Cory Maye's Open Letter To Supporters

Cory Maye, the man sentenced to death in 2004 for shooting and killing a police officer during a during a botched drug raid in 2001, agreed to a plea agreement on Friday that would allow him to go home. Maye's death sentence was revoked in 2006 due to ineffective counsel during the sentencing portion of his trial.

Last year, Maye was awarded a new trial by the Mississippi Supreme Court, which found that Maye should have been allowed to offer a defense that he was defending the life of his 18-month-old daughter, who was in his home at the time of the raid.

When I reported Maye's case on my blog in 2005, it attracted widespread support from blogs and advocates around the Internet. During his time in prison Maye has exchanged letters with supporters and been given donations to help his family visit him, as well as to buy gifts for his kids. (He has a son as well as his daughter.)

After agreeing to his plea yesterday, Maye gave me a letter to share with the people who have advocated for him over the last five years.

I really don’t know where to start because I’ve missed out on so much in 9 1/2 years. I guess my first 3-4 weeks spent bonding with family & friends. Me and the kids will probably spend a lot of time fishing and going to the park for walks, where we can talk about about whatever comes to mind.

I know I must get a job as soon as possible. There are a few things my kids have asked for in the last few years that I haven’t been able to get them. I know they’re going to be really excited knowing I’m home, and that daddy will be there for their b-days, Christmas, and more. Maybe we’ll stay up all night watching movies, eating cookies and ice cream.

I guess I’m just ready to share all this love that I have built up inside of me all these years. No more late nights or days just wishing I can hold my kids & tell them that their daddy loves them with all his heart. I’m sure my not being physically present has affected them in many ways. I just pray that it’s not too late, and together we can work on healing one another.

I realize a lot of people are going to wonder why I accepted a plea. We just felt that regardless of the facts and evidence that pointed in my favor, there was the possibility that one or more jurors could not see it my way, causing a mistrial. That could leave me sitting here another nine months or more, or longer if it keeps repeating that way.

This is Mississippi, and some people refuse to let go of their old ways from the old days. I just didn’t want to put my family through any more heartache, and didn’t want to have to wait any longer. It was take a chance of a mistrial, or grab hold of my future and be the man/father/friend that I can be, and that my family loves and misses.

I’ll forever be grateful to all the friends and supporters that have been with me throughout all of this. I thank God daily because it’s good to know this world we live in can have many wonderful & caring people in it. I consider myself blessed to know you all are out there. I’ll forever be in your debt. Thanks a million, and may we continue to stay in touch.

Love,

Cory J. Maye

Comments

[j4bs4209333]

12:03 AM on 07/04/2011

I would have taken the plea too. I wouldn't want to take the chance of 1 in 12 voting guilty. I do hope he gets out of jail and immediately moves out of Mississippi. He is going to be a marked man there. I also hope he applies for a governor's and/or presidential pardon. He did nothing wrong to defend his life and the life of his family.

[jmac3137]

09:39 PM on 07/02/2011

Dear Mr. Maye,

Please leave MS. It won't be safe for you. They will probably try and set you up for death or injury. For the sake of your well-being and your family's, please do not assume that these people will consider everything squared up, they never will. Their type of racial hatred and bias will remain entrenched in their psyche. I would not sign a document that states that you are now guilty of manslaughter. You didn't come around looking for trouble and you should have been exonerated of all charges. I know that you want to get out, but I hope that your lawyers have read the fine print in Mississippi's laws. Don't become victimized twice because you were unaware of loopholes. Furthermore, for the record, the drug addict who was described as a racist individual, should have been charged for giving false information that lead to the cop's death. If anyone should have been charged with murder, it should have been that miscreant.

May your life be golden beyond anyone's attempts otherwise.

[buggedabouttheus]

06:03 PM on 07/02/2011

A better man than many, Godspeed onto a happy life with family and friends Mr. Maye.

[BlindChance]

05:34 PM on 07/02/2011

I wish you the absolute best Cory. Your humility and graciousness is admirable and a remarkable example of the human spirit. My you and your family achieve healing and happiness moving forward.

[John Shaw]

05:14 PM on 07/02/2011

It is Mississippi after all...

Glad he took the deal...some justice is better than none. And, for some reason white people continually believe in this myth that justice is color blind and racism no long exists...

IT's perplexing to say the least...

[Buakaw Por Pramuk]

05:50 PM on 07/02/2011

"And, for some reason white people continuall y believe in this myth that justice is color blind and racism no long exists.."

SOME white people do. If it weren't for an outraged white man named Radley Balko and a lot of his white readers Coery would have rotted forever in that jail.

[Icecube]

06:14 PM on 07/02/2011

Unfortunately as "bad" blacks taint an entire race, so follows the logic.

[melbatoast3361]

05:00 PM on 07/02/2011

Since police use the same methods as criminals to gain access to a residence. Home invasions, how do you propose the citizens tell the difference?

[KIampfbeobachter]

04:55 PM on 07/02/2011

Mr. Maye, get your family and yourself out of this country asap.
You and your children are from now on fair game for every police officer especially the white ones.
Do not expect that the courts will protect you any further. You have been forced into a "plea of guilt" That makes you a criminal for live in each and every state in the USA.
Try to get political asylum in Europe while your story is fresh.

[John P Slevin]

06:59 PM on 07/02/2011

I know your suggestion comes from the right place.

However, since most of us would be staying behind the nation would be worse without Mr. Maye.

Besides, if anyone is to go into exile it should be abusive cops, prosecutors, judges, bureaucrats, politicians and their cronies.

[jusathot]

09:07 PM on 07/02/2011

Good advice. Fanned for it.

[mslovey]

04:43 PM on 07/02/2011

Tear-jerking! All the best for the future bro.

[humpfree]

04:08 PM on 07/02/2011

Here's a detailed account of Maye's case written before the plea agreement. It gives perspective from all angles.

http://truthinjustice.org/cory-maye.htm

[pearlx2]

03:23 PM on 07/02/2011

Thank you, Cory, for reminding us that while there are still plenty of people in this country who refuse to let go of their old ways from the old days, as you put it, there are just as many who are willing to volunteer their time and effort in order to work for freedom for those who have been wronged.

This gives us hope that maybe one day America will live up to the lofty words of the Pledge of Allegiance . . . "with LIBERTY and JUSTICE for all."

God bless you and your family. We apologize for the years you spent apart through no fault of your own.

[PMVB]

02:57 PM on 07/02/2011

I want those police officers, those who acted on their own racist beliefs , made accountable + taken through the court of law.
And I don,t care what Cory agreed to , to get out of prison, he is surely now entitled to financial compensation big time. I don,t want to see another injustice heaped onto him.

[onwisconsin]

03:40 PM on 07/02/2011

Don't forget the over-zealous prosecutor.

[KIampfbeobachter]

04:39 PM on 07/02/2011

The Supreme Trash has already seen to it that he gets nothing.

[minnvoter]

06:01 PM on 07/02/2011

I disagree. He gets to be HOME, with his family around him.

Everything else is just details.

[politicaljunkie41910]

02:55 PM on 07/02/2011

I find it fascinating that those Red State folks, who are always proclaiming their 2nd Amendment rights, and their right to protect themselves and their property from intruders would be hell bent on prosecuting someone who defended himself and his family in his home, from an invasion of unannounced police officers, during the middle of the night.

[mallah]

04:22 PM on 07/02/2011

You are oh so fanned!

[transe]

05:17 PM on 07/02/2011

they're white, he's not. i'm southern, and white too. there is, especially in rural areas, a faction of our society down here, where nothing much has really changed in the last 40 years or so. i'm not excusing it, or saying it is right. but, it is what it is. there area a lot of good, decent people down here of all colors. but, there are also a lot of not so good people down here, who make it difficult for the rest of us. i sincerely hope he and his family are able to get their lives together, because i don't imagine it is going to be easy.

[CateManhattan]

10:44 PM on 07/02/2011

It happens in the north too -- they just cover it up better.

[s4watson]

02:50 PM on 07/02/2011

FINALLY GOOD NEWS! may God bless you and your family.

[Icecube]

02:49 PM on 07/02/2011

This happens all over the USA when blacks defend themselves. Not just Mississippi.

[pearlx2]

03:14 PM on 07/02/2011

Yes, you're right. And sometimes when they're doing nothing but driving while black.

[LeftTurns]

02:47 PM on 07/02/2011

The sad part is that there are many other "Cory Mayes" that are behind bars. Sometimes justice just wants to be "blind."

[pearlx2]

03:15 PM on 07/02/2011

So true. Thank God for those like the Innocence Project who are fighting for these "many others," even though it's a slow, slow process.

[JenniferEccles]

03:49 PM on 07/02/2011

Wait a second. True justice is, by definition, never blind. But because our justice system is made up of human beings, some of them incompetent, situations like this happen. The general public must keep an eye on these stories and demand that these wrongs be righted.

[plaidsportcoat]

10:54 PM on 07/02/2011

We'd all be working overtime if we did.