the officer would find that Mayes had no previous record for anything, that he, his girlfriend, and their daughter had moved in just two months earlier, and that Mayes girlfriend worked at a factory which had overnight shifts. Since the two parents were both working family members were needed to provide child care and that meant shuttling the child to and fro at odd hours. Officer Jones took this as evidence of drug trafficking after one days surveilance. Not what I would call aggressive police work, but definitely sloppy. As for all of the other lame ass attempts, by the White, Right Wing A#$ Clowns that sleaze around here, to diminish the effect of racism in this case is falling on deaf ears. Pack it in guys, the majority of sane people commenting here see through you goons. One other thing: I think it is important for all DP cases to be challenged, but as for what type of person to use as a national symbol to galvanize people I think that a regular guy like Cory Mayes is much more appealing than a person like Tookie Williams. Let's admit it, even though he claimed to be innocent of the murders he was convicted of, he was, more than likely, involved in one way or another the deaths of others on the streets of LA. I'm still against the DP, but I do find it hard to feel sorry for a guy like Tookie that helped instigate a war in Los Angeles amongst gangs that are full of minorities just like him. He helped do the work that James Robertson, BB, PPJ, Patrick, and all of the other account holders at Stormfrontdotorg have been wishing they could themselves.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#30)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:01 PM EST
    Feel better Sherm? fwiw, I just got an email from a friend about this case with info about how to contact Mississippi Gov Barbour. Awareness is building.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#31)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:01 PM EST
    Patrick, Knew less about the case when I wrote more first post, so let me update. I think a no-knock warrant for the adjoining apartment is legitimately classified as an "aggressive approach to search warrant operations" by the police. I don't know if the dead officer had anything to do with obtaining the warrant. If he did, he acted aggressively, if he didn't, the other police acted aggressively and have some culpability for the death of their fellow officer (as well as the judge who issues such a warrant). According to ShermBuck's post above, Jones was involved in obtaining the search warrant. He says it is just sloppy, not agressive, but if he asked for a no-knock warrant, than I would say that is aggressive if you plan to break into someone's house in the middle of the night.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#32)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:01 PM EST
    Just curious..does anyone know what right leaning groups are coming to the aid of Mr. Maye?

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#33)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:01 PM EST
    Sometime in late 2001, Officer Ron Jones collected a tip from an anonymous informant that Jamie Smith, who lived opposite Maye in a duplex, was selling drugs out of his home. Jones passed the tip to the Pearl River Basin Narcotics Task Force, a regional police agency in charge of carrying out drug raids in four surrounding counties. The task force asked Jones if he'd like to come along on the raid they'd be conducting as the result of his tip. He obliged.
    According to the post T-Chris linked to, it doesn't even appear that Officer Jones authored the warrant, so any sloppiness on the part of the author or failure to corroborate information is not his fault. That may all be valid arguments for why he shouldn't be sentenced to death, and for all I know it was a case of mistaken identity and he doesn't even deserve to be behind bars. Attacking the dead cop and trying to use him as the excuse is sickening. Funny, T-Chris hasn't chimed in to defend his position. I'll wait.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#34)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:01 PM EST
    JB, Exactly neither does T-Chris, (Or at least he hasn't shown any) which is why I take exception to his characterization of the dead officer as being to blame. If he deserves any criticism it's for not being prepared to meet deadly force with deadly force during a high risk operation such as a search warrant. The cop was not unarmed as some have said, he just did not have his weapon drawn at the time. A tactical mistake, and one that does not indicate a tendency for over agressiveness IMO.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#35)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:01 PM EST
    kdog, both right & left & the libertarian outliers

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#36)
    by soccerdad on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:01 PM EST
    Patrick, It seems possible from what I've read that the police may have failed to "announce" themselves well enough, especially if the people were asleep. But I would not characterize that necessarily as over-agressive behavior, since if they had done everything exactly the same and keep yelling "THis is the police" the outcome may have been different.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#37)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:01 PM EST
    Soccerdad, Fine, even taking the facts of the case as offered by defense counsel, that still leaves T-Chris' baseless accusations maligning an officer who was killed in the line of duty. Pardon me if I take that seriously. He should either recant or ammend his comments, or at least show up to defend them. If he has read this thread, he hasn't commented. Why is that?

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#38)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:01 PM EST
    Thanks sarc...I find that heartening. Is Oops! a valid defense for police when they break the law? If it is true that the police broke into Maye's home, and they did not have a warrant for the Maye home, isn't that simple breaking and entering? I mean, if a civilian broke through my window, but he meant to break the window of my neighbor's home for which he had permission to enter through the window, is that breaking and entering?

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#39)
    by roy on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:01 PM EST
    Balko is doing a bang-up job researching this topic. We, as idle commenters, are not. We're continuing to toss around notions which have been disproved or cast into serious doubt. The biggest being that the cops broke in by mistake: it turns out they had a warrant to enter Maye's place, too. It'd be real helpful to hit Balko's blog, maybe press "refresh", before commenting. Not picking on anybody in particular, except myself because I've done it too.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#40)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:01 PM EST
    Kdog, They did have a warrant for both residences in the duplex so that point is moot. But if they didn't and it was a mistake, there is no criminal intent and no crime. Civil liability may be another issue. Same with a civilian. At least it is in California.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#41)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:01 PM EST
    Point taken on my point being moot in this case. But are you saying if I go to California and break into someone's house with the sole intent of simply introducing myself, I'm not breaking the law?

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#42)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:01 PM EST
    "Is Oops! a valid defense for police when they break the law? If it is true that the police broke into Maye's home, and they did not have a warrant for the Maye home, isn't that simple breaking and entering?" kdog, I don't know, but what I do know is that the lastest info from Balko is that the cops DID have a warrant for Mayes' house. I'm not sure why folks aren't getting that. To me, this all boils down to whether Mayes knew or should reasonably have known that the guys busting in were cops. From what I've seen reported so far, I think he didn't know. I imagine that's something that an appeal would cover.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#43)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:01 PM EST
    Ok, the warrent issue's already been addressed...

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#44)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:01 PM EST
    The warrant was for "unnamed person" at Maye's address. Maye was not identified in the warrant. It was a blanket warrant that had no legal justification, unless being a neighbor is indicative of culpability. And I believe that the courts have shown that a separate residence includes duplexes, no? Also, there were several, shall we say, "alterations" in the times entered on the police reports, which adds credibility to the claim that there was an attempt to place MJ in Maye's apartment after the fact. Oh, well a JUDGE signed the warrant. So. He was F**ked up too.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#45)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:01 PM EST
    It's worse than I thought when police can get search warrants for the homes of "unnamed persons". What's next? Warrants to search "unnamed persons" at "unnamed addresses"?

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#46)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:01 PM EST
    Kdog,
    But are you saying if I go to California and break into someone's house with the sole intent of simply introducing myself, I'm not breaking the law?
    That's a different scenario, there you have intent to break without permission or authority and that would be a crime. It's only burglary in California if you enter with the intent to commit a theft or some other felony. But, 603 PC, covers simple B&E without the intent above.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#47)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:01 PM EST
    Thanks Pat.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#48)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:02 PM EST
    Sherm – Check your calendar, send one to TChris. Repeat after me. It is 2005, not 1965.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#49)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:02 PM EST
    Just for the record, according to Balko, Jones was the author of the search warrants. However, even Balko does not fault Jones for the incident.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#50)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:02 PM EST
    Patrick, thanks for your comments. I didn't get why you were so upset w/ TC's remarks, now I do (within my limits;-)

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#51)
    by BigTex on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:02 PM EST
    but Maye is black and the cop (son of the police chief) was white, so a Mississippi jury found Maye guilty of murder.
    That quote is pure racism. Is there a shread of evidence to indicate truthfulness to this statement? PPJ says it nicely, but this one warrants piling on. Had a statement been he's black so we know it's murder; gut feeling is the statement would draw a rebuke from TL. I could be wrong, but that is the gut feeling. TC's quote is in the same vein.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#52)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:02 PM EST
    Oh yeah the jury was also all white. Two said they were unsure but didn't like his lawyer's closing comments, so they voted guilty. But it was fair.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#53)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:02 PM EST
    There were two black female jurors, and guess what? They voted to convict as well. That's what you get when you take everything you read at face value.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#54)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:02 PM EST
    BigTex...that's not racist...that's Mississippi legal precedent.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#55)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:02 PM EST
    I have to say this. The more I think about it, this case would be laughable if it weren't so serious. I personally have to question the sanity and brain cell count of the jury, prosecutors, everyone. As well as the integrity of the police in this case. Mississippi "justice" has about as bad a reputation as you can get in this nation, and rightly so for the most part. It makes less than no sense, it seems downright Orwellian in certain respects.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#56)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:02 PM EST
    Patrick, You are correct about the jury makeup. Sorry. But the excuses about the defense attorney were accurate.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#57)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:02 PM EST
    I think he had a right to shoot whether or not he knew the people at his door were cops. He had his young daughter there, and as I see from another post at TalkLeft, cops like to strip search young girls.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#58)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:02 PM EST
    I saw there was a comment in the recent posts section, but based on past experience from the above poster, I should've know it wouldn't be intelligent.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#59)
    by aw on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:02 PM EST
    What if this had happened in Florida under the it's okay-to-shoot-anybody-who-looks-at-you-the-wrong -way law?

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#60)
    by roy on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:07:03 PM EST
    What if this had happened in Florida under the it's okay-to-shoot-anybody-who-looks-at-you-the-wrong -way law?
    A) Please read Florida's new law (PDF). The law regarding violent response to funny looks has not changed. B) It's still illegal in Florida to knowingly shoot a cop who's doing his job. We'd still be trying to divine the shooter's knowledge and thoughts at the time of the shooting. I suspect this is true in every state which broadly allows people to shoot intruders.

    Re: Maye and the Blogosphere (none / 0) (#61)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Feb 02, 2006 at 05:04:52 PM EST
    There is now a petition up for people express their dismay at Maye's sentencing, and their insistence on his unconditional pardon by the governor of Mississippi. TChris, would you be willing to promote a link to the top of your blog or sidebar? Thanks to any and all for signing.

    Maye and the Blogosphere | 61 comments (61 topical)