Christine Morton Case

The innocence project has been exonerating the wrongly convicted for nearly 96 years through the latest innovations in DNA technology. Michael Morton, family man of Houston, Texas, was declared guilty to the murder of his wife, Christine Morton, in 1986, and was successfully exonerated in 2011 by DNA evidence.

In 1986, Michael Morton was accused guilty of first degree murder of his wife, Christine Morton, who appeared dead on the 13th of August,1986 in their home. Investigators say, “Christine had been killed by a large, wooden object”(Schneck). From this evidence, one may conclude that the murderer behind the crime could have been a very large, and strong man due to his ability to commit murder with a hand held object. Starting off, Michael got ready for work after celebrating his birthday the night prior. That day, he wrote a note to his wife addressing his feelings about her not being intimate the night before. In his note, “He came across as loving, yet unpleased about her actions”, (Schneck). Christine’s body was found by Michael, however their three-year old son, Eric, was home and witnessed the crime being committed. When investigators asked if Michael was home, their son replied no every time. Christine was not only murdered but, she was also raped, local authorities

On behalf of newer technology, Morton's DNA was tested with the approval of the court. When the police found a blue piece of clothing in their home which contained foreign hair samples, inaccurate DNA testing during 1986, detected that it was clothing from the Morton’s. Years later in 2005, testing found Christine’s blood fused with an unknown males DNA, who was recognized as Mark Alan Norwood. There was no sign of Michael’s DNA from the scene, which lead to his exoneration and discharge from prison on October 3, 2011. Later that fall, Norwood was arrested and found guilty for Christine’s