CONVICTED COLLEGE STATION KILLER GRANTED NEW HEARING
(Brazos Co. Jail)
A College Station man, convicted of the murders of a brother and sister, has been granted a new hearing.
John Thuesen, convicted of killing Rachel and Travis Joiner in 2009, has been granted a new habeas corpus hearing by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Thuesen was given the death sentence after his conviction.
The state's highest criminal appeals court said Wednesday, Judge Travis Bryan, III, didn't have the authority to conduct a hearing in 2014 on whether Thuesen was adequately represented in his capital murder trial.
Prosecutors argued that Thuesen, who confessed to the shooting, was jealous and angry that Rachel Joiner had separated from him.
The defense countered that Thuesen, a veteran who served in Iraq, suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The case will now be heard by Judge HR Towslee of Burleson County, who the court gave until August 7th make a ruling.
Judge Bryan had previously recused himself from the Thuesen case over concerns about a conflict of interest after his donations to a political campaign of one of Thuesen's attorneys.