"All I can do is write a little song--after the fact. But if it helps wake people up, and will make them listen, feel, then it's done its job. Especially when the death penalty has become more a political than judicial issue. Sad state of affairs--I guess they call it Texas. I don't know whether all the men and women who have been executed were guilty or not. But I do know that they're dead."
SINGER/SONG-WRITER LUKE POWERS TO PUBLISHER CHARLES SMITH BLOG;
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BACKGROUND: (Wikipedia); Cameron Todd Willingham (January 9, 1968 – February 17, 2004), born in Carter County, Oklahoma, was sentenced to death by the state of Texas for murdering his three daughters—two year old Amber Louise Kuykendall, and one year old twins Karmon Diane Willingham and Kameron Marie Willingham— by setting his house on fire. The fire occurred on December 23, 1991 in Corsicana, Texas. Lighter fluid was kept on the front porch of Willingham’s house as evidenced by a melted container found there. Some of this fluid may have entered the front doorway of the house carried along by fire hose water. It was alleged this fluid was deliberately poured to start the fire and that Willingham chose this entrance way so as to impede rescue attempts. The prosecution also used other arson theories that have since been brought into question. In addition to the arson evidence, a jailhouse informant claimed Willingham confessed that he set the fire to hide his wife's physical abuse of the girls, although the girls showed no other injuries besides those caused by the fire. Neighbors also testified that Willingham did not try hard enough to save his children. They allege he "crouched down" in his front yard and watched the house burn for a period of time without attempting to enter the home or go to neighbors for help or request they call firefighters. He claimed that he tried to go back into the house but it was "too hot". As firefighters arrived, however, he rushed towards the garage and pushed his car away from the burning building, requesting firefighters do the same rather than put out the fire. After the fire, Willingham showed no emotion at the death of his children and spent the next day sorting through the debris, laughing and playing music. He expressed anger after finding his dartboard burned in the fire. Firefighters and other witnesses found him suspicious of how he reacted during and after the fire. Willingham was charged with murder on January 8, 1992. During his trial in August 1992, he was offered a life term in exchange for a guilty plea, which he turned down insisting he was innocent. After his conviction, he and his wife divorced. She later stated that she believed that Willingham was guilty. Prosecutors alleged this was part of a pattern of behavior intended to rid himself of his children. Willingham had a history of committing crimes, including burglary, grand larceny and car theft. There was also an incident when he beat his pregnant wife over the stomach with a telephone to induce a miscarriage. When asked if he had a final statement, Willingham said: "Yeah. The only statement I want to make is that I am an innocent man - convicted of a crime I did not commit. I have been persecuted for 12 years for something I did not do. From God's dust I came and to dust I will return - so the earth shall become my throne. I gotta go, road dog. I love you Gabby." However, his final words were directed at his ex-wife, Stacy Willingham. He turned to her and said "I hope you rot in hell, bitch" several times while attempting to extend his middle finger in an obscene gesture. His ex-wife did not show any reaction to this. He was executed by lethal injection on February 17, 2004. Subsequent to that date, persistent questions have been raised as to the accuracy of the forensic evidence used in the conviction, specifically, whether it can be proven that an accelerant (such as the lighter fluid mentioned above) was used to start the fatal fire. Fire investigator Gerald L. Hurst reviewed the case documents including the trial transcriptions and an hour-long videotape of the aftermath of the fire scene. Hurst said, "There's nothing to suggest to any reasonable arson investigator that this was an arson fire. It was just a fire. Legendary "Innocence" lawyer Barry Scheck asked participants at a conference of the National Association of Criminal Defence Lawyers held in Toronto in August, 2010, how Willingham, who had lost his family to the fire, must have felt to hear the horrific allegations made against him on the basis of the bogus evidence, "and nobody pays any attention to it as he gets executed." "It's the Dreyfus Affair, and you all know what that is," Scheck continued. "It's the Dreyfus AffaIr of the United States.
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Song-writer/singer Luke Powers has given this Blog permission to make available to our readers the video of his recently released song, "Texas Death Penalty Blues." The song is found on his recently released music video "HWY 100: Twilight Zone with Twang," a New Americana CD release on Phoebe Claire Records." "Texas Death Row Blues" is described by the publisher as, "a real Southern Gothic horror story based on the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham. In 2009 the fire science used to convict Willingham has been called into question - generating international attention." Powers brings an unusual background to this cd which his publisher tells us was inspired by Snopes.com and Franz Kafka. His biography tells us that, "When he is not writing songs, Luke teaches at Tennessee State University, an historically black college in Nashville, TN. Luke has a PhD in English from Vanderbilt University and Master's in Folklore from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to scholarly work he has published fiction and poetry." What truly impresses me about Luke Powers is his interest in the subject matter of this site and his deeply-honed aversion to injustice. "I was really impressed by your site. If there's any cure for bad science, it's good science. I applaud the work you do," he said to me in an email. "All I can do is write a little song--after the fact. But if it helps wake people up, and will make them listen, feel, then it's done its job. Especially when the death penalty has become more a political than judicial issue. Sad state of affairs--I guess they call it Texas. I don't know whether all the men and women who have been executed were guilty or not. But I do know that they're dead." Luke Power's new CD was released towards the end of August. It's eclectic nature can be fathomed from the titles to some of the songs, such as: "Mechanical Monkey" -- a hymn to the cymbal-crashing wind-up toy; "Humanzee" -- a lament of the world's only hybrid human/chimpanzee; "King of the Blues" -- a paean to the first bluesman to sell his soul to the devil; "Balloon Boy" -- the testimony of a true believer in the infamous PR hoax; "Ballad of the Minie-Ball" -- Civil War legend about a minie-ball ricochet that impregnated a Southern belle (true story); "The World's Smallest Confederate Veteran" -- song about a little person who rose to rank of General and post-war sideshow attraction (undetermined);, and "Starchild" -- confession of a Roswell crash alien reincarnated as a human girl. HWY 100 is available on I-TUNES and CDBaby.com. Free downloads (mp3s, music videos) and information about the songs can be found at http://www.phoebeclaire.net.
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be accessed at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
For a breakdown of some of the cases, issues and controversies this Blog is currently following, please turn to:
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=8369513443994476774
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
