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Author Topic: Mark Norwood arrested in 1986 Murder of Christine Morton(Murder Conviction)  (Read 41617 times)
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MuffyBee
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« Reply #40 on: October 19, 2012, 01:31:35 AM »

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/williamson/state-bar-says-anderson-hid-evidence-in-morton-case
State Bar says Anderson hid evidence in Morton case
Former Morton prosecutor could face civil penalty

October 18, 2012

WILLIAMSON COUNTY (KXAN) - After a 10 month investigation, the State Bar of Texas claims District Judge Ken Anderson withheld evidence in the Michael Morton case that may have led to Morton's wrongful conviction in the murder of his wife in 1987.

The State Bar Disciplinary Council filed a disciplinary petition against Anderson on October 4 in Williamson County. It alleges Anderson knew about the existence of several pieces of evidence and withheld them from the defense counsel.

Morton was convicted by a Williamson County jury in 1987 and sentenced to life in prison for the beating death of his wife Christine. Her served almost 25 years before new DNA evidence cleared him in October 2011.

The State Bar case against Anderson cites five pieces of evidence withheld by prosecutors in the Morton case, including a transcript of a taped interview between lead investigator Don Wood and Morton's mother-in-law, where she disclosed that the Morton's son, then 3 years old, described witnessing the murder and said his father was not home at the time.


The investigation also found that during a pre-trial hearing in the case, Anderson told the trial court he had no evidence favorable to Morton. The State Bar said, "that statement was false." It also alleges Anderson violated five of the Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.


"We respectfully disagree with the positions taken and the allegations made by the State Bar Disciplinary Council," said Anderson attorney Eric Nichols. "We will defend against these allegations in the public forum of a Court of Law."

District Judge Kelly G. Moore of the 121st District Court in Terry and Yoakum Counties has been appointed to preside over the case. No hearing date has been set.
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« Reply #41 on: October 19, 2012, 02:19:33 AM »

It's hard to find the words to express what this story means... the heart of it.  There are so many facets to consider from misconduct to the broken-ness of two families to the understanding of life itself Michael Morton came to.

Thank you for posting his story.  I have been touched and angered and even a little justified in my belief that we need to be vigilant in holding our judicial officials accountable for their own misdeeds and misconduct.

I didn't see that this has been posted in the thread yet.  It is a lovely account as told by Mr. Morton:

http://www.npr.org/2012/04/28/151470998/in-a-prison-cell-a-moment-with-god

Quote
"It wasn't an unusual day ... it was just another gray day in prison," he says.

He turned on his radio to listen to music before going to sleep. On a classical station out of Houston, he heard something strange: a harp.

"Without any sort of inkling of what was about to happen, all of a sudden, [in] that dark prison cell [in the] middle of the night I was bathed in this bright, golden light," he says.


There's a two minute audio where he poignantly shares the story in his own words.

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« Reply #42 on: October 19, 2012, 09:36:10 AM »

It's hard to find the words to express what this story means... the heart of it.  There are so many facets to consider from misconduct to the broken-ness of two families to the understanding of life itself Michael Morton came to.

Thank you for posting his story.  I have been touched and angered and even a little justified in my belief that we need to be vigilant in holding our judicial officials accountable for their own misdeeds and misconduct.

I didn't see that this has been posted in the thread yet.  It is a lovely account as told by Mr. Morton:

http://www.npr.org/2012/04/28/151470998/in-a-prison-cell-a-moment-with-god

Quote
"It wasn't an unusual day ... it was just another gray day in prison," he says.

He turned on his radio to listen to music before going to sleep. On a classical station out of Houston, he heard something strange: a harp.

"Without any sort of inkling of what was about to happen, all of a sudden, [in] that dark prison cell [in the] middle of the night I was bathed in this bright, golden light," he says.


There's a two minute audio where he poignantly shares the story in his own words.


Thank you for finding and sharing this . . . powerful!
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« Reply #43 on: October 19, 2012, 12:09:32 PM »

You're welcome, Sister. 
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« Reply #44 on: October 19, 2012, 02:18:09 PM »

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/state-bar-files-ethics-suit-against-morton-prosecu/nShW4/
State bar files ethics suit against Morton prosecutor
October 19, 2012

A State Bar of Texas disciplinary commission has filed a lawsuit accusing former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson of violating his duty as a lawyer by intentionally withholding favorable evidence from Michael Morton, who served almost 25 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.
If the allegations are found to be true after an as-yet unscheduled civil trial, Anderson — now a state district judge in Georgetown — faces punishments that include a public reprimand, disbarment or the loss of his law license for a set amount of time.
The four-page “disciplinary petition” lists five pieces of information that it says Anderson hid from Morton and his lawyers “before, during and after” Morton’s 1987 trial, when he was sentenced to life in prison for murdering his wife, Christine, in the bed of their Williamson County home.
The petition also said Anderson did not reply truthfully when District Judge William Lott, who oversaw Morton’s trial and is now deceased, asked if all favorable evidence had been turned over to defense lawyers as required by law.
“During a pretrial hearing, (Anderson) affirmatively told the trial court that he had no evidence favorable to the accused. That statement was false,” the petition said.
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« Reply #45 on: November 10, 2012, 07:41:55 AM »

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/austin/mark-norwood-indicted-in-second-homicide
Mark Norwood indicted in second homicide
Norwood indicted in 2nd capital murder

November 9, 2012


AUSTIN (KXAN) - Mark Norwood, under indictment on a capital murder charge in the 1986 death of Christine Morton, was indicted Friday in a second killing from the 1980s.

A Travis County grand jury issued a capital murder indictment in the 1988 death of Austin resident Debra Baker, whose death has long gone unsolved.
Norwood's trial in the August 1986 death of Christine Morton will be held in San Angelo. The trial will be held before Judge Burt Carnes in Tom Green County in January, according to sources at Tom Green County District Court.

Morton's husband, Michael, was wrongly convicted and spent 25 years in prison before DNA evidence cleared his name. The DNA found on a bandana recovered near the crime scene was traced back to Norwood, who has a lengthy criminal record.

Baker's daughter, Caitlin Baker, called the wait for a break in her mother' death "excrutiating."

"It is difficult for us to process the reality that Debra might still be with us if evidence in the Morton case had been handled in the manner required by law," she said. "Though we have been frustrated at the length of time it has taken to get to this point, we are grateful to the Austin Police Department and Travis County District Attorney’s office for their hard work on Debra’s case.

Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg said the indictment of Norwood "came after a coordinated investigation" between the Austin Police Department and her office.

Attorney John W. Raley, who was part of the legal team that helped Morton win exoneration, also weighed in on the indictment.

“We all need to remember that when an innocent person is convicted of a murder, the real murderer goes free." Raley said. "The tragic consequences of a wrongful conviction can affect many families.”

In her statement, Caitlin Baker thanked authorities and Morton's defense team for their work on the case.

"We are extremely grateful for the work of John Raley and the Innocence Project," she said. "We understand this process may take even longer but at least the end of the legal road is near. We will each hold our own memories of Debra in our hearts as we participate in the difficult process of bringing her killer to justice.”

Baker, a young mother, was killed Jan. 13, 1988, and as recently as January police still need help solving the murder.
 ::snipping2::
Police had suspected that Norwood was linked to the case. But early this year they said they needed more evidence. Norwood lived in Baker's north-central Austin neighborhood at the time and worked as a carpet layer. Norwood was arrested for two home break-ins and a car burglary a year before Baker's death.

Police were hoping to jog someone's memory who knew Norwood or had some work done by him.

"We do have some information that Norwood was working as a carpet layer around this time period, so any business or construction site or anyone else who might have worked in that field or related field that may have known Norwood, at any level, we'd like to hear from you," said APD Violent Crimes Commander Julie O'Brien in late November.


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« Reply #46 on: November 30, 2012, 02:32:38 PM »

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/judge-agrees-to-delay-in-norwood-trial/nTJ8q/
Judge agrees to delay in Norwood trial
November 30, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Norwood’s lawyers filed a motion in Judge Burt Carnes’ district courtroom last week asking that the trial be delayed after their original DNA expert told them that they need to find another expert.
Norwood has been charged with capital murder in connection with the 1986 death of Christine Morton in Williamson County.
Christine Morton’s husband, Michael Morton, was wrongfully imprisoned for 25 years in connection with her death until DNA evidence exonerated him in the fall of 2011.
The Texas attorney general’s office, which is prosecuting the case, has received a statistical analysis of two DNA reports. Norwood’s lawyers said that their original DNA expert has told them “that he cannot properly address these issues in court,” the motion filed last week said. The delay in the trial will allow the new expert time to examine the findings.
The trial was set to begin Jan. 7 in San Angelo, and an effort will be made to set a new trial date next week, officials said. They said the new trial date could be March or as late as June.
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« Reply #47 on: December 14, 2012, 08:54:32 AM »

Mark Norwood murder trial gets new date

Defense will be getting two new DNA experts

Updated: Wednesday, 12 Dec 2012, 8:00 PM CST
Published : Wednesday, 12 Dec 2012, 7:55 PM CST
 Calily Bien



AUSTIN (KXAN) - A new trial date has been set for Mark Norwood accused of killing Christine Morton in 1986.
 
According to Norwood's attorney, Russell Hunt Jr., the parties involved were electronically notified of the new trial date, March 18, 2013, on Tuesday evening.
 
Norwood's trial was originally set for Jan. 7 in Tom Green County. Last month, J udge Burt Carnes granted a continuance after Norwood's attorneys asked for more time to find a new DNA expert.
snipped
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/austin/mark-norwood-murder-trial-gets-new-date
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« Reply #48 on: January 03, 2013, 09:00:52 PM »

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/mark-norwoods-trial-set-for-march/nTmXp/
Mark Norwood’s trial set for March
January 3, 2013

ROUND ROCK — The trial of Mark Norwood, accused in the 1986 beating death of Christine Morton in Williamson County, has been reset to March 18, according to court records.
Norwood will be tried in San Angelo. His lawyers had requested that his trial be moved out of Williamson County because of too much local media coverage. His trial was originally set for Jan. 7 but was postponed to give his lawyers more time to find a new DNA expert who could testify about a report that prosecutors have received.
The report is a statistical analysis of two DNA reports produced by different labs for the Travis County District Attorney’s office, according to court records.
 ::snipping2::
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« Reply #49 on: February 05, 2013, 09:02:47 AM »

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/anderson-court-of-inquiry-set-to-begin/nWFRp/
Lawyers spar over documents in Anderson inquiry
February 4, 2013

Georgetown — Riveting testimony by Michael Morton, and sharply worded battles over evidence, punctuated Monday’s opening of a court of inquiry that is examining whether former prosecutor Ken Anderson improperly hid evidence that could have helped Morton defend himself against a murder charge in 1987.
One of the most intense exchanges was sparked when Rusty Hardin, acting in a role similar to prosecutor, moved late Monday to introduce three documents that were newly discovered in files kept by Anderson when he was Williamson County’s district attorney.
Hardin said the documents, when combined with other records that he had presented earlier, showed a “pattern and practice” of withholding favorable information from defense lawyers, contradicting Anderson’s claims that he always disclosed such evidence as required by law.
“The file is replete with stuff they should have let the defense attorneys have,” Hardin said. “This is three more things in the DA’s files that should have been tendered to the defense. The fox doesn’t get to guard the henhouse.”
The documents were not displayed but included, according to testimony, two police reports — one about a burglar alarm going off in the neighborhood the morning Morton’s wife, Christine, was killed — and information about an alleged, but unexplained, death threat left on an answering machine of somebody who knew Christine Morton.
Anderson lawyer Eric Nichols objected, saying the documents were not relevant to the proceedings, which he said hinged on one point — whether Anderson complied with an order by trial Judge William Lott to provide him with certain information before Morton’s trial in 1987.
At other times, Nichols and two other lawyers representing Anderson objected to the tone of some of Hardin’s questions, saying they were inflammatory or needlessly antagonistic.
Hardin frequently responded that his questions merely reflected the truth as shown in records.
In the end, state District Judge Louis Sturns accepted the documents.
 ::snipping2::

Morton, the first witness called, spent more than five hours testifying, with breaks.
Much of his testimony revolved around two key pieces of evidence: a transcript found in sheriff’s department files of a conversation between the lead investigator, Sgt. Don Wood, and Christine Morton’s mother, Rita Kirkpatrick, and a shorter version of the transcript recently found in Anderson’s trial file.
The transcripts revealed that Kirkpatrick told Wood about a disturbing conversation she had just had with the Mortons’ 3-year-old son, Eric, 11 days after Christine Morton’s death. Eric said he had seen his mother crying as a “monster” hit her, Kirkpatrick said, adding that Eric said his father was not home at the time.
Hardin asked Morton if, before his trial or “during 25 years in the penitentiary, did you ever know there was a tape and transcript in the sheriff’s department files about this conversation?”
Morton: “No sir. It was a complete shock to me.”
Later, Hardin asked Morton what he wanted out of the court of inquiry, which is a rarely used proceeding to determine if any state laws had been broken in the way Anderson had prosecuted Morton. If the answer is yes, state law requires Sturns to issue an arrest warrant charging Anderson, potentially leading to a criminal trial.
Morton glanced briefly at Anderson, now a state district judge, who was sitting about 15 feet away at the defense table.
“I don’t want revenge. I don’t want anything ill for Judge Anderson. I don’t,” Morton said. “But I also realize that there are consequences for our actions, and that there needs to be accountability. Without that, every single thing falls apart.”
 ::snipping2::
The court of inquiry will resume at 8 a.m. Tuesday with an eight-hour videotaped deposition of Anderson, taken in 2011 by Morton’s lawyers.

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« Reply #50 on: February 05, 2013, 10:27:12 AM »

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/williamson/morton-drained-on-day-one-of-inquiry
Morton 'drained' on Day One of inquiry
Said five hour testimony was cathartic

Published February 4, 2013, Updated February 5, 2013

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) - Michael Morton said Monday he was "drained" following five hours of testimony at the Court of Inquiry for District Judge Ken Anderson, the former prosecutor who helped convict Morton of a murder he did not commit.

"There was more gravity than there has been in the past," Morton said. "It was emotional, but in the end, cathartic."

Morton was questioned for several hours by special prosecutor Rusty Hardin and Anderson's attorney Eric Nichols. He became emotional talking about his time in prison and about the transcript that showed his son Eric talking to his grandmother about the "monster" who killed his mother.
 ::snipping2::
Morton said he believes this inquiry is simply about what his defense attorneys should have known at the time of his trial and what evidence they did not get from prosecutors.

Tuesday, Anderson's eight-hour deposition will be played in court. Morton's original defense attorney Bill Allison is expected to testify, as is former Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley, who fought DNA testing of evidence that ultimately set Morton free in 2011.


Video at Link
 
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« Reply #51 on: February 06, 2013, 06:41:57 PM »


http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/austin/former-prosecutor-testifies-at-inquiry
Former prosecutor testifies at inquiry
Says Anderson knew Eric Morton witnessed murder

Published February 5, 2013, Updated February 6, 2013

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) - Judge Ken Anderson sat quietly in court as a former Williamson County assistant district attorney testified she heard him discuss the eyewitness account of Eric Morton in his mother's murder.

Kimberly Gardner told the court Anderson discussed Eric's statement to his maternal grandmother in a strategy session with other prosecutors before the 1987 trial.

"He said, 'the kid thinks a monster killed his mother,'" Gardner testified Tuesday during the second day of Anderson's Court of Inquiry. "I remember asking well, gee, can that be used in the trial. And the answer was no because he's not a competent witness and its hear say."

Gardner's testimony contradicted a deposition played for the court in which Anderson repeatedly stated he could not recall many of the details in the Morton case. He specifically said he did not recall knowing about Eric's statements to his grandmother and that he did not know if that evidence was shared with defense attorneys.

Gardner said she liked Anderson and was grateful to him for giving her a job when she was a young attorney.

"It's very hard to do this because I don't want to be here," Gardner said as Anderson looked on. "But I know what I heard."

Eric Morton's eyewitness account is one of several pieces of evidence attorneys for Morton said they were not provided at the original trial that they believe could have led to doubt about Morton's guilt.
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« Reply #52 on: February 06, 2013, 06:45:02 PM »

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/williamson/wilco-judge-testifies-at-anderson-inquiry
Morton's defense lawyer says Anderson stonewalled at trial
Says prosecutor would not share case files

February 6, 2013


(2 pgs)
GEORGETOWN (KXAN) - Michael Morton's original lawyer testified Wednesday that then-District Attorney Ken Anderson stiff-armed the defense's efforts to gain access to evidence that might have helped their case 25 years ago.

It was a no-discovery case,” said Bill White, who is still a practicing lawyer. “We did not get any discovery as to anyone’s statements -- period.”

 The testimony in the Williamson County courtroom came on Day 3 in the court of inquiry proceedings convened to determine if Anderson, now a state district judge, improperly withheld evidence that would have helped Morton while he was on trial in his wife's murder in 1986.

Morton would be convicted and sentenced to life in prison. But in October 2011, DNA evidence put someone else at the crime scene and Morton was set free and formally exonerated.

Anderson has said he was "sick" to learn that Morton was wrongly convicted, but has steadfastly insisted that his conduct during the prosecution of the case was handled properly.

But White testified that attempts to get a look at the sheriff’s office case file developed in preparation for Morton's tial were denied by Anderson. And, White continued, that although the defense was eventually given access to physical evidence such as fingerprints and a test on a woodchip, his team received little else.
 ::snipping2::

Video at Link
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« Reply #53 on: February 06, 2013, 06:56:24 PM »

http://www.kvue.com/news/UPDATE-DAY-3-Ken-Anderson-Court-of-Inquiry--190053531.html
Day 3: Ken Anderson court of inquiry continues
February 6, 2013


 ::snipping2::
Special prosecutors called Doug Arnold to the stand. He used to work with the Williamson County District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors also called former Williamson County Assistant District Attorney Kristen Jernigan.
Arnold is now a county court at law judge in Williamson County. Jernigan is currently running a private practice in the Austin area.
Lawyers questioned Arnold about policies related to sharing exculpatory evidence with defense lawyers. Arnold also answered questions surrounding why former Williamson DA John Bradley’s fought against DNA testing in the Michael Morton case.
Lawyers directed Arnold to recall conversations with Ken Anderson from 1998, when they discussed the practice of not calling an investigating officer to the witness stand.
Arnold testified that when he worked for Harris County they followed an open-file policy, but Williamson County has no such policy. Arnold added that he prefers the open policy so that he can avoid problems related to not sharing evidence with defense lawyers.
Arnold recalled a 2005 meeting between Bradley and the Innocence Project. Arnold testified that Bradley and Ken Anderson were going to fight all DNA testing.
Jernigan answered questions related to her time working under Bradley. She was charged with handling the Morton file after Arnold left the DA's office. Jernigan says filed notes from Sgt. Don Wood were not given to the judge for review in the murder case of Christine Morton.
Jernigan received an email from Bradley on August 19, 2011. It said, “Please contact Ken and make sure he gets a copy of the motion and reads it. He needs to understand that he will likely be the object of a claim that he committed a Brady violation at trial by not disclosing certain matters involving the interview of a grandmother. He needs to become familiar with the file and refresh his memory so that he can state with clarity whether he provided discovery of those matters and the circumstances surrounding discovery.”
Jernigan says Anderson became short with her, and he claimed he did not remember details surrounding the Morton case.
 ::snipping2::
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« Reply #54 on: February 07, 2013, 09:57:15 AM »

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/witness-describes-anderson-prosecution-strategy/nWHH6/
Morton lawyer: Hidden evidence ‘would have made the defense’
February 6, 2013

Bill White, one of two lawyers who represented Michael Morton at his 1987 murder trial, testified adamantly and repeatedly Wednesday that former prosecutor Ken Anderson never told him about two key pieces of evidence that “would have made the defense.”
Taken together, the evidence recently discovered in prosecution or law enforcement files would have “put meat to the bones” of the defense theory that Morton’s wife, Christine, had been killed by an unknown intruder, White said.
“Nobody knows what would’ve happened if we had it, but we didn’t,” White said on the third day of a court of inquiry examining whether Anderson, when he was Williamson County district attorney, illegally hid evidence that was favorable to Morton, who spent 25 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit.
White and co-counsel Bill Allison, who also testified Wednesday, said they would have remembered, and acted aggressively upon, the two pieces of evidence:
• The transcript of a police interview revealing that the Mortons’ 3-year-old son, Eric, said a “monster” had attacked his mother while Michael Morton wasn’t home.
• A police report about a suspicious man who had parked a green van on a nearby street and, on several occasions, walked into the wooded area behind the Morton home.
The van report indicated that somebody was casing the Morton home, while Eric’s statement placed a stranger inside the house, White testified. Both pieces of information would have helped defense attorneys place other evidence into sharper context, he said, including unidentified fingerprints on an unlocked sliding glass door and inside the bedroom where Christine Morton was killed.
In a taped deposition played in court Tuesday, Anderson said he couldn’t recall if he informed Morton’s lawyers about the transcript or the green van report, but said he assumed he did because that was his usual practice as district attorney.
On Wednesday, Anderson’s lawyers told District Judge Louis Sturns, who is presiding over the court of inquiry, that laws and court precedent in 1987 didn’t require prosecutors to turn over evidence that was inadmissible or already known to defense lawyers.
 ::snipping2::
Wednesday’s proceedings were punctuated by increasingly tense, bordering on hostile, exchanges between Anderson’s lead lawyer, Eric Nichols, and Rusty Hardin, who is acting in a role similar to a prosecutor in the court of inquiry.
Nichols strenuously objected to several of Hardin’s statements, including one in which Hardin said “we now know that (Anderson) did possess” but didn’t disclose evidence favorable to Morton.
Hardin’s role, Nichols argued, is not to act as a criminal prosecutor or Morton’s advocate, but to provide Sturns with information to help him reach a decision.
Hardin fired back, calling Nichols’ frequent objections frivolous and a “cockamamie waste of time.”
Hardin and Nichols also sparred over a central point in the case — whether Anderson complied with an order from Morton’s trial judge, the now-deceased William Lott, to turn over information compiled by sheriff’s Sgt. Don Wood, the primary investigator into Christine Morton’s death.
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« Reply #55 on: February 07, 2013, 03:41:19 PM »

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/williamson/2nd-morton-lawyer-takes-stand-in-anderson-inquiry
2nd Morton lawyer takes stand in Anderson inquiry
Proceeding enters fourth day of testimony

February 7, 2013

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« Reply #56 on: February 08, 2013, 08:54:57 AM »

http://www.kvue.com/news/Former-Williamson-County-District-Attorney-John-Bradley-testififes-in-Inquiry-190322891.html
Former Williamson County DA John Bradley testifies in Inquiry
February 7, 2013

GEORGETOWN -- John Bradley, the former DA of Williamson County has kept a low profile since losing his seat to Jana Duty last fall, that is until Thursday afternoon at a court Inquiry for Judge Ken Anderson.
Bradley defended his actions when he fought vigorously to withhold DNA testing in the Michael Morton case.
Morton spent nearly 25 years in prison after he was wrongfully convicted of killing his wife Christine in 1986.
Years later it surfaced that Anderson, the prosecutor at the time may have had evidence which could have exonerated Morton, evidence which Morton's defense team says they never saw.
 ::snipping2::
Testimony resumes at 8 a.m. Friday and Anderson is expected to take the stand.

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« Reply #57 on: February 08, 2013, 12:28:07 PM »

That's a start Ken.  How about sending yourself to prison for the next twenty five years for what you've done?  You're apologizing because now you are in the hot seat and you may find yourself behind bars.  JMHO

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/williamson/anderson-apologizes-to-morton-from-witness-stand
Anderson apologizes to Morton from witness stand
' I’ve beaten myself up,' former DA says

February 8, 2013

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) - Former prosecutor Ken Anderson on Friday offered an emotional apology to Michael Morton for the wrongful conviction of murdering his wife more than 25 years ago.

“I know what me and my family have been through for 18 months of false accusations, and it doesn’t even register in the same ballpark of what you went through,” Anderson said to Morton and what is expected to be the final day of the weeklong court of inquiry into whether evidence was improperly withheld during the 1987 trial.

“You’ve been incredibly gracious in your attitude towards me," continued Anderson, now a state district judge. "I apologize that the system screwed up. I’ve beaten myself up on what I could have done different and I don’t know. Maybe the Norwood prosecutor has something the sheriff’s office missed.”

The testimony came after four days in which Anderson sat quietly, without emotion, sometimes not even looking at courtroom exhibits while several witnesses accused him of holding back evidence that might have helped Morton's lawyers win an acquittal.

Instead, Morton spent 25 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of killing his wife, Christine.
 ::snipping2::

When the subject matter turned to the Morton case, Anderson bluntly denied he was ever given an order to produce field notes taken by investigator Sgt. Don Wood.

“I’ve gone through that record until I’m blue in the face, there is nothing in that record that even remotely says that,” testified Anderson.

“There is no such order in that record,”

Anderson also warned that his memory of 25-year-old details not on record would be muddled.

“My memory is same as (Morton attorneys) Bill Allison and Bill White’s, in that I don’t have any.”

While being questioned about his perceived attempts to block evidence and Wood’s notes from entering the trial, Anderson said he objected to the defense’s questioning of Wood because he felt it amounted to a “fishing expedition.”
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  " Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."  - Daniel Moynihan
MuffyBee
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« Reply #58 on: February 08, 2013, 05:28:07 PM »

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/anderson-takes-stand-defends-time-as-prosecutor/nWJ5T/
Anderson says he’s sure he shared key information with Morton defense
February 8, 2013

Much of the back and forth with Ken Anderson on the stand – from both sides – revolved around the “monster transcript” – a taped police interview in which Rita Kirkpatrick, the mother of murder victim Christine Morton, related a conversation with the Mortons’ 3-year-old son Eric.
Anderson insisted that the law did not require him to disclose details of Eric’s outcry to Morton’s defense lawyers, but he did agree that it was, as Hardin called it, “favorable to the accused.”
“Yeah, that’s why I’m as certain as a human being can be that I did share that information,” Anderson said, adding that three front-page stories in the American-Statesman at the time quoted police officials as saying that Eric might have seen the murder.
Hardin noted that there were details in the transcript, particularly Eric saying his father wasn’t home when the monster hurt his mother, that were never published in the newspaper.
“There’s not one single bit of evidence anywhere in the world … that anybody knew that Eric said his father wasn’t there, is that correct?” Hardin asked.
“Everyone was on notice that Eric had seen something,” Anderson said.
“I was asking you if the fact that Eric said his father wasn’t there was known,” Hardin said. “Nobody knew, did they, that Eric had told his grandmother that his father wasn’t there at the time his mother was beaten to death?”
“People in the sheriff’s office knew it, I knew it, Rita Kirkpatrick knew it,” and anybody Kirkpatrick told knew it, Anderson said.
“That’s a good point. Then why wouldn’t you tell the defense?” Hardin asked.
“As far as I know, I did tell the defense.”
 ::snipping2::
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MuffyBee
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« Reply #59 on: February 26, 2013, 06:05:53 PM »

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/morton-case-inspires-bill-on-misconduct-allegation/nWZzd/
Morton case inspires bill on misconduct allegations
February 26, 2013

Citing Michael Morton’s wrongful murder conviction, state Sen. John Whitmire filed a bill Tuesday that would reset the statute of limitations for exonerated Texans who allege that a prosecutor improperly hid evidence or information favorable to the defense.
Senate Bill 825 would give exonerees four years from the date of their release from prison to file a grievance with the State Bar of Texas, which oversees attorney discipline. The statute of limitations currently begins at the time a violation occurs, though it allows time to be extended if a violation could not be discovered earlier because of “fraud or concealment.”
The bill also would require that prosecutors be publicly reprimanded if misconduct is found, removing the option of a private rebuke
 ::snipping2::
Morton served almost 25 years in prison for the murder of his wife, Christine, before DNA tests confirmed his innocence and he was freed in 2011. He has accused former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson of hiding favorable evidence from defense lawyers in his 1987 trial.
Anderson, now a state district judge in Georgetown, has denied the accusations.
A state bar disciplinary committee, acting on its own initiative after news reports of Morton’s exoneration, filed a lawsuit last October accusing Anderson of violating his duty as a prosecutor by withholding evidence that could have supported Morton’s contention that an unknown intruder killed his wife.
If the accusations are upheld after a future civil trial, Anderson could be reprimanded, disbarred or temporarily lose his law license.
Anderson’s lawyers have challenged the lawsuit on several grounds, including a claim that the statute of limitations bars filing a grievance tied to the now-murky events of a quarter-century ago.
 ::snipping2::
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  " Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."  - Daniel Moynihan
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