Michael Morton woke up from bed on August 13th, 1986 and began to get ready for the day, just like any other normal day. He then left for job as a head of the pharmacy department at a nearby Safeway in Austin. After work, he routinely went to go pick up his son from daycare. This is the time when Morton realized that something was up.
His son, Eric, was not at the sitter house, and he became worried. So, he called the house and Williamson County Sheriff Jim Boutwell picked up the phone. Sheriff Boutwell demanded that Morton come home immediately, and that he would not answer any questions over the phone. When Morton arrived at his home, he was welcomed by yellow crime scene ribbon, police officers, and chatty, worried neighbors all staring
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Morton’s actions, or really his lack of reactions spoke louder than words. The reactions by Morton were very quiet, stunned, and he showed no emotion to the recent death of his wife, fueling the Sheriffs suspicion of the only suspect they had. Morton was in shock.
Yesterday was Morton’s birthday. The family went out, had a nice dinner, and Morton was hoping to cap it off with a “happy ending” just before they went to bed. Chris had something else in mind, sleep. Disappointed, Morton left Chris a note explaining his frustration and left it on the bathroom mirror. This note became the biggest piece of evidence in this case.
During the court proceedings, the prosecution, led by Ken Anderson, used this note along with testimony from a medical examiner to develop a sensational tale of violence where Morton used a wooden club to beat his wife’s head, because she would not have sex with him. This tale drew a sexually sick, murderous psychopath picture for the jury. This evidence coupled with a “convincing” prosecutor was able to gain the upper hand and persuade the jury with enough information to find Morton guilty. Morton was sentences to life in prison, in 1987, using zero scientific evidence, no murder weapon, no eyewitnesses, and no clear
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How did the prosecutor have enough evidence to charge Morton with murder? With that lack of physical evidence, how did the jury find Morton guilty based entirely on circumstantial evidence and a shady timeline? I don’t think Morton should have even went to trial, even with material the prosecution had. How did the law enforcement officials just discount the bloody bandana, or the missing purse with fraudulent use of credit cards and forged checks?
On March 17th, 1987 Morton’s attorneys requested a new trial, citing that the Williamson County Assistant District Attorney Mike Davis told the jurors that there was an inch-thick stack of police reports they never saw, possibly doubting Morton’s guilt; motion is denied. (Daniel, 2016) How was this not granted? If Morton’s attorneys knew that there was a stack of papers floating around that no one has seen, why did it take almost 20 years to get the court to order them being turned over to the