The Guilty Man

Michael Morton spent almost 25 years wrongfully imprisoned for the murder of his wife, until DNA recovered from a blue bandana found near the crime scene helped set him free. A year and a half later, that same piece of evidence finally brought him face-to-face with the real killer. 
by Pamela Colloff
June 2013
The blue bandana that exonerated Michael Morton of the 1986 murder of his wife Christine. It was found to contain traces of blood and the DNA of Mark Norwood.
Photograph by Adam Voorhes

Michael Morton approached the witness box. It was a bright, clear morning in March, and a few dozen family members, journalists, and curious onlookers had gathered at the Tom Green County courthouse, in San Angelo, a grand, columned monument to justice built in 1928 at the height of an oil boom. Sunlight spilled into the courtroom, which had been meticulously restored to its original splendor, complete with a decorative relief on the ceiling of an enormous sunflower. Michael took his seat, his posture ramrod-straight.

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Tags: THE CULTURE, MICHAEL MORTON, MARK NORWOOD, WILLIAMSON COUNTY, KEN ANDERSON, WRONGFUL CONVICTION, EXONERATION, JOHN BRADLEY

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