This collection contains the materials collected by Tennessee lawyer Donald F. Paine about the murder trials of Maurice Mays in 1919 and 1921.

Series I. Research Material contains photocopies of original materials from the 1910s and 1920s, including correspondence with Governors Roberts and Taylor about similar crimes and asking for clemency for Maurice Mays, as well as newspaper articles about the trial and transcripts. There are also notes by Paine from 2006. All items dated "circa 2006" are actually undated but written by Paine, who researched the case in 2006.

Series II. Publications, organized chronologically, includes articles and books written about the case or about Knoxville by historians in 1983, the 1990s, and the 2000s. Authors include Don Paine, Matt Lakin, Robert J. Booker, Jack & Aaron Jay, and John Egerton.

Series III. Knoxville Bar Association Lunch and Learn contains the material for Don Paine's Mays lecture at the KBA Lunch and Learn on December 14, 2006. This includes lecture note cards, handouts, skit transcripts, photographs, and correspondence from before and after the lecture.

For similar trial collections compiled by Don Paine, see MS-2640, MS-2708, MS-2732, MS-2778, and MS-2807.