A unusual legal event will occur later on today in Texas, almost twenty five years after a man was wrongfully convicted -- and later exonerated -- of murder
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AUSTIN, Tex. — A Texas man wrongfully convicted in 1987 of murdering his wife is scheduled to be officially exonerated on Monday.
That is no longer so unusual in Texas, where 45 inmates have been exonerated in the last decade based on DNA evidence. What is unprecedented is the move planned by lawyers for the man, Michael Morton: they are expected to file a request for a special hearing to determine whether the prosecutor broke state laws or ethics rules by withholding evidence that could have led to Mr. Morton’s acquittal 25 years ago.
"I haven’t seen anything like this, ever," said Bennet L. Gershman, an expert on prosecutorial misconduct at Pace University in New York. "It’s an extraordinary legal event."
Photo credit: Texas Tribune
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Read more details about potential prosecutorial misconduct in this case in the New York Times, Austin American-Statesman, and the Los Angeles Times
Noted lawyer Barry Scheck of the Innocence Project -- an organization dedicated to "proving the innocence of wrongly convicted people through the use of DNA testing, and to reforming the criminal justice systems to prevent future injustice" -- had this to add
In an interview, Mr. Scheck said he hoped the court of inquiry proceeding would result in changes in law and policy that could promote greater fairness in criminal cases. Previous high-profile exonerations, he said, have led to new laws that improved access to DNA testing after conviction and provided generous compensation to those who were wrongfully convicted.
"This is one of those catalytic, iconic cases that leads to reform," he said.
Update #1
An article in the Austin American-Statesman states that Michael Morton's lawyers filed a report (pdf file) this morning detailing their findings of prosecutorial misconduct by Ken Anderson. A hearing will take place this afternoon before District Judge Sid Harle.
Update #2
The below television report is by KVUE, the ABC affiliate in Austin, Texas.
Morton lawyers release report on Anderson
The report (plus exhibits - pdf file) attempts to make the case that former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson acted improperly while prosecuting Morton for the 1986 murder of his wife, Christine...
Morton’s lawyers also will ask Harle to seek a Court of Inquiry to examine allegations that Anderson violated state law by suppressing evidence favorable to Morton and by failing to provide all documents requested by Morton’s trial judge. If Harle agrees, another district would be appointed to lead the fact-finding court.
Anderson, now a district judge in Georgetown, has said he does not recall many of the details of the Morton prosecution but insisted that he did no wrong, instead blaming Morton’s conviction on a failing of the criminal justice system.