DNA sets husband free after 25 years in prison
Source: Agencies |
October 6, 2011, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A TEXAS grocery store employee who spent nearly 25 years in prison after being convicted of beating his wife to death walked free on Tuesday after DNA tests showed another man was responsible.
His attorneys said prosecutors and investigators kept evidence from the defense that would have helped acquit him at trial.
Michael Morton, 57, was convicted on circumstantial evidence and sentenced to life in prison for the August 1986 killing of his wife, Christine.
Morton said he left her and the couple's three-year-old son to head to work on the morning of the slaying, and maintained through the years that an intruder must have killed her.
Prosecutors had claimed Morton killed his wife in a fit of rage after she wouldn't have sex with him following a dinner for his 32nd birthday.
Morton hugged his defense attorneys, then hugged his parents after District Judge Sid Harle said he was a free man.
"You do have my sympathies," Harle said. "You have my apologies. ... We do not have a perfect system of justice, but we have the best system of justice in the world."
Addressing reporters moments later, Morton struggled to hold back tears.
"I thank God this wasn't a capital case. That I only had life because it gave these saints here at the Innocence Project time to do this," he said.
Texas has executed more prisoners than any other state. The New York-based Innocence Project, which helped Morton secure his release, specializes in using DNA testing to overturn wrongful convictions.
This summer, using techniques that weren't available during Morton's 1987 trial, authorities detected Christine Morton's DNA on a bloody bandana discovered near the Morton home soon after her death, along with that of a convicted felon whose name has not been released.
"Colors seem real bright to me now. Women are real good looking," Morton said. He then headed to a celebratory dinner with his family and lawyers.
Morton may be eligible for state compensation of US$80,000 per year he was wrongfully imprisoned - about US$2 million in total.
His attorneys said prosecutors and investigators kept evidence from the defense that would have helped acquit him at trial.
Michael Morton, 57, was convicted on circumstantial evidence and sentenced to life in prison for the August 1986 killing of his wife, Christine.
Morton said he left her and the couple's three-year-old son to head to work on the morning of the slaying, and maintained through the years that an intruder must have killed her.
Prosecutors had claimed Morton killed his wife in a fit of rage after she wouldn't have sex with him following a dinner for his 32nd birthday.
Morton hugged his defense attorneys, then hugged his parents after District Judge Sid Harle said he was a free man.
"You do have my sympathies," Harle said. "You have my apologies. ... We do not have a perfect system of justice, but we have the best system of justice in the world."
Addressing reporters moments later, Morton struggled to hold back tears.
"I thank God this wasn't a capital case. That I only had life because it gave these saints here at the Innocence Project time to do this," he said.
Texas has executed more prisoners than any other state. The New York-based Innocence Project, which helped Morton secure his release, specializes in using DNA testing to overturn wrongful convictions.
This summer, using techniques that weren't available during Morton's 1987 trial, authorities detected Christine Morton's DNA on a bloody bandana discovered near the Morton home soon after her death, along with that of a convicted felon whose name has not been released.
"Colors seem real bright to me now. Women are real good looking," Morton said. He then headed to a celebratory dinner with his family and lawyers.
Morton may be eligible for state compensation of US$80,000 per year he was wrongfully imprisoned - about US$2 million in total.
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