Active Cases
Russell Maze
Russell Maze has been in prison since 2004, convicted of the first-degree murder of his infant son Alex, a crime he did not commit.
Russell was 33 years old when Alex died, a new father who had taken infant CPR training for premature babies and called 911 the moment his son stopped breathing. He is now 58, uses a cane, and has spent more than two decades watching the science that convicted him be systematically dismantled by medical experts, including the doctor who signed the original death certificate.
Kaye Maze has never stopped fighting alongside her husband. They are still married.
The Davidson County District Attorney’s own Conviction Review Unit investigated and declared the Mazes actually innocent. Seven medical experts testified on their behalf. And still, Russell remains in prison.
TIP is not done fighting.
The case: what happened
On the afternoon of May 3, 1999, Kaye Maze left their South Nashville apartment to pick up formula and food. Their son Alex, born premature at 34 weeks, weighing just three pounds twelve ounces, had been fussy all day, running a fever, and had vomited more than once. Russell stayed home with him. When Kaye returned forty minutes later, there was an ambulance outside.
Alex had stopped breathing. Russell had already begun CPR. Paramedics revived Alex in the ambulance and rushed him to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where MNPD detectives rode with the Mazes in the car. By the time a child abuse specialist arrived to examine Alex, the investigation had already begun; before critical test results were back, before Alex’s complex medical history had been reviewed, and before other causes for the presentation were ruled out.
That night, police questioned Russell separately in a hospital conference room, without an attorney present, while his son lay in the ICU. Over the course of the interview, Russell denied shaking Alex more than ten times. The police did not hear him.
Alex remained in foster care for the following year and a half, during which Kaye was told she would never regain custody unless she admitted Russell had hurt their son and divorced him. She refused to divorce him. Under pressure, she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, hoping to bring Alex home. She never did. Alex stopped breathing again while in foster care, was taken off life support, and died on October 25, 2000. Russell was not permitted to be there.
He was tried twice and convicted of first-degree felony murder. He was sentenced to life in prison plus 25 years.
The Tennessee Innocence Project has been steadfastly working on Russell Maze's case since 2021. What every single expert the CRU consulted with agrees upon is that Alex Maze did not die from abuse.
Davidson Co District Attorney Conviction Review Unit Report 2023
Photo credit: Pro Publica
Problems with the conviction
The truth about what happened to Alex was never properly investigated, and when it finally was, the case against Russell collapsed.
Given that this is an ongoing case, not all of the evidence can be discussed here. It is important to know, however, that multiple experts, from all of the country have testified that this is not an abuse case. The Davidson COunty District Attorney’s Office, who prosecuted Russell, assert that he is innocent.
And Dr. Bruce Levy, the Chief Medical Examiner who performed Alex’s autopsy and testified at trial that the cause of death was shaken baby syndrome, has since reviewed the full medical record and recanted. He no longer believes Alex died from inflicted trauma. He would reclassify the manner of death as natural and the cause as undetermined.
TIP’s involvement
Tennessee Innocence Project has been working on Russell Maze’s case since 2021, along with our partners at Bradley. Russell’s post-conviction petition based on new scientific evidence establishing actual innocence, is supported by the independent investigation of the Davidson County District Attorney’s Conviction Review Unit.
The CRU’s extensive report, prepared in coordination with six medical experts across forensic pathology, neonatology, neuroradiology, pediatric neurology, coagulation medicine, and ophthalmology, concluded that there was clear and convincing evidence Russell was convicted of a crime he did not commit. Every expert consulted agreed: Alex Maze did not die from abuse.
A two-day evidentiary hearing was held in March 2024. Seven medical experts testified. The District Attorney publicly declared it was his duty to ask the court to vacate and dismiss the case. And yet the post-conviction court denied relief, concluding that the experts’ testimony amounted to a “battle of the experts” rather than new scientific evidence, and that the Petitioners had not met the clear and convincing standard required by Tennessee law.
TIP and Russell’s legal team appealed. The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals issued a briefing order in July 2024 and heard oral arguments in May 2025. In October 2025, in a split decision, the appellate court affirmed the denial. Russell’s team appealed the ruling and continues to fight.
The case has received national attention. A joint investigation by the New York Times and ProPublica covered Russell’s case in depth. The Nashville Banner reported extensively on both the CRU findings and the March 2024 hearing.
See more active cases
Links & Resources
We are fighting every day to correct these injustices
—but we can’t do it alone.