TN - Paul House exonerated by DNA in '85 murder of Carolyn Muncey

[Wudge]

"Former death row inmate Paul House woke to laughter and cries of joy from his mother on Tuesday, the day he learned he was a free man.

"You've been exonerated," his mother, Joyce House, told him, shaking him awake.

"Took 'em long enough," he replied, after taking a moment to process the information.

House, 47, spent 22 years on Tennessee death row for the rape and murder of his neighbor, Carolyn Muncey, in 1985. He left prison last year and was placed under house arrest after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that new DNA evidence could have led a jury to acquit him."

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"District Attorney Paul Phillips wrote in his petition this week that he still believes House could have been convicted again in a new trial, "but the new evidence (including the forensic examinations) raises a reasonable doubt that he acted alone and the possibility that others were involved in the crime."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/13/tennessee.exonerated/

Clearly, Phillips is a proud member of the Mike Nifong for President club. He represents a perfect example of yet another prosecutor who operates with a badly tilted scale of justice. There are an incredible number of prosecutors who simply have no shame.

 

[SuziQ]

It's appalling to me that so many prosecutors gladly use DNA to convict but cry like a baby over it being used to exonerate. Don't these people worry that the real criminals are walking and living amongst their own family members?

I'm equally irked over defense attorneys who want to use a lie detector tests when it's in their clients favor, when it's not admissable at all. But that's another thread...

 

[Bobbisangel]

I think it would be a good idea to retest all DNA of prisoners who weren't caught in the act doing the crime they are in prison for. Those that were found guilty before we had the DNA testing. I know that will never happen because of the cost though. It is to bad we can't set up a lab in each state and start testing. Most of the people in prison are guilty but we have seen quite a few that have served years and years in prison for something that they didn't do. They can never get those years back. It is just a shame.

Why the Pros can't be big enough to say "we made a mistake" is beyond me. I know some of them have but how many of them have the attitude that this Pros has??? DNA points either one way or the other. I say shame on them too.

 

[MissieMt]

A few months ago I watched a documentary on netflix about men who were exonerated.
It was very eye-opening, the way these men are affecting, and mostly not for the good. They were basically booted from prison after years and years of being on death row and left to their own devices. How do you explain what you've been doing for the last 10, 20, or more yrs to a potential employer, landlord, etc.?
Anyways, I can't find it on netflix now. It was one of those "watch instantly" things, and I guess they rotate them out after some time.

ETA: I just found it, lol. It's called "After Innocence" it was made in 2005

 

[montana_16]

A few months ago I watched a documentary on netflix about men who were exonerated.
It was very eye-opening, the way these men are affecting, and mostly not for the good. They were basically booted from prison after years and years of being on death row and left to their own devices. How do you explain what you've been doing for the last 10, 20, or more yrs to a potential employer, landlord, etc.?
Anyways, I can't find it on netflix now. It was one of those "watch instantly" things, and I guess they rotate them out after some time.

ETA: I just found it, lol. It's called "After Innocence" it was made in 2005

Thanks MissieMt. I'm a member of Netflix and will be sure to watch it.