NEIGHBORHOOD PEOPLE KNOW."
THEY
THEY CAN'T GO TO SCHOOLS, THEY CAN'T GO TO PARKS, SWIMMING
POOLS,
POOLS, NEIGHBORHOOD SWIMMING POOLS. SOCIETY REALLY HAS NO PLACE FOR
PEOPLE CONVICTED OF SEX
CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN.
IN THE SUMMER OF 19-92, TROY
MANSFIELD SUPERVISED A
PLAYDATE WITH HIS YOUNG SON AND
A 4-YEAR-OLD GIRL FROM
A DUPLEX NEXT DOOR.
MANSFIELD REMEMBERS HIS WIFE
COOKING IN THE NEXT
ROOM WHILE HE PLAYED WITH THE
KIDS. HE SAYS HE'D
PLAYED WITH BOTH CHILDREN BY
TOSSING THEM FROM A
BED IN HIS SON'S ROOM.
SIRENS
DAYS LATER, POLICE TOLD HIM HE'D
BEEN ACCUSED OF
TOUCHING THE GIRL
INAPPROPRIATELY THROUGH HIS
CLOTHES.
"I WAS DEVASTATED, I WAS
SHOCKED. THERE'S NO WAY IT COULD
EVEN BE MISCONSTRUED THAT I DID
ANYTHING, THIS IS
CRAZY."
HE DENIES ANY INAPPROPRIATE
CONTACT.
"I HAD HOPED THAT SOME WAY OR
ANOTHER THE SYSTEM WOULD
SEE THE TRUTH AND THIS WOULD BE
OVER."
BUT WILLIAMSON COUNTY
PROSECUTORS
PUSHED HARD- PROMISING MANSFIELD
THAT IF HE WENT TO
TRIAL, HE'D NEVER SEE OUTSIDE A
PRISON CELL.
"MY ATTORNEY TOLD ME THEY HAVE A
98% CONVICTION RATE
AND THEY'D TOLD HIM I WAS A SEX
OFFENDER AND AS FAR AS THEY WERE
CONCERNED, THEY'D THROW ME UNDER
THE JAIL."
THEY OFFERED SEVERAL PLEA
AGREEMENTS THAT MANSFIELD
REJECTED. HIS CASE-- SET FOR
TRIAL 5 TIMES.
"I KNEW NONE OF IT WAS REAL,
THERE'S NO WYA WHAT THEY HAVE IS
REAL. BUT
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE 25
YEARS
YEARS OLD
YEARS OLD AND A COUNTY LIKE WILLIAMSON COUNTY COMES AFTER YOU AND YOU DON'T HAVE
ANY MONEY? YOU CAN'T HIRE AN
ATTORNEY. I DIDN'T HAVE A
CHOICE.
CHOICE. I
CHOICE. I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE." MANSFIELD AGREED TO A DEAL WITH 10 YEARS
PROBATION BUT HE HAD TO PLEAD
GUILTY.
GUILTY. "I GOT TO STAY HOME. I GOTTA TAKE CARE OF MY WIFE, I GOTTA TAKE
CARE OF MY CHILDREN, I GOTTA
STAY HOME."
THE DEAL ALSO REQUIRED HIM TO
REGISTER AS A SEX
OFFENDER- A SHAMEFUL MARK BY HIS
NAME THAT FOLLOWED
HIM EVERYWHERE.
"I WANTED A GOOD NAME. WHEN I
WAS 18, I TOOK MY DADDY'S NAME ,
WALTER MANSFIELD. I USED TO BE A
BROWN.
BROWN. I
BROWN. I TOOK MY STEP DAD'S NAME AND I WANTED IT TO BE A GOOD NAME."
THE MANSFIELDS SPENT THE NEXT
TWO DECADES
TRYING TO LIVE A NORMAL LIFE.
HE
HE STRUGGLED TO SUPPORT HIS FAMILY FROM A CLEANING BUSIENSS, PURPOSELY IN HIS
WIFE'S
WIFE'S NAME. "WE LIVED BETWEEN 16 AND 19,000 DOLLARS A YEAR, FOR A FAMILY
OF FOUR SO VERY TIGHT, AND VERY
HARD BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO MAKE
A
LIVING BUT EVERYWHERE WE GO WE
GET THE DOOR SLAMMED ON
IT BECAUSE OF THIS."
ONE OF HIS WORST DAYS CAME WHEN
HE WAS KICKED OUT
OF HIS CHURCH.
"WHEN THEY CAME IN THAT SUNDAY
THEY
THEY SAID
THEY SAID WE WANT YA'LL TO GET OUT. YOU HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING WRONG, WE DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM
WITH YOU BUT PUBLIC OPINION IS
KILLING US IN THIS CHURCH AND
YOU'VE
YOU'VE GOT TO LEAVE." AFTER TWO DECADES OF LIVING IN SHAME, HE FOUND A
NEW
NEW ATTORNEY TO REVIEW HIS CASE. "KRISTEN HAD SAID TO ME, KEN ANDERSON WAS YOUR DA. DO YOU
KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN
WILLIAMSON COUNTY? AND I
SAID NO."
JUST ONE YEAR EARLIER -- MICHAEL
MORTON HAD
MORTON HAD
BEEN
BEEN DECLARED INNOCENT AFTER 25 YEARS IN PRISON FOR HIS WIFE'S MURDER.
PROSECUTORS HAD EVIDENCE
EXONERATING MORTON:
MORTON'S 3-YEAR-OLD SON TOLD
POLICE HE WAS HOME
WHEN THE MURDER HAPPENED AND
THAT HIS FATHER
WASN'T.
BUT PROSECUTORS NEVER TOLD
MORTON OR HIS
LAWYERS THAT INFORMATION.
MANSFIELD'S ATTORNEY WONDERED IF
SHE MIGHT FIND SOMETHING
SIMILAR. SHE SPENT SIX MONTHS
GETTING THE DA'S CASE FILE.
"IN MY HEART I BELIEVED THAT
THERE HAD TO HAVE BEEN
SOMETHING THERE, THAT IF WE
COULD FIND IT, THAT IT WOULD
SHOW THAT
I WAS INNOCENT."
THEY FINALLY FOUND IT, RIGHT
THERE IN PLAIN VIEW -- THEY
SAW HANDWRITTEN NOTES --
EVIDENCE
FAVORABLE TO MANSFIELD, YET
NEVER SHARED WITH HIS
LAWYERS.
"LITTLE KIDS DON'T LIE. EITHER
SHE WAS COACHED OR
SHE
SHE HAD
SHE HAD BEEN MOLESTED EARLIER AND THE ACCIDENTAL TOUCHING REMINDED HER."
THERE WERE ALSO NOTES FROM JUNE,
1993 READ -- "VICTIM
WILL BE DIFFICULT TO SPONSOR IN
COURT. SHE
TOLD ME SHE DOES NOT REMEMBER
WHAT
HAPPENED! AT ONE POINT TOLD ME
NOTHING HAPPENED." KEITH HAMPTON
IS AN ATTORNEY IN AUSTIN WORKING
FOR THE WRONGLY CONVICTED.
IT IS SO FACTUALLY WELL
ESTABLISHED A CONVICTION WAS
OBTAINED THROUGH FRAUD, THROUGH
PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT, IN THE
PROSECUTORS OWN HAND- WRITING. THAT DAY -- IN HIS 21ST YEAR AS A REGISTERED
SEX OFFENDER -- PROSECUTORS
AGREED MANSFIELD WAS
VICTIM TO A GRAVE INJUSTICE.
"AMY AND I JUST WEPT LIKE BABIES
THAT
THAT DAY
THAT DAY THINKING IS THIS THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THIS NIGHTMARE THAT WE'VE BEEN
THROUGH."
A YEAR LATER -- A JUDGE
OVERTURNED MANSFIELD'S
CONVICTION, RULING PROSECUTORS
VIOLATED HIS
CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS BY GIVING
OVER FAVORABLE
OVER FAVORABLE
EVIDENCE.
EVIDENCE. TODAY -- MANSFIELD -- NO LONGER A CONVICTED FELON, NO LONGER ON
A LIST WITH RAPISTS OR CHILD
MOLESTERS.
"BOY, HOW EXCITING. AND YET SO
ANGRY THAT THEY WOULD HAVE
THAT AND DESTROY A MAN'S LIFE
OVER WHAT?"
MANSFIELD NOW HAS A LAWSUIT
AGAINST
WILLIAMSON COUNTY -- TRYING TO
RIGHT A WRONG FOR TWO LOST
DECADES.
"THERE IS NO AMOUNT OF MONEY
THAT ANYBODY COULD EVER PAY
ME TO GIVE ME BACK THE 23 YEARS
THAT WERE STOLEN AND THE
EMBARRASSMENT THAT MY WIFE AND
CHILDREN HAD TO GO THROUGH."
BUT THERE HAVE BEEN PRECIOUS
MOMENTS OF
MOVING FORWARD.
MANSFIELD WILL NEVER FORGET THE
DAY HE GOT TO TELL HIS
STEPFATHER, THAT THE THE AWFUL
MARK BESIDE HIS
NAME -- THEIR NAME -- WAS
FINALLY GONE.
"I WAS SO HAPPY TO GO TO MY DAD
AND TELL HIM, OUR NAME IS
GETTING
CLEARED, DADDY. OUR NAME IS
GETTING CLEARED. ALL THAT'S
PRETTY
PRETTY BIG STUFF." KEN ANDERSON WAS DISBARRED OVER THE MICHAEL
MORTON CASE.
AND ALTHOUGH MORTON SPENT 25
YEARS IN PRISON,
ANDERSON ONLY SPENT 10 DAYS IN
JAIL AS A RESULT OF A
PLEA BARGAIN.
WE REACHED OUT TO KEN ANDERSON
ON
ON THIS
ON THIS CASE BUT DIDN'T HEAR BACK. THE CURRENT WILLIAMSON COUNTY
D-A SHAWN DICK
SAYS HE CONTINUES TO WORK TO
RESTORE THE
COMMUNITY'S FAITH IN THE SYSTEM
SYSTEM THERE.
WILLIAMSON COUNTY IS FIGHTING
MANSFIELD'S
LAWSUIT -- SAYING THAT BECAUSE
PROSECUTORS
ARE NOT COUNTY EMPLOYEES -- THE
COUNTY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR
WHAT HAPPENED. THE
CASE IS SET FOR TRIAL IN
FEBRUARY.