STORY: "Texas judge who prosecuted innocent man resigns, by reporter Paul J. Weber, published by Associated Press on September 24, 2013.
GIST: "A Texas judge facing criminal charges over prosecuting a man who spent 25 years in prison for a killing he didn't commit resigned Tuesday as he awaits trial over whether he concealed evidence as a district attorney in the 1980s. State District Judge Ken Anderson wrote in a one-sentence letter to Gov. Rick Perry that he was stepping down immediately from his Williamson County court. In a statement later released through his attorney, Anderson did not allude to his criminal case. "There comes a time when every public official must decide that it is time to leave public life," Anderson said. "For me and my family, that time is now. For the foreseeable future I will be focused solely on making the transition into private life." Before Perry appointed him as a judge in 2002, Anderson was the district attorney in Williamson County and prosecuted Michael Morton in 1987 for murder in his wife's slaying. Morton always proclaimed his innocence, and he was exonerated in 2011 based on DNA evidence. In April, a special court of inquiry determined that Anderson intentionally concealed evidence favorable to Morton's defense. A former U.S. attorney is now leading the prosecution against Morton on charges of criminal contempt of court, tampering with evidence and tampering with government records. A trial date has not been set. If convicted, Anderson could face 10 years in prison. Morton's attorney called the resignation overdue. Anderson is also facing a lawsuit that accuses him of professional misconduct. "Judge Anderson deserves a fair trial, but if there are findings against him in either proceeding, we would expect that appropriate penalties be imposed," said Barry Scheck and John Raley, Morton's attorneys, in a joint statement. Anderson has apologized to Morton for what he called failures in the system but said he believes there was no misconduct in the case."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/texas/article/Texas-judge-who-prosecuted-innocent-man-resigns-4839996.php
Wikipedia report on Michael Morton prosecution:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Morton_%28criminal_justice%29
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following these issues.
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.
