I know in the pre-election hubub, this is a bit of a tangent. But I think this case has radical implications for gun rights, the war on drugs, civil liberties, and the constitutional right to a fair trial and adequate defense.

In case you’re not familiar, Corey Maye was a black defendant railroaded through Mississippi’s legal system after fatally shooting a police officer. The facts of the case make it pretty clear that it’s *highly* unlikely that Maye knowingly shot and killed the officer in question (who happened to be the local police chief’s son). I won’t rehash it all here as Radley Balko’s done a much better job over the past year than I could do, but upon even a cursory glance I think you’ll agree that Maye is getting the shaft-o-rama. And you thought institutional racism and denial of due process in the South was a thing of the past. Heh.

Unless he knowingly and deliberately shot and killed the cop, he shouldn’t be facing the death penalty. Unfortunately, Corey was black, poor, and without the resources for an adequate defense. As a result, after a blindingly fast trial and sentencing, Corey Maye was sentenced to die.

By any reasonable standard, Maye has been unfairly steamrolled by an unfair justice system–his lawyer hadn’t handled a single murder case prior to Corey’s, he was a poor guy in a poor town, and a black defendant accused of intentionally shooting a white cop in Mississippi. Read up on it. The whole thing stinks.

Before you shrug it off…remember, it could happen to nearly any of us. Injustice for Corey is injustice for all of us.