"IN CLAIMS (2) AND (3), MR. JACKSON DISPARAGES MR. WILLINGHAM’S INITIAL CLAIM THAT HE ATTEMPTED TO RESCUE HIS CHILDREN — A CLAIM THAT WAS COLLABORATED BY WITNESSES WHO WERE FIRST ON THE SCENE. IN FACT, MR. JACKSON BASELESSLY ATTACKS THE CREDIBILITY OF ONE OF THE NATION’S FOREMOST EXPERTS, DR. CRAIG BEYLER, BUT MOCKINGLY REFERRING TO “WELL-ESTABLISHED BURNS.” IN FACT, ACCORDING TO A DALLAS MORNING NEWS ARTICLE, DR. BEYLER WROTE THAT “EVIDENCE OF THE BURNS WILLINGHAM SUFFERED WERE WELL-DOCUMENTED, INCLUDING SCORCH MARKS ON HIS HANDS, SINGED HAIR ON HIS CHEST AND HEAD, AND A BURN ON HIS SHOULDER.” DR. BEYLER, ALONG WITH EIGHT OTHER TOP FORENSIC SCIENTISTS IN THE NATION RECRUITED TO INVESTIGATE THE CASE CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF ARSON."
VICTOR STEINBOK: GUEST COLUMN; THE CORSICANA DAILY SUN;
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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."
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Victor Steinbok's commentary is significant because it appears in the Corsicana Daily Sun - the same paper that gave prosecutor Hohn Jackson the opportunity to defend Cameron Todd Willingham's murder conviction.
Steinbok is described as a "lawyer and independent researcher."
"I am very puzzled by Mr. Jackson’s column on the Cameron Todd Willingham’s case and by the Daily Sun’s willingness to print it," the commentary begins, under the heading, "No arson means no crime occurred."
"The column does not try to contradict the findings of the Texas Forensic Science Commission — it can’t," the commentary continues.
" Mr. Jackson is presenting the impossible case that even if Mr. Willingham could not have been convicted of arson — as there was no evidence to support the theory that the fire was set — he still should have been convicted of murder and executed. This claim is like trying to convict someone of murder by firearm when there is absolutely no evidence that he has ever held a gun in his life or ever tried to procure one.
But Mr. Jackson does not stop with the claim alone. He cites seven “facts” in support of the conviction. Unsurprisingly, none of the “facts” have any bearing on the case, even if Mr. Jackson reports them accurately. Mr. Jackson is using his status in the community and in the legal profession to protect a conviction that should not stand.
The first claim may be the strongest. If indeed Mr. Willingham had attempted to kill his children twice before the fire, it may go to establish a pattern. But such pattern is only valid if there is actual evidence that the children were murdered — no arson, no murder. To make matters worse, Mr. Jackson “supports” this claim with a reference to “attemp[ing] to abort both pregnancies”. He further buttresses it by pointing out, in claim (5), that Mr. Willingham was “a serial wife abuser” of “violent nature” and prone to “vicious attacks on animals.”
But in his attempt to paint a “violent sociopath,” Mr. Jackson arrives at a contradiction — if Mr. Willingham was impulsive and violent, murder by arson — which requires premeditation and careful planning — would have been quite uncharacteristic. Mr. Jackson was a prosecutor on the case, not an expert forensic psychologist. The conclusions of claims (1) and (5) are irrelevant and nonsensical.
In claims (2) and (3), Mr. Jackson disparages Mr. Willingham’s initial claim that he attempted to rescue his children — a claim that was collaborated by witnesses who were first on the scene. In fact, Mr. Jackson baselessly attacks the credibility of one of the nation’s foremost experts, Dr. Craig Beyler, but mockingly referring to “well-established burns.” In fact, according to a Dallas Morning News article, Dr. Beyler wrote that “evidence of the burns Willingham suffered were well-documented, including scorch marks on his hands, singed hair on his chest and head, and a burn on his shoulder.” Dr. Beyler, along with eight other top forensic scientists in the nation recruited to investigate the case came to the conclusion that there was no evidence of arson.
But even if we except that the evidence in (2) and (3) suggests, as some neighbors had claimed, that Mr. Willingham did not sufficiently attempt to rescue his children from the raging fire, this would merely paint him as a less foolishly heroic figure than he tried to portray himself initially. This may be evidence of humiliation and despondency over the inability to save the children, but not of guilt. There can be no doubt that Mr. Willingham attempted to rush into the house after the firefighters arrived, which required first a neighbor, then a firefighter to restrain him.
Claim (4) concerns the use of a polygraph. Polygraph examination results or a refusal to submit to such may not be used as evidence of guilt in any US courtroom. The claim of a vulgar and insulting outburst that accompanied Mr. Willingham’s refusal is the worst kind of hearsay.
The same is true of claim (6). We have no idea why Mr. Willingham might have said what is claimed, what he actually said or if he said it at all. And, again, if there is no arson, there is no reason to suspect anything nefarious behind the statement even if he did make it.
Finally, claim (7) — the a refrigerator was blocking the rear exit — has no bearing on the murder conviction. If anything, it may suggest a path to prosecution on negligence — one never taken or considered. But does Mr. Jackson actually suggest that the refrigerator was placed at the back door specifically in order to block the exit path for the one- and two-year old children? According to Willingham’s testimony, the children were behind a far more benign child-proof barrier and could not have reached the rear exit even had they tried. Negligently creating a hazard that blocks an escape route is not the same as setting fire to the house.
It is also telling that Mr. Jackson did not use the alleged jail-house confession to support his case — after he cited it in a number of interviews with other publications, it has been pointed out that the general reliability of jail-house snitches is less than stellar. Given the circumstances and the character of the witness, the reliability of the testimony, in this case, is at the lower end.
In his column, Mr. Jackson wrote that Mr. Willingham was “charged as a multiple child murder, and not an arson-murder to achieve capital status.” But this is meaningless. The method of killing of which Mr. Willingham was convicted was arson. It does not matter if arson was not the aggravating factor in promoting the charge to capital status. If there is no arson, there cannot be a murder. And the TFSC finding is unambiguous — there is absolutely no evidence of arson at the Willingham home. No one is claiming that we know with certainty that Mr. Willingham was innocent — but we do know that he should not have been convicted for causing death through arson..."
The commentary can be found at:
—————http://www.corsicanadailysun.com/thewillinghamfiles/local_story_246212744.html
Other rebuttals to Jackson's column;
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=3600356645951441150
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
