Michael Morton wrongful conviction to exoneration

Michael Morton's wrongful conviction to exoneration

Christine Morton died more than 34 years ago, which implicated her husband, Michael Morton as the culprit who orchestrated the killing. For emphasis, Michael was wrongfully accused, which necessitated the need for him to plead not guilty. Further, he sought legal representation to prove his innocence. Significantly, Michael was sentenced to life imprisonment before being exonerated 25 years later because his wife's killer was brought to justice (Morton, 2015). According to Eric, his young son, a man with a bushy mustache killed her mother and not his father. The kid provided the statement to his grandmother; however, the pressing question touched on the real identity of the murder suspect. Significantly, the Williamson County prosecutor, Ken Anderson, took a step to engage in a shoddy prosecution resulting in the wrongful conviction of Michael Morton (Morton, 2015). The case presented a wrong picture to the judicial system in the United States because the proceedings of the case have been used as a benchmark to handle issues related to the wrongful convictions happening across the country.

After 25 years behind bars, a thorough DNA analysis managed to free Michael. Specifically, Christine received a thorough beating which led to her death in their family home. Critically analyzing the issue, it was wrong to allege that Michael was the key suspect in the murder case because he left the house for work early that morning (Polzer et al., 2014). At that time, Eric, who was the three-year-old son, argued that the man who killed his mom had no close resemblance to his father. Neighbors also reported about a man who lurked in the neighborhood. Adding to this, a canceled check was made out to Christine Morton, cashed with a forged signature (Morton, 2015).

Michael clearing his name

Michael Moron managed to clear his name and went back to court to argue that the prosecutor, Ken Anderson, should be charged because he misused his power to facilitate the sentencing of Morton to 25 years in prison. Michael Morton was accused of brutally murdering his wife, Christine Morton. In an interview, the innocent individual described the feeling of being released after 25 years. The feeling was alien because he did not feel real for a long time (Morton, 2015). Reverting to this case, Prosecutor Ken Anderson told the jury that Morton killed the wife because she refused to have sex with the alleged suspect. However, there was no murder weapon direct evidence linking Michael to the crime, yet the prosecutor argued persuasively, claiming that Morton was violent and unremorseful.

Significantly, Michael believed that there was a shred of evidence that would exonerate him. Ken Anderson decided to withhold the evidence (Garrett, 2017). The legal counsel was never allowed to access the police reports in the prosecutor's files. Specifically, Eric narrated the whole incidence to his grandmother, citing the murderer who killed his mother as a monster with a mustache and not Michael Morton. Adding to this, a neighbor saw a suspicious man pack a green car on the street before walking into the wooded area behind the Morton home. This was very crucial information that the prosecutor was legally and ethically obligated to disclose in the court of law.

Unfortunately, he developed the appetite to win the case by all means, and this saw him named the prosecutor of the year in 1987 (Morton, 2015). He later became a District Judge back in 2002 in the same court where Morton was convicted. The initiative by the Innocence Project to come up with a DNA analysis managed to exonerate Michael from the crime which was linked to the murder of his wife (Garrett, 2017). The test was conducted explicitly on a bloody bandana found on the crime scene. Significantly, Christine Morton's blood was found on the bandana and the DNA of Mark Allan Norwood, who was the actual perpetrator. Allan was involved with another murder after Christine's incident. The members of the Innocence project believe Anderson deliberately withheld the evidence for probable cause (Polzer et al., 2014). Subsequently, he violated court order among other state laws; however, he denied any misconduct issues.

How wrongful convictions occur

Several wrongful convictions have managed to get news or media coverage due to the exonerations facilitated by effective DNA analysis. In most cases, 60% of cases are linked to wrongful convictions concerning capital crimes. Another 6% of wrongful convictions happen in other crimes, according to a survey conducted on 3000 state prisoners in Pennsylvania. The major contributor to this research was the criminologist Charles Loeffler and his team, which became prosperous through the innocent project. According to the project, the evidence originating from DNA analysis accounts for a negligible percentage of criminal cases. The contributing factors to this problem are the nonexistent DNA evidence and the destruction of the evidence after the conviction. Consequently, it becomes challenging for people like Michael Morton to prove their innocence in a court of law. To understand the complexity of Michael's case, it is essential to discuss some of the major causes of wrongful convictions.

Eyewitness Misinterpretation

The misinterpretation of eyewitnesses is among the leading causes of wrongful convictions. This problem arises most of the time due to several crimes happening across the country. The crimes are analyzed in a hurry, and this can lead to eyewitness misinterpretation. Moreover, the individuals committing the crime manage to hide their identity, making it hard to identify the culprits. The tactic creates room for error during the identification of witnesses (Williams, 2019). At times, the suspect stands out more during the identification, and this contributes to more mistakes. The approach usually makes the witness very confident while identifying the suspect in a lineup or photo since they perceive the individual they see as the criminal. In other cases, the law enforcement officers have accidentally led the witness to identify the suspect, resulting in witnessing misinterpretation.

Incorrect Forensics

Most forensic scientists make wrong conclusions regarding the evidence due to flawed assumptions. Notably, the assumptions originate from gunshot residues, arson together with abusive head trauma cases. The evidence presented in courts is not usually monitored to establish the other possibilities, including exaggerations and inaccuracies (Williams, 2019). Furthermore, forensic science previously depended on bite marks and hair analysis to develop a shred of evidence. However, the approach was very unreliable because it could not be used to conclude a DNA testing. It is deplorable that the judges believe in the forensic experts who get the chance to present the evidence before the court.

False Confessions

False confessions are also one of the leading causes of wrongful conviction. These false confessions are usually provided by individuals suffering from mental illnesses and juveniles. At times, people with ill intentions against the suspect can give false confessions to punish the suspect. These individuals can be close and distant relatives, friends, among other witnesses (Williams, 2019). Significantly, the police officer usually coerces individuals during suspect interrogations instead of investigating the crime, subsequently resulting in false confession from the suspect. They manipulate the alleged criminals about the seriousness of the conviction. Eventually, suspects because are made to believe that the approach will reduce their sentence. In most cases, the confessions have accurate information about the crime since the police manage to feed the suspect with the information (Garrett, 2017).

Official Misconduct