“Testing has again failed to find DNA from a former Tennessee death row inmate on evidence that will be used to retry him for a woman’s murder.”

Read the rest of this article by CLICKING HERE.

“But the tests also found DNA from one of the stains is a combination of Muncey’s and an unknown male, according to a lab analysis by Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings in North Carolina dated March 24.”

I remain perplexed as to how these jeans, which are obviously tainted, could possibly be used to convict House. The fact that they were initially sent in the same package as the blood vials from Carolyn Muncey’s autopsy lends itself to the possibility that this other blood was introduced onto the jeans at a later time as well. Bottom line, there is no physical evidence linking Paul House to the murder of Carolyn Muncey.

Read the AP article about Paul House here.

“DNA from key evidence in a Tennessee woman’s slaying does not match the man who spent more than two decades on death row for killing her, according to new FBI lab tests.”

Read more from this AP article by CLICKING HERE.

Once again, new evidence has been presented further indicating that Paul House did not murder Carolyn Muncey. The state plans to move forward with the trial. District Attorney Paul Phillips had this to say about the new evidence. “What the evidence would suggest to us is there may have been other people involved in the crime as well as Mr. House,” he said.”

When will Phillips admit that he convicted the wrong man? The state of Tennessee has already taken half of Paul’s life and yet it continues to press on with this trial wasting taxpayer’s money. Even more troubling is that the state had this evidence months ago and did not turn it over.

Federal Public Defender, (Stephen) “Kissinger says the state has also delayed turning over evidence reports.”

“Basically they’re stringing this out, just hoping they find some evidence House did it because they don’t have any now,” Kissinger said.

An independent lab has found that the hair discovered in the hand of Carolyn Muncey did not belong to Paul House. This hair was considered to be the last piece of critical evidence potentially linking House to the murder of Muncey in 1983. Before the testing of the hair, District Attorney Paul Phillips stated that he would consider dropping the charges if the hair did not belong to House. Despite that statement and the validation that the hair does not belong to House, Phillips is planning on going on with the case. In fact, Phillips believes that the hair, which belongs to a male, could bolster a new prosecution theory. “We have statements suggesting Mr. House was with other males on the night of Carolyn Muncey’s death,” Phillips said. “The fact that this hair in her hand was not (House’s) or her husband’s is consistent with (House) being with other males that night” (http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/sep/18/judge-called-witness-stand-house-federal-hearing/).

It sounds like D.A. Phillips is grasping at straws. House’s Federal Defender, Stephen Kissinger stated “The evidence at trial has been totally undercut and the new evidence tends to even more clearly demonstrate Paul Houses innocence,” Kissinger said. “He (Phillips) continues to move forward with the case which he knows has no merit whatsoever” (http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=64013&catid=2).

The state of Tennessee is in a financial crisis and this expensive and time consuming trial is moving forward. The money of hard working Tennesseans and the taxes they pay should not be wasted on this frivolous trial. Paul House should join the growing list of those released from death row when evidence of their innocence emerged. Yesterday, this list grew to 130 as Michael Blair was exonerated from a 1993 murder with DNA evidence. You can read more about this by clicking HERE.

Deborah Hastings, an AP National Writer has written a fantastic and comprehensive article covering the case of Paul House.

Read it by clicking HERE.

Highlights include:

“Paul Gregory House has known many prisons. Death row. His own body ravaged by multiple sclerosis. A long, legal limbo that traps him between judges who’ve said he may be innocent — and state prosecutors who’ve refused to give up.”

and

“Phillips still considers House a menace.

“The fact that he has MS and is confined to a wheelchair does not protect the community,” Phillips said. “He is a person who tricks others into positions of vulnerability.”

Joyce House doesn’t believe he will ever abandon the case against her son: “He just don’t want to admit he’s made a mistake.”

The federal public defender says that is the reason Phillips won’t let go.

“How can you live with yourself if you admit that you took away the last healthy years of a man’s life?” Kissinger said. “That’s a big burden.”

This past Friday, Judge Jon Kerry Blackwood reduced Paul House’s bail to $100,000. This reduction has allowed Joyce House, Paul’s mother, to post a property bond to satisfy the bail. Paul House will be released into the custody of his mother–this week. You can read more about this development from an article in the Tennessean, click HERE to read it.

Although House has not won his innocence in a court of law, the fact that he will soon be home with his mother is a significant victory. House has been on Tennessee’s death row for 23 years. He will now be in the comfort of a home and in his mother’s care.

A bail reduction hearing for Paul House was held today in Union County in order for the court to reconsider the amount of bail required for House’s release. At the June 6^th hearing, bail was set at $500,000, an exorbitant amount for a man in a wheelchair who is not a threat to the public nor a flight risk.

In today’s hearing, bail was reduced to $100,000. This means that the House family must pay 10% or $10,000 of that amount in order for Paul House to make bail and go home.

TCASK, in conjunction with Joyce House and the Nashville Scene, is planning a fundraiser to raise the bail money for House. We hope to have details finalized next week.

If you would like to make a donation towards Paul House’s bail now, you can send a check to TCASK, P.O. Box 120552, Nashville, TN 37212 and write “Paul House” in the memo line. If the federal courts intervene making bail unnecessary, the funds raised will go the Joyce House in order to help her care for Paul’s special health needs.

Thanks to all for your support.

Reporter Sarah Kelley and the Nashville Scene continue to show a commitment to fully exposing the story behind the case of Paul House. Kelley’s most recent article was the cover story for the latest issue of the Scene and it does not disappoint. The story is comprehensive and gives the reader a full understanding of what the House and the Muncey families have been forced to bear through for the past 23 years–a flawed system concerned more about convictions and vindictive practice than true justice. You can read the article by clicking HERE.

If you desire to have a more complete understanding of House’s case, this is the article to read.

Let me know what issue in his case troubles you the most by posting a comment.

For a taste, the article begins as so:

“Paul House sat shackled in a windowless room tucked inside the concrete Union County Courthouse in rural East Tennessee. The prisoner’s mother waited with him and grasped her youngest son’s cuffed hands, struggling to hold back tears. House tried to console her, even with his own life at stake.Paul House sat shackled in a windowless room tucked inside the concrete Union County Courthouse in rural East Tennessee. The prisoner’s mother waited with him and grasped her youngest son’s cuffed hands, struggling to hold back tears. House tried to console her, even with his own life at stake.”

In a surprise move, a three judge panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals gathered in Nashville today to consider an appeal filed by Paul House which claims that the state should by barred from re-trying the case. House’s federal defender, Steve Kissinger, argued that the state is not in compliance with Judge Mattice’s December 7, 2007 order which asserted that House should be retried or released in 180 days. Today marked 180 days since that December decision. The court is also considering whether or not House should be released if the case is remanded back to district court for further consideration.

The state argued vigorously against barring retrial and that the Sixth Circuit did not have the authority to grant House’s release since House is now in state custody and is unable to make bail. In an ironic twist, Jennifer Smith of the Attorney General’s office asked that the court deny this appeal as she was concerned that its consideration might delay the resolution of the case. After the state has denied House relief for 23 years by playing games with the courts, now it has the audacity to claim that the defense is dragging its feet.

The court is expected to rule quickly, and TCASK will keep you informed as to the court’s decision.

But Criminal Court Judge Shayne Sexton set the bond at $500,000, well out of her reach. House got back on the transport van to the Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility in Nashville.

“He was slumping in his chair,” his mother said. “He was tired from the trip. I didn’t think the state would want to have him. Evidently, they did. This whole case has been crazy.”"