Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk’s efforts to keep kids safe during the COVID -19 pandemic was highlighted nationally in Huffpost.com in 2021.

General Funk stated he would not prosecute teachers or school officials who enforce mask mandates during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The move was in defiance of a 2021 order from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, who stated that students can ‘opt-out’ of wearing masks, even in local school districts like Nashville enforce such measures.

DA Funk offered his assurance to school board member Emily Masters who noted that Tennessee law includes a Class A misdemeanor — punishable by up to a year in jail — for “any person or representative thereof violating any order, rule or regulation” under an emergency declaration, like the one in place for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Funk responded, “I will not prosecute school officials or teachers for keeping children safe.”

Nashville Mayor John Cooper was equally upset over the Governor’s executive order, stating that it “undermines a long-held trust that local governments know what’s best for their communities.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nashville-da-glenn-funk-mask-opt-out_n_611c2af1e4b0caf7ce2a7c52

In November, 2020, Joseph Webster became the first person whose First Degree Murder Conviction was vacated by the Nashville District Attorney’s Conviction Review Unit.  Webster had been 15 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.  The Nashville District Attorney’s Office set up a unit in 2016 to review cases that might have been decided wrongfully. Members of the new unit collaborated with defense lawyers in an investigation that produced new witnesses and evidence.

Sunny Eaton, who runs the conviction review unit, said her office had been created because of District Attorney Glenn Funk’s commitment to have truth-finding as the central role of the prosecutor’s office. “I believe that the overwhelming feeling is one of pride to be part of a district attorney’s office that puts its money where its mouth is,” Ms. Eaton said, “and is actually transparent and takes the steps toward self-reflection and accountability and getting things right that may have been gotten wrong before.”

---

 

Imprisoned Nearly 15 Years, but Now Cleared of a Murder He Didn’t Commit

New York Times article  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/12/us/joseph-webster-nashville.html

A Nashville judge vacated the conviction of Joseph Webster after a collaborative investigation produced new witnesses and evidence.

Joseph Webster greeting his mother, Marie Burns, as he was released from prison on Tuesday after serving nearly 15 years of a life sentence for murder.

Joseph Webster greeting his mother, Marie Burns, as he was released from prison on Tuesday after serving nearly 15 years of a life sentence for murder.Credit…Andrew Nelles/The Tennessean, via Imagn Content Services, LLC

John Ismay

By John Ismay

Nov. 12, 2020

On Thursday, Joseph Webster lunched on grilled salmon, which he had longed for while spending almost 15 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. There was also steamed broccoli and Diet Coke. “It was delicious,” he said by phone on his way to a local TV news station for an interview.

Mr. Webster, 41, walked out of a detention center in downtown Nashville just before 7 p.m. Tuesday, hours after a judge had agreed with a determination by the district attorney’s office that they had lost confidence in Webster’s first-degree murder conviction and had ordered it vacated. Mr. Webster had been serving a life sentence and would have been eligible for parole after serving 51 years.

Mr. Webster’s conviction was the first to be overturned since the Nashville District Attorney’s Office set up a unit in 2016 to review cases that might have been decided wrongfully. Members of the new unit collaborated with defense lawyers in an investigation that produced new witnesses and evidence.

“We’re now in the process of helping him rebuild his life,” Mr. Webster’s lawyer, Daniel A. Horwitz, said Thursday.

Mr. Webster went to prison in 2003 on an unrelated drug charge and was convicted in 2006 for the murder of Leroy Owens, who was bludgeoned to death with a cinder block in a Nashville parking lot on Nov. 22, 1998.

Witnesses testified during Mr. Webster’s trial that Mr. Owens had been attacked by two Black men driving a white station wagon, and they described one assailant as weighing roughly 160 pounds and the other perhaps 200 pounds. Mr. Webster, however, weighed 300 pounds at the time and had 12 permanently installed, very bright gold front teeth. No witnesses recalled either of the men who attacked Mr. Owens as having gold teeth.

“There was evidence that made it pretty clear who committed this crime, and it was not Mr. Webster,” Mr. Horwitz said. “Two new witnesses came forward who saw the murder and were able to give pretty good descriptions of the two people who did it.”

In October 2016, Mr. Webster hired Mr. Horwitz after a failed attempt to have the murder weapon tested for DNA evidence. It was around that same time, Mr. Horwitz said, that the Nashville District Attorney’s Office established what it called a conviction review unit to look at cases that might have been incorrectly decided.

“I believe we were the first case that applied for review from that unit,” Mr. Horwitz said, adding that his client had been freed because of “a building snowball of exonerating evidence coming steadily over the course of a very long time.”

Sunny Eaton, who runs the conviction review unit, said her office had been created because of District Attorney Glenn Funk’s commitment to have truth-finding as the central role of the prosecutor’s office. “I believe that the overwhelming feeling is one of pride to be part of a district attorney’s office that puts its money where its mouth is,” Ms. Eaton said, “and is actually transparent and takes the steps toward self-reflection and accountability and getting things right that may have been gotten wrong before.”

The night he was released, Mr. Webster said, he went to his mother’s house and reunited with his four adult sons, whom he had called multiple times a week throughout his imprisonment. “My mom had cooked me a dinner, and we just caught up, and it was just unbelievable,” Mr. Webster said. “So we enjoyed the moment.”

Mr. Webster was having a busy Thursday. In the morning, he was back in a courtroom petitioning a judge to return his voting rights, which may be restored after Mr. Webster resolves his court costs, Mr. Horwitz said.

From there, the two went to the Tennessee Driver Services office so that Mr. Webster could obtain a new driver’s license, only to find that so much time had passed while he was in prison that he would have to retake the driving test.

After doing interviews, Mr. Webster and Mr. Horwitz were planning to visit Project Return, a local organization that helps people transition from incarceration and reintegrate into society.

Mr. Webster hopes to start a trucking business and drive a dump truck.

“Nashville is growing so much that I just want to be part of the growth,” Mr. Webster said. “And I can contribute a little bit at a time by moving gravel and rocks.”

 

Special Thanks to all who came out for the Donelson-Hermitage and Goodlettsville Christmas Parades on December 4th.  District Attorney Glenn Funk and several staff members had the privilege of walking in the Donelson-Hermitage parade at 2pm, followed by the Goodlettsville parade at 4pm.   General Funk was honored with ‘The Spirit of Christmas’ award at the Donelson-Hermitage parade for his ‘Christmas Vacation’ themed  wood-grain, antique station wagon with a lighted tree on top.  Melissa Jared, whose late husband Steve helped organize the Donelson-Hermitage parade for the past 3 decades gave the award to General Funk, stating that ‘Christmas Vacation’ (starring Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold driving an old wood-grained wagon) was her late husband’s favorite holiday movie.   Steve Jared passed away earlier this year, so the award was a true honor in memory of a great community leader.   Thank you sincerely to all who came out and attended both of these wonderful holiday parades! 

It’s called the Behavioral Care Center, and it’s the new state of the art, cutting edge approach to taking individuals with mental health issues out of the jail populations and into a facility where they can truly receive the help they need. The innovative approach is because of the teamwork of Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk and Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall. The BCC is run by Sheriff Hall and located in a separate wing of the new downtown detention center, but supervised by the Mental Health Co-Op. Guards in the BCC are dressed like health care professionals, and those receiving treatment are referred to as ‘clients’ instead of inmates. Upon completion of the BCC treatment and counseling, charges are dismissed and individuals are discharged with a 30 day supply of medication and follow-up counseling. The unique program is receiving national attention as a key component to criminal justice reform while also assisting those with mental health concerns to once again become productive members of our community.

Congratulations to Assistant District Attorneys Jenny Charles, Jeff George and Bud Baker for the successful December 2021 prosecution of a man accused of shooting at Metro Police officers in early 2020.    33-year-old Bryan Bowser was convicted on two counts of aggravated assault for firing shots without warning at the Midtown Hills Precinct officers along Music Row.   Bowser was seen running into a building, and moments later, shooting at the officers.  The Swat Team eventually arrested the suspect who was found to have three firearms and more than 700 rounds of ammunition stored in the building.   General Charles and her team secured a quick verdict, with General Charles stating that Generals George and Baker did an outstanding job from jury selection to closing arguments.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2020/01/06/nashville-police-man-fired-fired-shots-at-officers-in-music-row/2826194001/

 

 

Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk believes the severe sanction of incarceration should be primarily reserved for violent offenders. Through innovations such as Steering Clear, criminal justice reform measures, and new policies like ending prosecution of less than half ounce of Marijuana, the daily population of locally incarcerated inmates fell from 3,151 per day in 2013 to less than 1,500 today. That is a savings to Nashville taxpayers of $155,000 per day and a yearly savings of more than 50 million dollars.

Congratulations to Assistant District Attorneys Ed Ryan and Mindy Vinecore as they were honored at the annual Tennessee Narcotics Officers Association in Chattanooga this fall. Generals Ryan and Vinecore were recognized as top prosecutors in Tennessee in the war against drugs and the continued crackdown on drug suppliers resulting in overdoses.

RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENT PLUS WELCOME TO TWO NEW ADA’S

We are sad to report that after 5 years of service, Robert Jones will be retiring at the end of September.  Robert served in the Shelby County Public Defender’s office (Memphis) for most of his career, and as the Chief Public Defender in Shelby County from 2004-2012.

During his time in this office, he served as the head of the Crimes Against Children Unit before founding the Conviction Review Unit. We are grateful for his service, not only to the citizens of Nashville, but to the people of Tennessee.

 

Sunny Eaton will be joining the office on September 1 and taking over the Conviction Review Unit.  Sunny has great judgement and a deep understanding of criminal justice issues.  Sunny will be a great benefit to the office and the CRU.

 

 

 

 

Finally, after 4 years of recruiting, Chicoya Gallman joined our office on August 1.  Chicoya is a UT alum and Belmont Law School graduate who has been working in private practice.  Since Chicoya interned here when she was in law school, many of us already know Chicoya and we are so excited that she decided to become an ADA.

Johnthony Walker has pleaded guilty to aggravated statutory rape, Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk said on Thursday, September 3rd, 2020.  Walker, who was previously convicted in a 2016 Hamilton County school bus crash that killed six children, will serve an additional six years in prison once he has completed his four-year sentence for criminally negligent homicide.  Metro police said in 2018 Walker admitted to having sex with a 14-year-old on five occasions. He had been staying with the victim’s family while his Hamilton County conviction was being appealed.  The judge in Walker’s case allowed him to be out on bond during the appeal process and encouraged him to stay outside of Chattanooga after he received death threats.  Once he was charged with aggravated statutory rape, a motion was filed in Hamilton County to revoke his bond.  In addition to the jail time, Walker must file as a registered sex offender.