"RECENT ATTENTION HAS FOCUSED ON A HIGH PROFILE CASE WHICH MAY BECOME THE FIRST OFFICIALLY ACKNOWLEDGED MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE WHICH LED TO A MAN BEING EXECUTED.
THE GOVERNOR OF TEXAS, RICK PERRY, HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF GERRYMANDERING A COMMISSION EXAMINING THE EVIDENCE AGAINST CAMERON TODD WILLINGHAM WHO WAS EXECUTED IN 2004 FOR THE MURDER OF HIS THREE YOUNG DAUGHTERS IN AN ARSON ATTACK ON HIS HOME. PERRY ABRUPTLY REPLACED THE CHAIRMAN OF THE TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION AS IT WAS ABOUT TO HOLD HEARINGS INTO A REPORT BY ITS OWN EXPERT, WHO DESCRIBED THE CONVICTION AS BASED ON "JUNK SCIENCE". THE NEW CHAIRMAN CALLED OFF THE HEARING."
CHRIS MCGREAL; THE GUARDIAN;
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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." Two days before the Forensic Science Commission was to question Beyler in a public forum, the governor replaced its chairman and two other members whose terms were up. That forced the commission to delay the hearing so new members could read up on the case, and no new date has been set. Perry has since replaced a third member of the commission.
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"Even in Texas they are having their doubts," the November 15, 2009, Guardian story by writer Chris McGreal begins, under the heading "Texas accounts for half of executions in US but now has doubts over death row" and the sub-heading "Overturned convictions and growth of DNA forensic evidence shake state's rock-solid faith in capital punishment."
"The state that executes more people than any other by far – it will account for half the prisoners sent to the death chamber in the US this year – is seeing its once rock-solid faith in capital punishment shaken by overturned convictions, judicial scandals and growing evidence that at least one innocent man has been executed," the story continues.
"The growth of DNA forensic evidence has seen nearly 140 death row convictions overturned across the US, prompting abolition and moratoriums in other states that Texas has so far resisted.
But the public mood is swinging in the conservative state, which often seems to have an Old Testament view of justice. A former governor, Mark White – previously a strong supporter of the death penalty – has joined those calling for a reconsideration of capital punishment because of the risk of executing an innocent person.
The number of death sentences passed by juries in Texas has fallen sharply in recent years, reflecting a retreat from capital punishment in many parts of America after DNA evidence led to the release of scores of condemned prisoners.
The number of death sentences passed annually in the US has dropped by about 60% in the past decade, to around 100.
"In Texas we have seen a constant stream of individual cases that really destroy public faith and integrity in our criminal justice system," said Steve Hall, former chief of staff to the Texas attorney general for eight years, who is now an anti-death penalty activist.
"You are seeing that scepticism reflected in a lot of different ways. You are seeing juries more reluctant to issue death sentences. You are also seeing a different approach by district attorneys. Some are breaking with the past culture of seeking the death penalty whenever they can."
A fortnight ago, two men sentenced to death and life in prison for the murder of four teenagers in 1991 were cleared after sophisticated forensic tests from the crime scene did not match either man.
Other prisoners are also being released after DNA evidence. In Dallas county alone, 24 people have been exonerated and the new district attorney has created a conviction integrity unit to examine other suspected miscarriages of justice.
Recent attention has focused on a high profile case which may become the first officially acknowledged miscarriage of justice which led to a man being executed.
The governor of Texas, Rick Perry, has been accused of gerrymandering a commission examining the evidence against Cameron Todd Willingham who was executed in 2004 for the murder of his three young daughters in an arson attack on his home. Perry abruptly replaced the chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission as it was about to hold hearings into a report by its own expert, who described the conviction as based on "junk science". The new chairman called off the hearing.
Other states have moved swiftly to address concerns about potential miscarriages of justice.
The release of four men in New Mexico prompted the governor, Bill Richardson, to abolish the death penalty in the state earlier this year, saying: "I do not have confidence in the criminal justice system as it currently operates to be the final arbiter when it comes to who lives and who dies for their crime."
Six years ago, the governor of Illinois declared a moratorium on the death penalty after realising that the state had freed more men from death row than it had executed since 1976.
Death penalty supporters in Texas claim the numerous appeal processes protect against a wrongful conviction. "No one who's involved in criminal prosecution has ever claimed they are absolutely perfect," said Dudley Sharp, founder of a Texas victims rights group, Justice For All. "But with the death penalty in the United States you have a system that protects innocence to a greater degree than a life sentence ever could."
But Hall says the highly politicised judicial system in Texas, with elected prosecutors and judges, is part of the problem. "One of the problems with having an elected judiciary is that you end up with judges who have to become good politicians. That means appealing to the voters. The presiding judge on the court of criminal appeals, Sharon Keller, ran as a pro-prosecution judge. That was her phrase," he said.
Keller - known has Sharon Killer to her critics because of her enthusiasm for the death penalty - is at the centre of a controversy that has further undermined confidence in the death penalty, after she refused to keep a court office open after 5pm to allow a last-minute appeal for a stay of execution while the supreme court decided on another case that affected all executions in Texas. The convict, Michael Richard, was executed hours later.
Keller is awaiting a verdict from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct on charges of dereliction of duty.
Earlier this year, Keller turned down an appeal from a man on the brink of execution, despite revelations that the judge and prosecutor at his trial had been having an affair."
The story can be found at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/15/texas-death-penalty-execution-us
Harold Levy; hlevy15@gmail.com;
