http://kut.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Bernier-Morton-Web.mp3
Michael Morton has experienced a harrowing, remarkable journey .
Morton served 25 years in a Texas prison, convicted of the murder of his wife in 1987. It wasn’t until 2011 that DNA testing, unavailable at the time of his conviction, proved the innocence he had long maintained.
Morton came to the KUT studios yesterday for an extended interview covering his time in prison, the justice system and wrongful convictions. (An Austin resident before his incarceration, Morton was at UT to discuss the latter topic that day.)
You can read the entire interview. In this excerpt, Morton discusses his attitude after prison:
I forgave a lot folks. I don’t mind admitting that I spent a number of years plotting the early demise of several people. Quite a few people actually. The sheriff, the DA, the usual suspects. My lawyer told me something. I had heard it before, and I don’t know who the first guy to say it was. But he said, “To have revenge and hate in your heart is like drinking poison and hoping the other guy dies.” That may be kind of flowery, symbolic, hyperbole, but it’s perfectly accurate. When you do get there – and it’s a conscious choice but then it takes a little bit of time – you feel lighter, you drop forty pounds. It’s an improvement in every aspect of your life.
Read "Exonerated Michael Morton: “You’re Supposed to Forgive.”
