Mother Begs Governor to Bring Her Son Home
by Stacy Rector
by Stacy Rector
Email: tcask@tcask.org
12 Dec 2006
Joyce House, Supported by Supreme Court, Says Her Son is Innocent
Nashville:
On November 25th, Joyce House wrote an impassioned letter for Governor Bredesen asking him to release her son, Paul House, who has been on Tennessee’s death row for over twenty years. But unlike so many other letters from the parents of the incarcerated, House’s letter is backed by strong new evidence, and a recent ruling by the United States Supreme Court, that points toward her son’s innocence. Paul House has claimed his innocence since his initial arrest.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, in House’s case, “no reasonable juror – viewing the record as a whole – would have lacked a reasonable doubt.” In other words, no jury in the country would find House guilty of the 1985 murder of Carolyn Muncey when considering all the evidence, which includes DNA evidence proving that House did not rape Muncey (the state’s theory of the crime), evidence that blood found on House’s pants was tampered with, and two witnesses testifying that Muncey’s husband confessed to the murder.
“When I heard that, I just knew Paul was coming home,” Joyce House wrote to the Governor. “I got his room ready, even made some of his favorite foods and put them in the freezer.”
But nearly six months later, Joyce is still waiting, as the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals delays long past its thirty day deadline to take action on the Supreme Court’s ruling.
All the while, Paul House, who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis, is becoming more and more ill on Tennessee’s death row, where he receives practically no medical attention.
House is confined to a wheelchair and is unable to bathe or shave himself without assistance. According to his mother, House receives only a multi-vitamin and a Tylenol PM daily.
“I am still waiting for him to come home,” writes Joyce House, “but instead he is still sitting in prison because the courts won’t admit they made a mistake. They just keep doing nothing.”
Bishop Joseph Kurtz, the Catholic Bishop of East Tennessee (in whose Diocese Joyce House lives) has recently written to the Governor urging him to consider House’s request for a full pardon.
The Governor does have the power to grant pardons when he deems it proper.
Paul House’s case, in which there is a strong showing of innocence and the courts are refusing to take action, has the requisite characteristics according to the Bishop. Joyce House ended her letter with a plea, “Please, Governor, do the right thing and give my son back to me so he can be home for Christmas.”
12 Dec 2006
Joyce House, Supported by Supreme Court, Says Her Son is Innocent
Nashville:
On November 25th, Joyce House wrote an impassioned letter for Governor Bredesen asking him to release her son, Paul House, who has been on Tennessee’s death row for over twenty years. But unlike so many other letters from the parents of the incarcerated, House’s letter is backed by strong new evidence, and a recent ruling by the United States Supreme Court, that points toward her son’s innocence. Paul House has claimed his innocence since his initial arrest.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, in House’s case, “no reasonable juror – viewing the record as a whole – would have lacked a reasonable doubt.” In other words, no jury in the country would find House guilty of the 1985 murder of Carolyn Muncey when considering all the evidence, which includes DNA evidence proving that House did not rape Muncey (the state’s theory of the crime), evidence that blood found on House’s pants was tampered with, and two witnesses testifying that Muncey’s husband confessed to the murder.
“When I heard that, I just knew Paul was coming home,” Joyce House wrote to the Governor. “I got his room ready, even made some of his favorite foods and put them in the freezer.”
But nearly six months later, Joyce is still waiting, as the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals delays long past its thirty day deadline to take action on the Supreme Court’s ruling.
All the while, Paul House, who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis, is becoming more and more ill on Tennessee’s death row, where he receives practically no medical attention.
House is confined to a wheelchair and is unable to bathe or shave himself without assistance. According to his mother, House receives only a multi-vitamin and a Tylenol PM daily.
“I am still waiting for him to come home,” writes Joyce House, “but instead he is still sitting in prison because the courts won’t admit they made a mistake. They just keep doing nothing.”
Bishop Joseph Kurtz, the Catholic Bishop of East Tennessee (in whose Diocese Joyce House lives) has recently written to the Governor urging him to consider House’s request for a full pardon.
The Governor does have the power to grant pardons when he deems it proper.
Paul House’s case, in which there is a strong showing of innocence and the courts are refusing to take action, has the requisite characteristics according to the Bishop. Joyce House ended her letter with a plea, “Please, Governor, do the right thing and give my son back to me so he can be home for Christmas.”
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