"IT'S EASY TO SEE WHY DEATH PENALTY OPPONENTS HAVE LATCHED ONTO THE WILLINGHAM CASE. AT THE AGITATOR, RADLEY BALKO ASKS THIS "QUESTION FOR SUPPORTERS OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: DOES WILLINGHAM’S CASE MAKE YOU RETHINK YOUR POSITION? IF NOT, HOW MANY MORE CASES OF AN EXECUTED INNOCENT PERSON WOULD IT TAKE TO MAKE YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND?" THAT'S A POWERFUL ARGUMENT. SOME WILL FIND IT PERSUASIVE. NOT ENOUGH TO ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY, I'D VENTURE, BUT PERHAPS ENOUGH TO FURTHER RESTRICT IT. I THINK THE ASPECT OF THE CASE THAT MAY HELP MORE PEOPLE, THOUGH, IS TO DEBUNK FOREVER THE PROPAGANDISTIC WIVES' TALES UPON WHICH ALL ARSON "FORENSICS" WAS BASED BEFORE THE MID-'90S."
GRITS FOR BREAKFAST: CAMERON TODD WILLINGHAM: REQUIRED READING;
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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 besiighbors 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."
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I love "Grits for Breakfast," a quirky blog published out of Houston, Texas, which, in its own words, "looks at the Texas criminal justice system, with a little politics and whatever else suits the author's fancy thrown in."
"All opinions are my own. The facts belong to everybody," says publisher Scott Henson, "a former journalist turned opposition researcher/political consultant, public policy researcher and blogger."
"Welcome to Texas justice," Grits for Breakfast warns the reader. "You might beat the rap, but you won't beat the ride."
"I thought it'd be useful to round up some commentary on the Willingham case, which has drawn a huge amount of interest," Henson's September 09 post, headed "Cameron Todd Willingham: Required Reading."
"The recent flurry of attention began thanks to a new report from an expert commissioned by the Texas Forensic Science Commission and an extensive article in the New Yorker by David Grann, which vetted the arson testimony and other evidence in the case," the post continues.
"The prosecutor, now a judge, offered a retort in the Corsicana Sun. Gann responded to the prosecutor's column here. Gann also points out several writers who have already responded to the prosecutor's op-ed.
The Sun published another rebuttal story titled "No Doubts" that even quoted Willingham's trial attorney proclaiming his guilt. By contrast, they didn't speak to Willingham's Waco-based appellate attorney, Walter Reaves, who always believed Willingham was innocent and feels vindicated by the new forensic report and the New Yorker piece, he says on his blog.
The Texas Moratorium Network is taking the high road, offering up a post titled "'Total idiots' in Corsicana strike back at scientific reports that Todd Willingham fire was not arson." A blogger at The Seventh Sense sees the former prosecutor's column as evidence of "the poor quality of the judiciary in Texas."
It's easy to see why death penalty opponents have latched onto the Willingham case. At the Agitator, Radley Balko asks this "question for supporters of capital punishment: Does Willingham’s case make you rethink your position? If not, how many more cases of an executed innocent person would it take to make you change your mind?" That's a powerful argument. Some will find it persuasive. Not enough to abolish the death penalty, I'd venture, but perhaps enough to further restrict it. I think the aspect of the case that may help more people, though, is to debunk forever the propagandistic wives' tales upon which all arson "forensics" was based before the mid-'90s.
Doug Berman wondered why the usual pro-death penalty writers have been silent regarding these new developments, but Kent Scheidegger at Crime and Consequences said the Willingham news was not the kind of major event that demanded immediate comment. (I'll betcha that wouldn't be the case if the investigator came back and determined the fire was arson!)
Kent's opinion was not shared by Barry Scheck writing at the Huffington Post, who offered up a column titled "Innocent but Executed." Defense attorney Mark Bennett out of Houston ponders the "criminal liability for judicial murders in Texas" as the law might apply to Willingham's case. Bob Herbert chimed in to emphasize how unreliable was the jailhouse snitch in the case. Change.org says Willingham was convicted because he was poor. Digby says there are some things the law is incompetent to do. The Agonist says justice was torched in Texas. Tom Head at his About.com Civil Liberties blog says this is the second innocent man executed in Texas. Defense attorney Paul Kennedy says:
The [New Yorker] article also makes me wonder how much longer we will have to put up with pseudo-scientific evidence such as bite mark analysis, handwriting analysis, tire tread analysis and all the other expert testimony that is "more art than science." When will our judiciary finally understand that criminal trial work is not merely an academic exercise? How many times will we have to hear the Court of Criminal Appeals state that factual innocence alone is insufficient to overturn a conviction?
In addition, Stand Down Texas has been pretty good about rounding up routine coverage. I'm sure there's much more out there I haven't seen. If you've read other interesting discussions of the Willingham case, leave a link in the comments.
MORE: A reader points me to this piece by Dahlia Lithwick at Slate. See also commentary from Dave Mann at The Contrarian, who points to this NPR coverage. From the Snitching Blog, see "Of Experts and Snitches.""
The post can be found at:
http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2009/09/cameron-todd-willingham-required.html
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com
