When Marcus Taylor accepted a plea deal on a Schedule III drug charge in 2015, former Circuit Judge Clarence E. Morgan III sentenced him to 15 years in prison—despite the law only allowing a maximum five-year sentence for the crime.
Now, nearly a month after the Mississippi Court of Appeals ruled that it was unlawful for Taylor, who is Black, to remain in prison, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed an executive order on Wednesday granting him clemency and ordering his release.
Reeves signed Executive Order 1590 on Dec. 10, commuting Taylor’s sentence for conspiracy to sell a Schedule III substance. It is the first time the Republican governor has granted clemency to a prisoner since he began his first term in 2020.
The governor directed Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Burl Cain to release Taylor, who has served five more years than the law allows, within five days of the date of the executive order.
Morgan accepted Taylor’s plea in 2015 and subsequently sentenced him to a 15-year prison term. Morgan, who was a judge for Mississippi’s Fifth Judicial District, retired later that same year.
“Today, 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,” Reeves said in an announcement today. “Specifically, Mr. Taylor was sentenced in 2015 to a term of 15 years for the offense of conspiracy to sell a Schedule III controlled substance, a crime that at the time carried a maximum sentence of five years.”
“It is undisputed, as recently confirmed by all 10 members of the Mississippi Court of Appeals, that such a sentence for the offense committed plainly is illegal. Mr. Taylor has served more than 10 years of his sentence, and further service of this sentence in excess of the five-year statutory maximum constitutes a mischarge of justice. 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.
Last month, the Mississippi Court of Appeals found that “Although the trial ‘court had jurisdiction over both the person and the subject-matter,’ it did not have the ‘power’ to ‘enter the particular judgment entered’ against Marcus Taylor,” the court documents state. “Therefore, we order the immediate release of Marcus Taylor from his incarceration, as it unlawfully exceeds that which is authorized by law. Accordingly, we reverse the order denying post-conviction collateral relief. We render void the part of the corrected judgment sentencing Taylor to more than five years in custody.”
Reeves said on Dec. 10 his decision to commute Taylor’s sentence was “about justice, not mercy.”
“Mr. Taylor has served the entire five-year sentence for the crime to which he pled guilty,” he continued. “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.”
Taylor’s attorney, Joe Hemleben, sent a statement to the Mississippi Free Press on Wednesday thanking Reeves “for his decision to grant Mr. Taylor clemency.” Hemblen, who was not Taylor’s attorney at the time of the plea deal, noted that before Reeves’ order, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, a Republican, was seeking to challenge the Court of Appeals’ ruling.
“While we were successful on rehearing in the Court of Appeals, turning a 5-5 affirmance into an 8-2 reversal in Mr. Taylor’s favor, the attorney general filed for rehearing last Tuesday, and I fully expect that the State would not stop there but seek certiorari in the Mississippi Supreme Court,” the statement continued. “While I am confident that we would prevail in that Court as well, there is no way to know how long that process was going to take. Governor Reeves’ compassionate decision allays all that uncertainty and provides Mr. Taylor with immediate relief. Governor Reeves deserves credit for this brave and compassionate action.”