The information in a sealed investigative file provided to a Williamson County court by Travis County prosecutors should take away “any concerns whatsoever” about the innocence of Michael Morton, who is serving a life term for the 1986 slaying of his wife, his attorney said at a Sept. 26 hearing. Morton has maintained he played no role in the bludgeoning death of his wife, Christine, in the couple’s Georgetown home. John Raley, who’s been handling Morton’s case since 2003, argues that evidence kept from his client by Williamson County prosecutors demonstrates Morton’s innocence. The evidence includes the content of an interview between Morton’s mother-in-law and the Mortons’ then 3-year-old son just days after the murder. The son, Eric, was home at the time of the slaying and told his grandmother that his father was not there. Moreover, the defense has found DNA from a known felon mixed with Christine’s DNA on a bandana found not far from the couple’s home.
Now it appears there’s another nail in the coffin for the state’s case against Morton, this time provided by Travis County prosecutors in the form of information related to a pending criminal inquiry – but what exactly that information is and who it involves has not been publicly released. According to the Austin American-Statesman‘s Chuck Lindell, the two-page file “apparently” details the cold case investigation of a 1980s murder. Whatever the content, it was enough for Raley to ask that the state work with the defense on a motion to drop the case and release Morton from prison. Predictably, Williamson County isn’t yet ready to concede wrongful conviction because there are still “issues” that need to be resolved, prosecutor Lindsey Roberts told the court. Another hearing is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 3. (For more on the case, see “New Evidence Points to Trouble for WilCo D.A.,” Aug. 26.)
This article appears in September 30 • 2011.