COLUMBUS — A Bartholomew County man whose 1997 murder conviction was recently overturned will remain incarcerated while the county prosecutor appeals the ruling.
Jason Hubbell, 53, who has spent 27 years in prison for the murder and criminal confinement of Sharon Myers, appeared in court Thursday, where Bartholomew Circuit Court Judge Kelly Benjamin granted a motion for a stay in the proceedings.
The decision means Hubbell will not be released on bond or his own recognizance while the case moves to the Indiana Court of Appeals. A motion seeking a speedy trial was also denied.
Prosecutor Seeks Appeal of Overturned Verdict
The courtroom was reportedly packed with around 70 people, including family members from both the Myers and Hubbell families, and at least one juror from Hubbell’s original 1999 trial.
Bartholomew County Prosecutor Lindsey Holden-Kay, who is appealing Judge Benjamin’s ruling, argued that the stay was necessary to “preserve the status quo” and ensure appellate courts could review the decision before any further action, such as a new trial or release, could occur.
Hubbell’s attorney, Kevin Murphy, argued for his client’s immediate release, noting that Hubbell has lost 27 years to a wrongful conviction and that the state’s appeal could take months or years.
Conviction Overturned Citing Withheld Evidence
Hubbell was convicted in 1999 for the abduction and strangulation death of Sharon Myers, who disappeared from an Arvin Industries parking lot in May 1997. Her body was found six months later at Teal Marsh in Atterbury Fish and Wildlife Area.
On September 12, Judge Benjamin ruled that Hubbell and his attorneys had “met his burden” for post-conviction relief. The ruling was based on the finding that prosecutors had failed to disclose “favorable and material exculpatory evidence” that pointed to an alternate suspect.
Hubbell’s appeal specifically alleges that convicted death row inmate Michael Dean Overstreet (convicted of the 1997 murder of Kelly Eckart in a case with “stunning similarities”) was the actual killer, and that Columbus Police concealed information linking Overstreet to the Myers case before Hubbell’s trial.
Judge Benjamin’s ruling agreed, finding the suppressed evidence “undermines the confidence in Hubbell’s guilty verdict and deprived Hubbell of his right to a fair trial.”
Hubbell, whose attorneys include the Exoneration Justice Clinic at the University of Notre Dame Law School, is currently in the custody of the Bartholomew County Jail, awaiting the appeal process.
