Praise for Court of Inquiry Order in Morton Case

An editorial in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram hails the decision to order a Court of Inquiry into the possible prosecutorial misconduct in Michael Morton’s case as an important move to hold both sides of the court accountable.

 

Earlier this month Judge Sid Harle recommended a court of inquiry to investigate possible prosecutorial misconduct by former Williamson County prosecutor Ken Anderson. One week later, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson ordered the investigation.

 

In his column, Bob Ray Sanders writes that Morton should never have been convicted in the first place.

But Morton’s case, one of 289 DNA-related exonerations in the country and more than 40 in Texas in the last 10 years, shines a glaring light on a more chilling and sinister issue involving criminal prosecutions, particularly in the Lone Star State.

 

His lawyers contend that Morton wasn’t just a victim of mistaken identity, but a casualty of prosecutorial misconduct. Specifically they allege that the prosecutor in the case, Ken Anderson, who was then the Williamson County district attorney, deliberately withheld evidence that pointed to Morton’s innocence.

The case was referred to District Judge Louis Sturns of Fort Worth to conduct the court of inquiry.

This is an important move forward, for it indicates that prosecutors — as they often tell defendants — must be held accountable for their actions.

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