Justice
By Mitch Berg
Up to a quarter of death penalty cases involve some degree of prosecutorial misconduct; Â prosecutors behaving badly is behind a majority of the over 130 people released from death row in the past forty years.
But how often do the prosecutors and police involved in twisting the legal system against the defendant pay?
Well, once, anyway:
Today in Texas, former prosecutor and judge Ken Anderson pled guilty tointentionally failing to disclose evidence in a case that sent an innocent man,Michael Morton, to prison for the murder of his wife. When trying the case as a prosecutor, Anderson possessed evidence that may have cleared Morton, including statements from the crime’s only eyewitness that Morton wasn’t the culprit. Anderson sat on this evidence, and then watched Morton get convicted. While Morton remained in prison for the next 25 years, Anderson’s career flourished, and he eventually became a judge.
And in exchange for railroading an innocent man, what happened?
In today’s deal, Anderson pled to criminal contempt, and will have to give up his law license, perform 500 hours of community service, and spend 10 days in jail. Anderson had already resigned in September from his position on the Texas bench.
It’s a start.
I urge you to read the whole thing.
March 17th, 2016 at 7:24 am
Wouldn’t it be nice if getting caught withholding exculpatory evidence meant that the prosecutor had to serve whatever sentence the innocent defendant received. I’ll bet that would put more than a few wrinkles in the careers of ambitious prosecutors.
March 17th, 2016 at 7:44 am
Per Kel’s comment, Deuteronomy 19:15-21. It ought to be noted that we ought to impose this on both corrupt prosecutors and corrupt defense attorneys, too.
March 17th, 2016 at 8:53 am
Per Kel & bub’s comment, we would be remiss to exclude the crooked coppers that fabricate evidence and submit falsified arrest reports from joining their ilk in serving time.