|
Wrongly Convicted Database Record
|
Charge: |
First Degree Murder |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment without possibility of parole |
Years Imprisoned: |
16 |
Year Crime: |
1994 |
Year Convicted: |
1997 |
Year Cleared: |
2014 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Tennessee |
County or Region of Crime: |
Montgomery |
City of Crime: |
Clarkesville |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"David G. Housler Jr. was wrongly convicted in 1997 of a quadruple murder at a Taco Bell restaurant in Clarksville, Tennessee on January 30, 1994. David Housler was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Housler was convicted on the prosecution's theory at trial that he acted alone in committed the murders. Housler's convictions and sentence were affirmed on appeal. However, another man convicted of the murders in 1996, Courtney Mathews was implicated by physical evidence and he told his lawyers in 1994 that he did not know Housler and that he had nothing to do with the crime. Housler filed a post-conviction petition based on ineffective assistance of counsel and new evidence, that included Mathews confession and exclusion of Housler's involvement in the crime. On September 23, 2010 Circuit Court Judge John Gasaway vacated Housler’s convictions and ordered a new trial.based on ineffective assistance of counsel. Gasaway also separately ruled the new evidence warranted a new trial. Gasaway ordered Housler's release on bail on October 4, 2010. He had been incarcerated for more than 16 years. On September 17, 2013 the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the Circuit Court's order overturning Housler's convictions based on ineffective assistance of counsel. On November 25, 2014 the the Taco Bell murder charges were dismissed with the approval of the Montgomery County DA's Office. The DA's office agreed to the dismissal in exchange for Housler pleading guilty to the unrelated crime of a robbery committed in front of Grandpa’s Hardware in Clarkesville that occurred a week before the Taco Bell murders in January 1994." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Ineffective assistance of counsel. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On September 17, 2013 the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the Circuit Court's order overturning Housler's convictions based on ineffective assistance of counsel. He had been released on bail on October 4, 2010. On November 25, 2014 the the Taco Bell murder charges were dismissed with the approval of the Montgomery County DA's Office." |
Defendant Aided By: |
"Washington D.C. office of law firm Sidley Austin LLP, led by partner Paul Hemmersbaugh." |
Compensation Awarded: |
|
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
Yes |
Age When Imprisoned: |
19 |
Age When Released: |
35 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Housler v. State, No. M2010-02183-CCA-R3-PC (Tenn. Ct. of Crim. Appeals, 9-17-2013) (Reversing conviction based on ineffective assistance of counsel.)" |
Information Location 1: |
"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=17392430889099554265&q=David+Housler&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48" |
Information Source 2: |
"Tennessee Man Wrongfully Convicted of Murder is Set Free, Reuters, October 7, 2010" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS191428+07-Oct-2010+BW20101007 |
Information Source 3: |
|
Information Location 3: |
|
Information Source 4: |
|
Information Location 4: |
|
Information Source 5: |
|
Information Location 5: |
|
Book About Case: |
|
Book Information: |
|
Book About Case (2): |
|
Book Information (2): |
|
Movie About Case: |
|
Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org