Michael Morton tells his story

Written by MWN

by Melanie Wilmoth Navarro

Michael Morton is a free man.

In a recent 60 Minutes segment, you see footage of Morton being released from prison and stepping out into the warm Texas sunshine for the first time in 25 years.  “The sun felt so good on my face, on my skin,” Morton recalls, “I felt like I was just drinking in the sunshine.”

In 1987, Morton was convicted of brutally murdering his wife, Christine.  He was sentenced to life in prison.

But he was innocent.

Morton’s case gained national media attention last year when he was exonerated based on DNA evidence — a bandana found near the scene of the crime had traces of Christine’s blood and the DNA of another man.  That same man’s DNA matched that found at the crime scene of another murder that happened in 1988 near where Christine was killed.  Morton was in prison when the second murder occurred.

An investigation by the Innocence Project revealed prosecutorial misconduct in Morton’s case.  Key pieces of evidence were withheld by the prosecution — pieces of evidence that would have cleared Morton’s name. The District Attorney at the time of Morton’s trial, Ken Anderson, is now under investigation.

“I don’t have a lotta things really driving me,” Morton says to the 60 Minutes reporter, “But one of the things is, I don’t want this to happen to anybody else. Revenge isn’t the issue here. Revenge, I know, doesn’t work. But accountability works. It’s what balances out. It’s the equilibrium.”

Check out the full 60 Minutes report here.

2 thoughts on “Michael Morton tells his story”

  1. Pingback: slacktivist » Just remember that you’re standing on a planet that’s evolving

  2. I am one of those people that the system went wrong. It was all bout title
    and know “he” knew. It just about destroyed me, my children. There is no money can bring back the years wrongfully torn apart, convicted. I always knew you were a fine man. The years apart from my children have left me disabled. I wish you so much happiness. I knew the day would come and the truth would be revealed. I know how it feels. I keep missing you at events but I, too want to tell my story before I die. I did receive an apology recently from a local district judge pertaining to my case. Shalom Enjoy being a grandfather. My son, Ben Jacobs went on and became a teacher and football coach. His book is called OVERTIME. I am here in Austin as a friend to talk to anytime. If we could just get others wrongfully convicted- FREE as we were born.
    Peace+Love Michael+
    Clotilde’ Cleo RJ Sofikitis

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