Texas Morton Act seeks to reduce the occurrence of wrongful convictions

May 24, 2013 (Press-News.org) Inspired in part by the experience of Texas man who spent 25 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Texas Governor Rick Perry recently signed the Morton Act into law. The Morton Act seeks to make the Texas criminal justice system more fair and reliable by requiring prosecutors to turn over evidence to people accused of committing a crime.

Texas wrongful convictions

In 1987, Michael Morton was convicted of killing his wife in Williamson County, Texas. The Texas Tribune reports that, after DNA testing on evidence from the case was finally performed several years later, the DNA evidence connected a different man to the crime. Morton was exonerated and released from prison in 2011 after spending a quarter of a century behind bars. The prosecutor in the case now faces criminal charges himself for allegedly withholding evidence and is under investigation by the Texas State Bar Association as well.

As DNA testing becomes more common and available in criminal cases, increasing numbers of people across America are being exonerated after serving time for crimes they did not commit. According to the Houston Chronicle, Texas leads the country in the number of exonerations, with 117 people exonerated after a wrongful conviction in Texas.

Evidence must be provided to defendants

The Morton Act aims to reduce the occurrence of wrongful convictions in Texas and improve the integrity of the criminal justice system by making sure that defendants and their criminal defense attorneys have the information they need to defend their cases. Previously, prosecutors in Texas only had to give evidence to a defendant if required to do so by a judge, or if the prosecutor felt or determined that the information or evidence was favorable to the defense.

The problem was that prior to the Morton Act, the prosecutors in Texas would often fail to turn over evidence because they felt it was not helpful to the defense. A common scenario would be when a witness recants an earlier version of events or a witness gives a statement favorable to the defense, a prosecutor would not turn over the witness information because of the belief the witness is lying.

Another common problem would be a prosecutor's office that closes their files to a defense lawyer when the defense lawyer files motions and vigorously advocates for the defendant. Under the Morton Act, prosecutors must provide all evidence relevant to a defendant's case, except for information that may affect the security of a victim or witness.

The Texas Tribune reports that the author of the legislation, Senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) said in a press release that it is important to "ensure we bring all the relevant facts to light" to protect innocent people, accurately convict those who are guilty and provide reliable justice in Texas.

Hopefully, requiring prosecutors to provide defendants with the evidence against them will help prevent wrongful convictions in Texas. If you have been arrested or charged with a crime, contact a criminal defense lawyer who will work to ensure you have the information you need to present your best case against the charges and hold the prosecutor accountable to meeting his or her burden of proof.

Article provided by Rush & Gransee, L.C.
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