After pleading guilty to intentionally failing to disclose all the facts in the case, Anderson is set to be punished for “criminal contempt.” Critics say the “punishment” — 10 days in jail, 500 hours of community service, a small fine, and the loss of his law license — amounts to little more than a slap on the wrist considering the severity of the crimes.
For the first time ever, according to legal experts focused on the subject, a prosecutor who deliberately sent an innocent man to prison by withholding evidence is himself going to be jailed. The case surrounds Michael Morton, a Texas man convicted in 1987 of murdering his wife, and former prosecutor Ken Anderson (shown), the state official responsible for Morton spending 25 years in prison. Anderson withheld crucial evidence in the case as district attorney that could have cleared Morton of the charges.
Of course, experts say the problem is widespread — especially at the federal level — but the fact that there has been a semblance of accountability in this case is being applauded as a “good start.” According to multiple investigations and legal experts, because of official “immunity,” officials who commit deliberate misconduct are virtually never punished. Instead, they tend to get promoted, say lawyers and experts commenting on the issue.
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