3 Minute Video and a Quick Poll
Manage episode 414017128 series 3553241
The Case against Michael Morton
In August of 1986, Christine Morton was murdered within her home in Texas.
Michael Morton, Christine’s husband, was arrested and convicted of the crime.
Having served twenty-five years in prison, and after DNA evidence proved his innocence, Michael Morton was released.
Ken Anderson was the Williamson County District Attorney. He had pursued criminal charges against Michael Morton. However, Anderson did not share investigation evidence with the defense attorney. The evidence included witness accounts that another man was at the Morton house. One of the witnesses was their son, Eric, who was three years old at the time. Eric had referred to the man as a “monster.” The neighbors also saw this other man around the house.
There was also evidence of a forged check made out to Christine that was cashed after her death. Her credit card was used as well.
In 2008, Michael Morton and his lawyer learned that the original case was not built upon solid evidence and conclusions. They became aware of the missing witness descriptions, cashed check, and the use of Christine’s credit card.
In 2011, a bloody bandana that had been discovered at the time of the crime and was one hundred yards from the Morton house was tested. Christine’s blood and that of Mark Alan Norwood were found upon it, not the blood of Michael Morton.
Ken Anderson had withheld key evidence. After an investigation, he acknowledged his guilt. He resigned his position as a judge for the State of Texas. He was sentenced to ten days in jail and was disbarred; but he was afforded the opportunity to regain his law license in five years.
The Texas Legislature had attempted reform of the discovery process within the justice system to no avail. After Michael Morton’s release from prison, he was able to advance that cause.
Four Corners of Justice diagram scoring:
The Texas Legislature receives a score of -1.
The prosecutor receives a score of -7.
The investigators receive a score of -5.
All other elements receive a score of 0.
If you would like a free PDF file of my book The End of Justice, please message YesToHellWith on the substack.com platform.
And always remember, The End of Justice is the absence of truth.
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