Wednesday’s announcement that criminal charges would not be brought against former Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison mercifully brings to a close an unfortunate chapter in the legal history of Johnson County and the state of Kansas.

After acknowledging an extramarital affair with a former assistant in the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office, Morrison resigned as attorney general last January after having held the office for just over a year. He had betrayed the trust of the people of Kansas, and his political career in all likelihood was over.

However, Phill Kline who lost the attorney general’s race to Morrison and had been selected by Johnson County Republicans to take Morrison’s place in the DA’s office, wasn’t finished with the case. He appointed two special prosecutors — one of whom had worked for Kline in the DA’s office — to further investigate the Morrison case and determine whether blackmail or telephone harassment charges might be justified.

On Wednesday the prosecutors said they had completed their investigation and found insufficient evidence to file any charges against Morrison.

Given the connections to Kline, it’s reasonable to assume that the special prosecutors left no stone unturned. Even if the investigation had the flavor of, in Morrison’s words, a “political vendetta,” the decision not to file charges should put the matter to rest once and for all.

Even Morrison’s supporters couldn’t muster much sympathy for someone who had engaged in such reckless actions in the middle of a statewide campaign. It was a sad episode for everyone involved and the state should be glad it is over.