In an unprecedented move against prosecutorial misconduct, former District Attorney Ken Anderson was arrested and released on $7500 based on charges that he violated state evidence tampering statutes and committed contempt of court when he violated a court order by suppressing powerful exculpatory evidence in the decades-old Michael Morton case. Morton was prosecuted for murder but was exonerated through DNA evidence after he served nearly 25 years in prison. District Judge Louis Surms, who is sitting as the court of inquiry into the Morton conviction, also issued an order to show cause requiring Anderson to appear on a criminal contempt citation.

Judge Sturms found that Anderson had concealed two critical pieces of evidence:  a police interview transcript that showed Morton’s young son had witnessed the murder and reported that his father had not been home at the time; and evidence that a man with a green van parked near the Morton home had been seen walking repeatedly into the woods behind the house.

Related Readings

Michael Morton Prosecutor Will Face Criminal Charges for Withholding Evidence by Innocence Project (Apr. 2013)