Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves answers a reporter's question on his announcement of a tech company expected to invest $10 billion to build two data processing centers that will create 1,000 jobs in central Mississippi, during a Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, news conference in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
- The order mandates Marcus Taylor to be released from prison in five days after serving twice the maximum state-mandated term for the crime he pled guilty to in 2015.
The first clemency issued by Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves occurred this week for a man who was found to have been improperly convicted of a drug related crime.
Marcus Taylor began serving a 15-year sentence in June 2015 after he entered a guilty plea on charges for conspiracy to sell a Schedule III controlled substance.
While he was sentenced to 15 years, every member of the Mississippi Court of Appeals, which consists of 10 judges, determined the sentence was in excess of the state mandated maximum of five years in May of this year.
The Mississippi Court of Appeals stated that “…it is apparent that Taylor’s fifteen-year sentence exceeds the five-year maximum sentence for the crime to which he pled guilty.”
Governor Reeves said in a statement Wednesday that for the first time since taking office in 2020, “I have exercised my Constitutional authority to grant executive clemency by commuting the sentence imposed on Marcus Taylor – a sentence that was three times longer than permitted under Mississippi law.”
“Specifically, Mr. Taylor was sentenced in 2015 to a term of 15 years for the offense of conspiracy to sell a Scheduled III controlled substance, a crime that at the time carried a maximum sentence of five years,” Reeves added.
The governor went on to say that the 15-year sentence was illegal and since he had already served ten of those years, it was time to right the wrong imparted on Taylor.
As part of the order, the Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Justice has five days in which to release Taylor from prison.
“As governor, it is my sworn duty to ensure that the laws of the state of Mississippi are faithfully executed without passion or prejudice, and by commuting Mr. Taylor’s sentence to time served, I am fulfilling my Constitutional duty,” Reeves said. “This is about justice, not mercy.”
Governor Reeves continued by saying that respect for the rule of law and protecting every Mississippian’s right to individual liberty and self-determination are the bedrock principles upon which our Constitutional Republic and state were founded.
“If justice is denied to one Mississippian, it is denied to us all,” Reeves said.
You can read the governor’s full order of clemency below.
