He Should Spend More Time In Jail

Ex-Texas prosecutor who convicted innocent man of wife’s ‘86 killing agrees to 10 days in jail

San Angelo Standard-Times, Patrick Dove, File/Associated Press - FILE - In this March 27, 2013 file photo, Michael Morton speaks to the media on the steps of the Tom Green County Courthouse in San Angelo, Texas, after a jury found Mark Norwood guilty of the 1986 murder of Morton’s wife, Christine. Morton was originally convicted of the crime and spent 25 years in prison before DNA evidence exonerated him in 2011. The same evidence implicated Norwood in the murder. Ken Anderson, the former Texas prosecutor charged over the wrongful murder conviction agreed to a 10-day jail sentence Friday, Nov. 8, 2013, accepting the punishment in front of the innocent man he helped put in prison for nearly 25 years.

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By Associated Press, Published: November 8

GEORGETOWN, Texas — A former Texas prosecutor charged over a wrongful murder conviction agreed to a 10-day jail sentence Friday, accepting the punishment in front of the innocent man he helped put in prison for nearly 25 years.

Ken Anderson also will be disbarred and must serve 500 hours of community service as part of a sweeping deal that was expected to end all criminal and civil cases against the former district attorney, who was the face of the law in a tough-on-crime Texas county for 30 years.

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Anderson, 61, never spoke in his return to the same Williamson County courthouse where he served as a judge for 11 years before resigning in September.

Sitting behind Anderson in the gallery was Michael Morton, who was released from prison in 2011 after DNA evidence showed he didn’t beat his wife to death in 1986.

“It’s a good day,” said Morton, surrounded by family members.

Asked if he felt satisfaction in watching the role reversal — Anderson at the defense table, waiting to be put behind bars — Morton took the high road.

“It was one of those necessary evils, or distasteful requirements that you have to do in life,” he said. Morton didn’t dwell on the length of the jail sentence, saying the punishment “or lack thereof” was as much as the legal system could dole out at this time.

Anderson entered a plea of no contest to contempt of court. The charge stemmed from a 1987 exchange when Anderson, then the Williamson County district attorney, was asked by a judge whether he had anything to offer that was favorable to Morton’s defense. He said no.

But among the evidence Morton’s attorneys claim was kept from them were statements from Morton’s then-3-year-old son, who witnessed the killing and said his father wasn’t responsible. There were also interviews with neighbors who told authorities they saw another man near the Morton home before the slaying.

Judge Kelly Moore said Friday the case against Anderson revealed a difficulty in determining justice.