AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- A judge ordered two former Texas prosecutors to testify about claims they hid evidence before the 1987 trial of a man wrongfully convicted of killing his wife.
The Austin (Texas) American-Statesman reported Tuesday District Judge Sid Harle ordered the two former prosecutors -- Ken Anderson, now a District Court judge, and lawyer Mike Davis -- to answer questions from attorneys for Michael Morton.
Morton was freed Oct. 4 after serving almost 25 years in prison. After his lawyers announced DNA tests showed another man killed his wife, Christine, the state's highest criminal court threw out his murder conviction and life sentence.
Anderson and Davis had sought to void subpoenas, arguing Morton's lawyers did not have authority to order them to provide sworn, videotaped depositions.
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Davis was expected to be deposed Tuesday in Georgetown, Anderson, on Oct. 31, the American-Statesman said.
Morton's lawyers said Anderson was expected to ask the 3rd Court of Appeals to overturn Harle's ruling and grant an emergency stay halting his deposition.
Davis' plans were unknown, but the clerk of the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin said he had not filed an appeal by Monday night.
Lawyers for Anderson and Davis did not return calls for comment Monday, the American-Statesman said.
The newspaper reported Morton is seeking information to support claims prosecutors hid pretrial evidence indicating his innocence, including a transcript of a taped police interview with Christine Morton's mother, Rita Kirkpatrick. The transcript shows Kirkpatrick said the Mortons' 3-year-old son, Eric, had spoken of his mother's attacker, accurately described details of the crime scene and said his father was not at home at the time.
