Man Freed After 10 Years in Prison for a Crime That Legally Didn't Exist

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves has ordered the immediate release of a man who served over a decade in prison under an illegal sentence. Marcus Taylor received clemency this week. He had been imprisoned for more than 10 years of a 15-year sentence. However, the crime he was convicted of carried a maximum penalty of only five years under state law. This made his original 15-year sentence unlawful. The governor’s action, known as a grant of clemency, ends Taylor’s incarceration. No further reason for the decision was provided in the announcement. Taylor has now been released from the Mississippi State Penitentiary.