I apologize if this has been diaried already today, but as someone who has followed the trial of Cory Maye, the Mississippi man who was sent to death row under very questionable circumstances following a botched drug raid, I want to get out the word on this.
Bob Evans, Maye's attorney, is launching a run for the state legislature in Mississippi. Radley Balko breaks the news over his site, TheAgitator:
Bob Evans is making a go at public office. It's my pleasure to help him get word out to blogland about his decision. Bob, you'll remember, is Cory Maye's chief counsel. He's also a defense attorney in private practice. You may also remember that Bob stuck by Cory even after being threatened by the mayor of Prentiss that he'd lose his gig as public defender if he continued to represent Maye in his appeal. Bob continued to represent Cory, and ended up losing his job (I'm still fairly certain all of this was illegal).
Bob's no libertarian (he'll be the first to tell you that), but I think readers of this site would do well to help him out if they can. For one, he tells me criminal justice reform will be one of his pet causes in Jackson. And Bob's seen a hell of a lot that needs to be reformed. One thing near and dear to Agitator land he said he'll push for is the codified right to record police officers while they're on the job. Bob's other pet issue is actually a tax cut. He wants to eliminate Mississippi's tax on groceries, a tax that seems particularly odious given that the state is one of the poorest in the country.
Bob tells me the real race here is in the primary, which takes place next month. RThis part of Mississippi rarely sends Republicans to Jackson. So conservative Democrats who vote like Republicans (which, Bob says, is an apt description of the incumbent) fight it out in the primary with more liberal Democrats (which probably describes Bob), and the winner usually has an easy time of it in the general election.
I'd imagine that most people outside the state of Mississippi don't care much about the state's tax code, property taxes, or other issues. But most people reading this site do care about criminal justice issues, and Bob has told me that's an area he'll spend a lot of time looking into if elected.
In standing up for Maye and continuing to defend him, Evans has displayed a level of courage rarely seen by politicians today. If you're in the area, please consider helping him in his race.