May Denied Parole

The man convicted of killing a 16 year old girl 43 years ago in Hamblen County will NOT be getting out of prison. The Tennessee Board of Parole officially denied parole to Randy Lee May on Thursday. May was convicted of the 1980 stabbing death of 16 year old Mary Jones. He also stabbed 15 year old Mitzi Sizemore who survived the attack. Over a dozen people showed up for May’s recent parole hearing looking to keep him behind bars. Over 3,000 signed a petition asking for his parole to be denied. The parole board did not buy May’s excuse of an argument with his wife, the summer heat and high gas prices as reasons why he says he “snapped” and attacked the two teenage girls. Former Hamblen County Sheriff Esco Jarnigan, who was a young detective in the summer of 1980 when Mary Jones was killed, says it was the most terrible crime he ever worked.

The next time May will be up for parole will be in four years in September of 2027.