Former Williamson County district attorney Ken Anderson this morning entered a closed courthouse room where he faces Michael Morton and an inquiry into how prosecutors secured a wrongful murder conviction against Morton 25 years ago.
Courts
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Criminal Justice
Forensic Science Panel Recommends Wide-Ranging Arson Review
The momentous and long-awaited move was welcomed by the family of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was convicted of killing his three daughters in a 1991 arson fire. He was executed in 2004, and scientists have since discredited the science that was used to cement his arson conviction.
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Criminal Justice
Updated: Ex Morton Prosecutor Loses Testimony Fight
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied a request from former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson to keep him from providing testimony in an investigation of what led to the wrongful conviction of Michael Morton.
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Criminal Justice
Cornyn Presses for Fast and Furious Probe
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has asked congressional colleagues to investigate whether federal officials ran a gun-walking program in Texas similar to the controversial and now defunct Fast and Furious operation.
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Criminal Justice
Court Hears Challenge to State Business Tax
A successful challenge to the state’s primary business tax would throw lawmakers into special session to try to find enough money to pay for public schools, a lawyer for the state told the Texas Supreme Court today.
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Criminal Justice
Skinner Lawyer: DNA Decision Likely Up to State Court
Following a hearing today in federal court in Amarillo, a lawyer for death row inmate Hank Skinner said it will likely be up to the state courts to decide a fight over DNA testing in his case. Skinner is scheduled to be executed Nov. 9.
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Criminal Justice
TribLive: A Conversation with Susan Combs
At last Thursday’s TribLive conversation, Comptroller Susan Combs talked about the health of the Texas economy, her agency’s data breach, her shifting position on abortion and more.
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Criminal Justice
Updated: Morton Lawyers: Former DAs’ Claims “Wholly Deficient”
Michael Morton’s legal team responded today to claims from the exonerated man’s original prosecutors that they cannot be forced to testify as part of an inquiry into how Morton was wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife.
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Criminal Justice
Morton Prosecutor Says He’s Victim of Media War
Mike Davis, one of the original prosecutors in the 1987 murder case against Michael Morton, said in court filings today that he is the victim of a media war between Morton’s lawyers and Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley.
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Criminal Justice
TribLive: Combs on the Data Breach
At this morning’s TribLive conversation, Comptroller Susan Combs talked about the data breach on her agency’s web site that inadvertently exposed the personal information of 3.5 million state employees and retirees.