How inmate Michael Morton lost 25 years of his life • Hacker News Board

Re: How inmate Michael Morton lost 25 years of his life

#11

Post by brazzy » Wed, Dec 04, 2013, 1:13 PM UTC

csmuk wrote: post #6

Re proesecutor: "He also agreed to a $500 fine, 500 hours of community service, and the loss of his law license, according to the Innocence Project, a legal clinic affiliated with Yeshiva University's Cardozo Law School." Sorry not enough. This is one place that "an eye for an eye" should be used. Screw Ghandi's opinion on the subject. The guy was an asshole through and through who ruined two people's already ruined…

I bet there were people who campaigned for the innocent man to be executed based on exactly this state of mind.

Re: How inmate Michael Morton lost 25 years of his life

#12

Post by fnordfnordfnord » Wed, Dec 04, 2013, 1:16 PM UTC

jwdunne wrote: post #5

Why is it possible for either side to withhold evidence? Why is all evidence not put on a table for both sides to dissect? Genuine questions. Currently it seems like a competition. This isn't competitive ground, as much as I see lawyers essentially competing over number of clears/convictions. This is about people's lives!

It is possible because a prosecutor's incentives are to get convictions above all else, and because prosecutors are rarely (almost never) held to account for such crimes. Even when prosecutors deliberately obstruct efforts by the defense to obtain that evidence, going so far as to ignore an order from a higher court, the punishment is relatively small.

Ken Andersen was allowed to resign as district judge, and also to resign from the Texas State Bar, he was given a 10-day sentence for a criminal contempt charge for which he served 5 days in jail.

link http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2013/09/from-too-littl...

another link http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/why-michael-morton%E2%80%9...

Re: How inmate Michael Morton lost 25 years of his life

#13

Post by wavefunction » Wed, Dec 04, 2013, 1:21 PM UTC

brazzy wrote: post #11

csmuk wrote: post #6

Re proesecutor: "He also agreed to a $500 fine, 500 hours of community service, and the loss of his law license, according to the Innocence Project, a legal clinic affiliated with Yeshiva University's Cardozo Law School." Sorry not enough. This is one place that "an eye for an eye" should be used. Screw Ghandi's opinion on the subject. The guy was an asshole through and through who ruined two people's already ruined…

I bet there were people who campaigned for the innocent man to be executed based on exactly this state of mind.

I don't see the equivalency. The prosecutor abused his official position and the legal system to personally advance his career. If anything, we should hold our officials and authorities to even harsher standards to ensure equitable treatment under the law.

Re: How inmate Michael Morton lost 25 years of his life

#14

Post by forktheif » Wed, Dec 04, 2013, 1:28 PM UTC

wavefunction wrote: post #13

brazzy wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bet there were people who campaigned for the innocent man to be executed based on exactly this state of mind.

I don't see the equivalency. The prosecutor abused his official position and the legal system to personally advance his career. If anything, we should hold our officials and authorities to even harsher standards to ensure equitable treatment under the law.

If anything, we should fix the systems that allow miscarriages of justice like this to happen.

Yet revenge seems to be the first motivation of most people. Making things worse instead of making things better.

Re: How inmate Michael Morton lost 25 years of his life

#15

Post by sevenminaya » Wed, Dec 04, 2013, 1:31 PM UTC

Here's a perfect case where you would want Morton had become a mastermind in jail, to come out to frame the prosecutor for murder so he can go thru the same thing.

Re: How inmate Michael Morton lost 25 years of his life

#16

Post by sevenminaya » Wed, Dec 04, 2013, 1:31 PM UTC

Here's a perfect case where you would want Morton had become a mastermind in jail, to come out to frame the prosecutor for murder so he can go thru the same thing.

Re: How inmate Michael Morton lost 25 years of his life

#17

Post by fnordfnordfnord » Wed, Dec 04, 2013, 1:41 PM UTC

brazzy wrote: post #10

girvo wrote: post #2

The prosecutor should serve at least 25 years in jail for withholding key evidence and ruining this persons life. Christ these stories make me so upset. :/

Great. Now you know exactly how the jury felt when they ruined this persons life based on a complete lack of evidence that he committed a crime (never mind the withheld evidence against it). Quoth the article: "We all felt so strongly that this was justice for Christine and that we were doing the right thing," says Mark Landrum, who was the jury foreman. Righteous fury is the worst enemy of justice.

There appears to be no shortage of evidence that Ken Anderson is a criminal. "The State Bar’s Commission for Lawyer Discipline wrote in its court filing that Anderson knew of the evidence and withheld it. The filing also alleges that Anderson made a false statement to the court when he told the judge he had no evidence that could be favorable to Morton’s claims of innocence."[1]

[1] http://www.texastribune.org/2012/10/19/state-bar-seeks-disci...

Re: How inmate Michael Morton lost 25 years of his life

#18

Post by fnordfnordfnord » Wed, Dec 04, 2013, 1:44 PM UTC

brazzy wrote: post #11

csmuk wrote: post #6

Re proesecutor: "He also agreed to a $500 fine, 500 hours of community service, and the loss of his law license, according to the Innocence Project, a legal clinic affiliated with Yeshiva University's Cardozo Law School." Sorry not enough. This is one place that "an eye for an eye" should be used. Screw Ghandi's opinion on the subject. The guy was an asshole through and through who ruined two people's already ruined…

I bet there were people who campaigned for the innocent man to be executed based on exactly this state of mind.

In Texas, there is always some idiot[1] campaigning to have some poor bastard executed.

[1] usually a prosecutor.

Re: How inmate Michael Morton lost 25 years of his life

#19

Post by nate_meurer » Wed, Dec 04, 2013, 1:47 PM UTC

brazzy wrote: post #10

girvo wrote: post #2

The prosecutor should serve at least 25 years in jail for withholding key evidence and ruining this persons life. Christ these stories make me so upset. :/

Great. Now you know exactly how the jury felt when they ruined this persons life based on a complete lack of evidence that he committed a crime (never mind the withheld evidence against it). Quoth the article: "We all felt so strongly that this was justice for Christine and that we were doing the right thing," says Mark Landrum, who was the jury foreman. Righteous fury is the worst enemy of justice.

I agree with your last sentence, but I think it's a bit out of place here. The OP didn't call for a disproportionate sentence. Prosecutor Ken Anderson deliberate falsified a case that cost Mr Morton 25 years of his life. A 25 year sentence for Ken Anderson would seem perfectly reasonable to me.

Re: How inmate Michael Morton lost 25 years of his life

#20

Post by wavefunction » Wed, Dec 04, 2013, 1:53 PM UTC

forktheif wrote: post #14

wavefunction wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see the equivalency. The prosecutor abused his official position and the legal system to personally advance his career. If anything, we should hold our officials and authorities to even harsher standards to ensure equitable treatment under the law.

If anything, we should fix the systems that allow miscarriages of justice like this to happen. Yet revenge seems to be the first motivation of most people. Making things worse instead of making things better.

We should, but part of fixing the system that allows these things to happen is penalizing "bad actors." The prosecutor hid evidence from the judge, not just the defense. In addition, a brutal murderer is still free among the populace. What if they've killed again in the interim?