Huffington Magazine Issue 76-77 | Page 34

Voices MARK GODSEY HUFFINGTON 11.24-12.01.13 AP PHOTO/STATESMAN.COM, RICARDO BRAZZIELL, POOL The Powerful Go Punished in Texas E ARLIER THIS MONTH in Texas, former prosecutor and judge Ken Anderson pled guilty to intentionally failing to disclose evidence in a case that sent an innocent man, Michael Morton, to prison for the murder of his wife. When trying the case as a prosecutor, Anderson possessed evidence that may have cleared Morton, including statements from the crime’s only eyewitness that Morton wasn’t the culprit. Anderson sat on this evidence, and then watched Morton get convicted. While Morton remained in prison for the next 25 years, Anderson’s career flourished, and he eventually became a judge. Ken Anderson chokes back tears after recalling a prosecution that wrongfully sentenced a Texas man to 25 years. The man was exonerated in 2011 following new DNA tests.