Resentencing trial begins for man convicted of 1995 murder of two friends in Decatur

May 7—The State made its opening argument Monday morning in front of a jury that will ostensibly decide whether Corey Maples, convicted of murder in 1997 for fatally shooting his two friends in Decatur, will be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.

Friday evening, July 7, 1995, Corey Maples and Stacy Terry were "out and about" in Decatur, according to Alabama Assistant Attorney General Polly Kenny. Terry went by the nickname "Twink," or "Twinkie," due to his fondness for the snack cake. He drove Maples around in his then-new Chevrolet Camaro, with personalized tags that read "TWINK," to various local spots before they ended up at a pool hall, according to Kenny.

"There didn't appear to be any problems between them at all," Kenny, in a white blazer and black blouse, told the jury. Maples and Terry had been high school classmates and spent a lot of time together in the weeks leading up to the murders, according to the original trial court's summary.

At the pool hall, the pair met Barry Robinson, Kenny said. Robinson was new to the area, although Maples and Terry had known him for months. Robinson asked for a ride home from the pool hall.

"Maples was dropped off at his house near Mud Tavern Road, got his .22-caliber rifle, and shot Terry and Robinson in the head, in the car," Kenny said. Maples then pulled Terry's body from the Camaro, took his wallet, and drove away, according to Kenny. She said Maples stopped near Mud Tavern Creek and dumped Robinson's body in the creek.

During Kenny's opening, Maples watched intently through black-framed glasses. He sat with his team of defense attorneys on the right side of the courtroom, opposite the State, and wore a gray sweater and graying beard. Occasionally, he lowered his gaze from Kenny to scribble notes on a legal pad.

After the murders, Maples then drove to a home shared by two female acquaintances and cleaned up, leaving two bloody socks underneath a sofa, according to Kenny. Meanwhile, witnesses discovered Terry's body in front of Maples' residence. Later the next day, July 8, 1995, Decatur police received a report about a body found in Mud Tavern Creek. It was Robinson, according to the court's summary.

Law enforcement began searching for the Camaro with the "TWINK" tags. On Aug. 1, 1995, after receiving a tip, Nashville police apprehended Maples at a Nashville motel, according to the court's summary. Kenny said Maples gave a two-hour-long confession to Nashville police.

"It's important that you listen to the confession carefully," Kenny told the jury. "You do not have to find guilt or the aggravating factor — that has already been done. It's your job to look at the aggravator, and there is but one, and the mitigating factors."

Maples was charged with capital murder due to the aggravating factor of first-degree robbery and originally sentenced to death at the 10-2 recommendation of a jury in 1997. He was 21 years old at the time of sentencing.

After fighting for the right to appeal his punishment all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012, a federal court later threw out Maples' death sentence in 2022 due to ineffective assistance of counsel during the sentencing phase. The court found that his trial lawyers had conducted an unreasonably limited investigation into potential mitigating factors, including failing to thoroughly interview family members and failing to investigate his abusive and traumatic background and mental health.

"The State believes that at the end of this trial, you will find that there is no amount of mitigating evidence that will outweigh the aggravating factor, and you will find death is the only appropriate punishment in this case," Kenny said at the conclusion of her opening statement.

Maples' defense team then chose to defer their opening statement. The State called its first witness, a man who read off the original testimony, when prompted, of a witness named Matt Shell. It was an unusual scene in an unusual resentencing trial.

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Judicial override

Since the resentencing trial involves so much old evidence and testimony, attorneys on both sides argued for months ahead of trial over what evidence should be admissible. Maples' defense team, which includes attorneys Brian White, Christy Miller, Rebekka Higgs and Casey Secor, sought to bar the death penalty due to the "extraordinary delay" of 26 years that, according to them, precluded the inclusion of vital mitigating evidence.

"The unavailability of (some) witnesses and records has made it impossible for Mr. Maples to adequately investigate and present his mitigation case," a defense motion filed in late February argued.

The defense team also sought to bar "irrelevant and unduly prejudicial evidence" from the guilt phase of Maples' original trial from being introduced during the ongoing penalty phase, according to a motion filed on April 29. That evidence, according to the defense team, includes the reading of testimony from some witnesses at Maples' original trial and some photographs.

"This evidence is irrelevant because, at the penalty phase of a capital trial, the defendant's culpability for the offense of conviction is no longer at issue," the motion reads. "Not only is this evidence not probative of any aggravating or mitigating circumstances at issue (since the sole aggravating circumstance here — murder in the course of a robbery — has already been established beyond a reasonable doubt), any probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice."

Presiding Circuit Judge Charles Elliott, before the jury entered his courtroom Monday morning, ruled that some photographic evidence would be admissible.

"Over the objections of the defense, I'm going to allow some of the pictures," he said. Elliott decided to exclude a photograph of Robinson lying facedown in the creek and a photograph of Robinson after he was brought up to the road and rolled over.

In response, and to no avail, Higgs again argued that the evidence was not relevant and could possibly "inflame the passions of the jury."

Elliott in January decided that he would keep the ability to override the jury's decision on Maples' punishment amid strong objections from the defense. The state Legislature abolished this practice, called judicial override, in 2017; however, judicial override was still legal when Maples was originally sentenced.

The defense previously argued that Elliott's decision was a complete reversal from statements he made at a status hearing in October of last year.

"I find that under the current Alabama sentencing scheme, we do not have advisory opinions anymore," the transcript indicates Elliot said at the hearing. "So, in Alabama, a jury now sentences instead of the judge."

On April 29, Maples' attorneys again sought to bar Elliott from overriding the jury.

"Overriding a jury's verdict of life in favor of the death penalty is unconstitutional," the motion reads. Court records show no response from Elliott as of Monday.

In his instructions to the jury, Elliott told them that Maples had already been found guilty of capital murder.

"You will not concern yourself with the question of guilt, but rather punishment," he said. "Either life imprisonment or death. You will determine whether aggravating circumstances outweigh mitigating circumstances."

— david.gambino@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.