A Nashville man was released from prison on Tuesday after he was established he was wrongly convicted of murder 14 years ago. Joseph Webster was accused of murdering Leroy Owens in 1998 and was ultimately found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
In October, Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk vacated his sentence after an investigation showed Webster's DNA wasn't on the murder weapon and the only witness in the case had changed her story multiple times. As such, the Conviction Review Unit said it "no longer has confidence" in Webster's conviction and recommended it be vacated and charges dismissed.
"We are not blind to the weight of disturbing the decision of a jury and would not be asking the court to disturb that decision if we had not lost confidence in this conviction," said Sunny Eaton, director fo the Conviction Review Unit. "Sir, at this point the state has fully lost confidence in the conviction of Mr. Webster and we believe vacation of the conviction is the appropriate remedy."
Webster was released on Tuesday (November 10) and reunited with his family, including his mother and sons.
"I just want to enjoy my family, make time with my family," he said. "I missed a lot of their life. I just want to give it back to them.
Webster continued, "I'm kind of upset, but not really. It just took so long. I feel great, though. The truth will set you free."
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