JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A man sentenced to years longer than his maximum sentence for false imprisonment has received clemency from Mississippi’s governor, weeks after the man’s brother received clemency in a similar case.
Gov. Tate Reeves announced Wednesday that he will grant clemency to Maurice Taylor. The man’s brother, Marcus Taylor, received clemency from the governor earlier this month for another unlawful conviction.
In February 2015, the brothers accepted a plea bargain and pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell a Schedule III substance.
At the time, the maximum penalty for conspiracy to sell a Schedule III substance was five years. However, Maurice Taylor was sentenced to 20 years in prison, suspended for 5 years, and Marcus Taylor was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
“Like his brother, Maurice Taylor received a sentence more than three times longer than allowed under Mississippi law,” Reeves wrote in the statement. “When justice is denied to even one Mississippian, justice is denied to all of us.”
In May, the Mississippi Court of Appeals ruled that Marcus Taylor’s sentence was illegal, but did not commute it because Taylor missed a deadline to apply for post-conviction relief. After rehearing the case in November, the court reversed course and ordered his release.
In Wednesday’s order, Reeves wrote that Maurice Taylor’s post-conviction attorney first contacted his office weeks ago to provide legal documents in his case. Under Reeves’ order, Maurice Taylor must be released within five days.
The AP could not immediately identify and contact Maurice Taylor’s post-conviction attorney.
The brothers were the only ones to receive leniency from Reeves.