The Junk Science: The Michael Morton Story

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The Michael Morton Story is something you hear about in a distance but never hope to become reality in your society. Michael Morton, a 32-year-old supermarket manager from Texas, was wrongfully convicted for the murder of his wife Christine Morton, 31, in 1986. In 1986, the same night of Michael Morton’s Birthday, the two returned home from dinner with their son Erik. Once Erik went to bed, Michael was hoping to have sex with his wife Christine when she went to sleep. He left a note for her saying that these things happen. At 5:30am, Michael Morton went off to work at the supermarket, and what he didn’t know was that he wouldn’t return to his wife. Neighbors called the Williamson police when they heard cries for help coming from the Morton …show more content…

This bandana contained blood and a hair, which possibly contained the blood of the victim and the DNA of the assailant. The sole reason that Michael Morton was arrested was become of the time of death of the victim, Christine Morton. The medical examiner relied on stomach content, which we now know is unreliable, and placed the time of death based on the stomach contents. Junk science was the reason that Michael Morton was falsely convicted of murdering his wife. The medical examiner did not assess any type of rigor mortis, which they should have but unfortunately it wasn’t thoroughly advanced. If the medical examiner looked at other body parts and organ functions besides the stomach and combined in with DNA testing, there would’ve been a different …show more content…

The District Attorney failed to hand over documents to the defense that could’ve exonerated Michael Morton. The Jury was distraught over the false conviction and attributed their decision to the lack of information and evidence given to them by the prosecution. They believed that the prosecution was trustworthy and gave them true, honest facts to make their decision, which was not the case. Michael Morton’s fourteenth amendment right to a fair trial was violated. Michael Morton was released from prison and officially exonerated in 2011. District Attorney Bradley apologized on behalf of the state and said that he couldn’t recall many inquires of factual evidence and requests for testing, but was sorry for what happened to Michael. The District Attorney was defeated for re-election as a result of his fight against DNA testing of the Bandana. Furthermore, Judge Anderson, who prosecuted Michael Morton’s case, resigned from the Bench, was stripped of his law license, and served time in

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