After serving nearly 15 years of a lifetime sentence in a Nashville prison, Joseph Webster has been exonerated.
What We Know:
- In 1998, Webster was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Leroy Owens. Court documents state Owens was in a friend’s home when two men arrived in a white station wagon. Witness say the men began to beat Owens over what they believed to be a drug debt. He was able to escape but they eventually caught up to him in a parking lot where he was fatally assaulted with a cinderblock.
- At the time, witnesses identified Webster as Owens’ murderer. The suspect was described as man with a medium build weighing around 160 pounds. There were no other distinguishing features named by the witnesses. Webster, however, weighed about 300 pounds and wore a gold grill in his mouth that his family said could be seen from across the street.
- Webster’s brother, Kenny Neal, later admitted to committing the crime. He bragged to his girlfriend at the time about chasing down Owens and beating him up. His mother along with other relatives let authorities know it was Neal who killed Owens not Webster. Upon seeing a photograph of Neal one of the witnesses who originally identified Webster said Neal was the actual perpetrator and their testimony was recanted three times under oath. The weapon used to kill Owens was also tested for Webster’s DNA and none was discovered.
- All the evidence clearly showing Webster’s innocence was not presented at the original trial. In 2016, the Davidson County Conviction Review Unit was established. Webster was the first to apply for review according to his lawyer, Daniel Horwitz. His lawyer said, “It was very clear to me that the evidence against him was extremely weak, that the investigation into this murder had been sloppy and incomplete at best, and that this was a very serious innocence claim.”
- Webster’s exoneration is also the first in Nashville’s history since the review unit was created. After a four year effort pushed by Horwitz and his team, the Davidson County District Attorney’s Office announced it. “The Conviction Review Unit no longer has confidence in the conviction of Mr. Webster…We recommend Mr. Webster’s conviction be vacated and the charges against him dismissed.”
- Last Tuesday night, Webster was released and met with an embrace from his mother. A video from NBC affiliate WSMV in Nashville showed his emotional mother holding her son while exclaiming, “Oh God is good, Joseph! You home baby. Oh Lord have mercy”. That night, Webster told WSMV how happy he was; the hardest part was over he said and now he had to deal with this part, the best part. His sons were elated to finally see their father as a free man. His lawyer says Webster went straight to his mother’s home after his release and ate his first home cooked meal in 15 years.
Although the system failed Webster, he is not letting the time loss rule the rest of his life. He plans on restoring his voting rights, getting his driver’s license, and hopes to start his own trucking business.
