State Judge Sid Harle on Friday signed off on a probable cause affidavit, setting the stage for Williamson County Judge Ken Anderson, who prosecuted Morton, to face a court of inquiry into whether he deliberately concealed from Michael Morton exculpatory evidence that could have helped him avoid a murder conviction for his wife’s brutal 1986 murder.
Morton was convicted and sentenced to life for the bludgeoning death of his wife Christine inside the couple’s Williamson County home. Morton spent nearly a quarter-century behind bars for the crime before newly tested DNA evidence last year pointed to another man, Mark Alan Norwood, as the real perpetrator. Morton was freed from prison and Norwood was charged with Christine Morton’s capital murder; he has claimed innocence and is awaiting trial.
“When you do the right thing, as the judge did today, everything else falls in place – it’s just a matter of time,” Morton told reporters after the Friday afternoon hearing before Harle.
Read more on the Morton case, and Morton’s push for a court of inquiry, here.
This article appears in February 10 • 2012.