Tennessee man to remain in jail on appeal

NASHVILLE, May 29 (UPI) -- Condemned killer Paul House will remain in a Tennessee prison pending a new trial, a federal judge has ruled.

House has been on death row for 22 years, and nearly won his freedom after his recent legal victories, but U.S. District Judge Harry Mattice Jr. ruled he must stay in jail since the state plans to retry his case, The (Nashville) Tennessean reported Thursday.

In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court sent the case back to a lower court, ruling that House was not given a fair trial because the jury did not hear DNA evidence and other testimony that could have exonerated him.

House, 46, has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair. He is being held at Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility in Nashville, the newspaper reported.

"I wasn't expecting anything, and I didn't get anything," he said after leaving federal court Wednesday.

House was charged 23 years ago with first-degree murder in the 1985 death of Carolyn Muncey in eastern Tennessee.

District Attorney General Paul Phillips said House's health was a factor the decision not to seek the death penalty in the new case.

"Twenty-three years ago, his health was not an issue," Phillips said. "I spoke with the victim's family, and they also felt life imprisonment was appropriate."