UPDATED at 5:45 p.m.
Ken Anderson apologized for the system’s failure but said that “in my heart” he did not believe he acted improperly in prosecuting Michael Morton for a murder he did not commit.
Here is his statement, with more to come later:
“Twenty-five years ago, Michael Morton was convicted of murdering his wife in this very courthouse. The jury’s verdict was based on the evidence as we knew it at the time. DNA testing was not available then. It is now. In hindsight, the verdict was wrong. Mr. Morton was and is innocent of murdering his wife.
“The criminal justice system is designed to protect all of us, including criminal defendants. As district attorney at the time, as woefully inadequate as I realize it is, I want to formally apologize for the system’s failure to Mr. Morton and every other person who was affected by the verdict.
“Up until now, I didn’t feel it was appropriate to comment about this case when it was pending before other district judges. But those proceedings have essentially ended .
“There have been a number of allegations made about the professional conduct of the prosecutors, including me, on this case. In my heart, I know there was no misconduct of any sort. After the passage of 25 years, I obviously cannot recall the specific details of the trial. But I have been able to review the trial transcript and documents from the files. Based on that review, I believe that the state’s prosecution team complied with all orders from the court and with the law on pretrial discovery and disclosures as it existed in 1987.
“My hope and prayer is that Mr. Morton will be able to move forward with his life after these incredibly tragic events.”
Watching the press conference was Caitlin Baker, daughter of Debra Baker, the Austin woman who was murdered in 1988 - two years after Christine Morton was killed in a similar fashion. Mark Norwood, recently arrested in the murder of Christine Morton, is a suspect in Debra Baker’s death.
Caitlin Baker said she held Anderson partially responsible for her mother’s death because he and investigators focused so intently on Morton.
She also was unmoved by the judge’s apology.
“It’s harder for me to hear him not holding himself accountable. He’s not taking responsibility,” Baker said.
“My mother could be alive right now,” she said. “If he feels bad, prove it - resign.”
District Judge Ken Anderson will hold a press conference this afternoon to discuss the case of Michael Morton, a former Williamson County resident recently released from prison after serving almost 25 years for a murder he did not commit.
Anderson, who as the former district attorney prosecuted Morton for the 1986 murder of his wife, Christine, is expected to apologize for the wrongful conviction.
Morton was freed from prison last month based on new DNA evidence, and his conviction has been overturned by the courts with the agreement of the current district attorney, John Bradley.
On Nov. 9, Williamson County sheriff’s officers charged Mark Norwood, a Bastrop dishwasher and former carpet installer, with the murder of Christine Morton. DNA tests conducted last summer found Norwood’s DNA on a bandanna that had been collected from a construction site behind the Morton home the day after the murder. Tests on the cloth were inconclusive in 1986, but the recent DNA tests confirmed that the bandanna also contained Christine Morton’s blood and one of her hairs.
Norwood also is a suspect in the 1988 Austin murder of Debra Masters Baker. Like Morton, Baker had been beaten to death in her bed. No charges have been filed in the Baker case, which had remained unsolved.
Anderson’s 4 p.m. press conference will take place on the steps of the Williamson County Courthouse on Georgetown’s Town Square.