FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 12, 2006 |
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MEDIA CONTACT
Katie Andriulli, (202) 557-7579 |
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US Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Tennessee Death Row Inmate
Experts Available to Comment on Today's Ruling
House v. Bell Could Impact Other Tennessee Cases
In an opinion issued today in the case of House v. Bell, the United States Supreme Court ruled 5-3 that Tennessee death row inmate Paul House is entitled to a new hearing in federal court because post-conviction DNA testing invalidated the prosecution's theory that he raped and then murdered a woman more than 20 years ago. The Court's opinion, authored by Justice Kennedy, affirmed that if the full body of evidence in the case, including DNA evidence, had been presented at trial, it is probable that no reasonable juror would have found House guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The case marks the first time that the Supreme Court has looked at the standards for reopening death penalty cases since DNA testing became widely available.
Experts are available to discuss today's ruling, including Bill Redick, Director of The Tennessee Justice Project at (615) 255-7369, and Paul House's attorney, Steven Kissinger at (865) 637-7979. Kelley Henry, attorney for Tennessee death row inmate Sedley Alley, whose case may be affected by today's ruling, can be reached at (615) 736-5047. Barry Scheck of The Innocence Project, who is co-counsel for Sedley Alley, can be reached through Eric Ferrero at (212) 364-5346.
Paul House was convicted in Union County, Tennessee of the murder of Carolyn Muncey in 1985, and has been on death row for over 19 years. House has always maintained his innocence, yet a thorough investigation of the case on his behalf was not conducted until after the case had already been through the trial, appeal, and state post-conviction proceedings.
Today's decision has the potential to impact other Tennessee death row inmates who have innocence claims pending before the Court, including Sedley Alley, whose execution last month was postponed so that he could pursue DNA testing. Alley currently has an execution date of June 28th.
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The Justice Project [ http://www.thejusticeproject.org ] (TJP) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that addresses issues of social justice here and abroad. TJP's Campaign for Criminal Justice Reform is a national initiative that addresses flaws in the American justice system.
