EDITORIAL: "A big step toward justice in Texas: Texas must mandate that prosecutors share mitigating evidence with the accused," published by the Houston Chronicle on April 19, 2013.
GIST: "In the wake of Michael Morton's exoneration after spending 25 years in jail, it has been emphasized that prosecutors aren't merely charged with locking up criminals - they're charged with doing justice. Now that state district Judge Louis Sturns has issued an arrest warrant for Judge Ken Anderson - the disgraced former Williamson County district attorney who prosecuted Morton - we get a sense that justice is being done. In a courtroom Friday packed with reporters, state senators and Michael Morton himself sitting front row, onlookers watched as a new era of criminal justice began in Texas - an era in which prosecutors are held responsible for their actions. Judge Sturns apologized to Morton on behalf of the state of Texas and the judiciary in Williamson County before finally getting to the heart of matter. Probable cause existed to find Anderson had committed the three charges against him: criminal contempt of court, tampering with physical evidence and tampering with government records. Anderson knew his obligations to the court during that now-infamous 1987 murder trial, but he refused to turn over evidence favorable to Morton and instead doomed the innocent man to life in prison for a crime he didn't commit. That life sentence was thankfully cut short in 2010 when, after years of pleading by Morton, DNA evidence tied the murder of Morton's wife to a known felon, Mark Norwood. One could argue that by suppressing evidence to convict Morton, Anderson is responsible for Norwood's murder of an Austin woman two years later. But this is not about Anderson; this is about justice........."
The entire editorial can be found at:GIST: "In the wake of Michael Morton's exoneration after spending 25 years in jail, it has been emphasized that prosecutors aren't merely charged with locking up criminals - they're charged with doing justice. Now that state district Judge Louis Sturns has issued an arrest warrant for Judge Ken Anderson - the disgraced former Williamson County district attorney who prosecuted Morton - we get a sense that justice is being done. In a courtroom Friday packed with reporters, state senators and Michael Morton himself sitting front row, onlookers watched as a new era of criminal justice began in Texas - an era in which prosecutors are held responsible for their actions. Judge Sturns apologized to Morton on behalf of the state of Texas and the judiciary in Williamson County before finally getting to the heart of matter. Probable cause existed to find Anderson had committed the three charges against him: criminal contempt of court, tampering with physical evidence and tampering with government records. Anderson knew his obligations to the court during that now-infamous 1987 murder trial, but he refused to turn over evidence favorable to Morton and instead doomed the innocent man to life in prison for a crime he didn't commit. That life sentence was thankfully cut short in 2010 when, after years of pleading by Morton, DNA evidence tied the murder of Morton's wife to a known felon, Mark Norwood. One could argue that by suppressing evidence to convict Morton, Anderson is responsible for Norwood's murder of an Austin woman two years later. But this is not about Anderson; this is about justice........."
http://www.chron.com/opinion/editorials/article/A-big-step-toward-justice-in-Texas-4449212.php
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
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