In November 2013, former Judge and Prosecutor Ken Anderson agreed to time in jail for deliberately withholding exculpatory evidence. CNN reports that in 1986, Anderson prosecuted Michael Morton for the murder of his wife Christine, tearfully telling the jury that Morton bludgeoned his wife to death. Morton was convicted despite a lack of physical evidence.
Over 20 years later, a group of attorneys working for Morton pro bono discovered evidence that had been withheld at trial. First, Michael and Christine’s young son Eric had seen the attack happen and told police that his dad was at work at the time. Second, neighbors had seen a man park a van behind the Morton’s house and walk off into a wooded area nearby, and police had recovered a blood covered bandana near the scene.
After years of fighting, the attorneys got the bandana tested and discovered it contained blood and hair from Christine Morton and the DNA of a man already convicted of killing another woman two years after Christine. In 2012, Michael Morton was exonerated after spending nearly 25 years in prison.
In court, Anderson pled no contest to the charges against him. He stepped down as a judge, lost his law license, and was given a $500 fine, 500 hours of community service and 10 days in jail. He was released from jail after just 5 days for good behavior.
Read the complete story here.
