A year after he was released from prison, Michael Morton says he is still enjoying the small blessings of free life. On Thursday, he’s launching a website to aid his efforts to reform Texas laws and make prosecutors more accountable.
Michael Morton
Posted inState Government
District Attorneys’ Report: Prosecutor Misconduct is Exceedingly Rare
The state association that represents prosecutors reviewed 91 cases in which Innocence Project researchers identified prosecutor error or misconduct. The organization concluded there were actually only six cases of misconduct.
Posted inState Government
Prosecutor Turned Defender Taps Full Range of Court Experiences
If Rusty Hardin ever thought he was special, he says, he’d lose all the advantages that have made him one of Texas’ most successful prosecutors and famous defense lawyers. Now he’s taking on a special role: investigating the wrongful conviction of Michael Morton.
Posted inState Government
SBOE Member’s New Client Reveals Small World of Texas Politics
Thomas Ratliff, a lobbyist and State Board of Education member, has taken on exoneree Michael Morton as a client for the 2013 session. It’s a decision that is sure not to warm the frosty relations between Ratliff and fellow SBOE member David Bradley.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Updated: Williamson County Makes Arrest in 1980 Murder Case
Williamson County officials have arrested a 53-year-old former Garland resident in the 1980 murder of Mildred McKinney. The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office says it identified the DNA and a fingerprint of Steven Alan Thomas at the crime scene.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Video: Errors in Judgment: Seeking Solutions
Michael Morton’s exoneration last year brought to a crescendo in Texas calls for change in the way that prosecutors are regulated. Morton and others discuss whether there is a need for more accountability for state lawyers and how it ought to be accomplished.
Posted inState Government
In Wake of Wrongful Convictions, Calls for Accountability
Prosecutors have long enjoyed relative immunity for their mistakes. In the wake of Michael Morton’s case and other high-profile exonerations, many have joined his call for new laws to hold prosecutors accountable.
Posted inState Government
Son Seeks Answers, Accountability in Father’s Wrongful Conviction
Eric Olson was 3 years old when his mother was beaten to death in her bed. Six months after losing his mother, Eric lost his father, too, when a Williamson County jury convicted Michael Morton and sent him to prison for life.
Posted inState Government
Mark Norwood’s Murder Trial to Be Moved From WilCo
A state district judge on Monday granted murder suspect Mark Norwood’s request to move his trial out of Williamson County, where his case has already received major media attention.
Posted in
State Government
Morton Case is Front, Center in WilCo DA Race
Michael Morton’s name isn’t on the ballot, but he has become the central figure in the heated campaign to become tough-on-crime Williamson County’s next district attorney.