Keller exoneration a warning parable about witch hunts

Congratulations to Fran and Dan Keller - an Austin couple accused of performing Satanic rituals and sexually abusing kids at their daycare a quarter century ago - on their formal exoneration nearly 30 years after their original false convictions.

The couple was released in 2013 and in 2015 their convictions were overturned. But the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied the couple actual innocence relief.

The difference came with a change in leadership at the Travis County DA's office. New DA Margaret Moore reversed her predecessor's stance and agreed to an actual-innocence finding, which is an alternative path to exoneration created by the Lege when Anthony Graves was exonerated but denied compensation because of the CCA's narrow definition of "actual innocence."

The CCA could have refused the agreement, but thank heavens they did the right thing and ratified it. It's long past time to make amends for one of the darkest, most surreal episodes Texas' justice system has seen in many a year. The outcome means the Kellers will each receive $80,000 per each year they were incarcerated, as well as a like amount distributed to them through a lifetime annuity.

In the wake of this happy news, the Dallas News editorial board took the opportunity to warn its readers that Texas and the nation still face dangers from "witch hunts" in the 21st century. Their editorial concluded:

All this matters, because new generations ferret out witches of their own. 

We are witness now to the blanket demonization of Muslims, of immigrants, of black drivers shot during police stops. And too often we rationalize our indifference with "better safe than sorry," or "if you didn't do anything wrong, there's no reason to worry." 

Try telling that to the Kellers.