"I ASKED HOW THE PUBLIC WOULD BE ABLE TO DISCERN WHETHER THE BOARD IS GIVING ADEQUATE ATTENTION TO REPORTS SUCH AS THE ONE IN THE CAMERON TODD WILLINGHAM CASE THAT QUESTIONED THE LEGITIMACY OF EVIDENCE INDICATING HE STARTED THE FIRE THAT KILLED HIS CHILDREN. SINCE DPS CRIMINAL RECORDS ARE MOSTLY ALREADY PUBLIC INFORMATION, I ASKED WHY THOSE WOULD BE CONSIDERED CONFIDENTIAL WHEN IN THE HANDS OF THE PAROLE BOARD. I ASKED CORNYN WHAT "FRANK AND OPEN DISCUSSION" WOULD BE LEFT TO BE HAD BY THE BOARD IF THE STATE HAD ALREADY EXECUTED THE INMATE."
REPORTER BRANDI GRISSON; THE TEXAS TRIBUNE;
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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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Texas Tribune reporter Brandi Grissom has done superb work on the Hank Skinner case. The Tribune tells us that "Grissom joined the Tribune after four years at the El Paso Times, where she has been a one-woman Capitol bureau during the last two legislative sessions. Grissom won the Associated Press Managing Editors 1st place award in 2007 for using the Freedom of Information Act to report stories on a variety of government programs and entities, and the ACLU of Texas named her legislative reporter of the year in 2007 for her reporting about immigration issues...." Grissom, as the following story indicates, is now trying to access files of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles so the public can understand how it performs its work.
"In the course of working on my Hank Skinner stories, I wanted to find out more about the documents that Gov. Rick Perry and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles had on file about the death row inmate, who was convicted of killing his girlfriend and her two sons but has always maintained his innocence," the story, published on February 9, 2010, under the heading "On the Records: Case Open, File Closed." begins.
"Since those stories were published, I'd also seen a number of blog posts discussing efforts to urge state officials to allow DNA testing of evidence that Skinner, who's set to be executed on February 24, claims could prove he didn't commit those crimes," the story continues.
"I wanted to see what letters, if any, might be pouring in.
So last week I filed open records requests with Perry's office and the Board of Pardons and Paroles, asking for correspondence, documents and reports related to the Skinner case. I haven't gotten a response from the governor's office yet, other than a notification that they received my request. But yesterday I got a letter from the Board of Pardons and Paroles, informing me that nearly all of the information I asked to see is considered confidential under an open records ruling that then-Attorney General John Cornyn issued in 2001.
According to the ruling, six categories of information are considered confidential if an inmate might seek executive clemency. The categories are: Department of Public Safety criminal history information; execution summaries and prison records; recommendations from trial officials; letters from victims and supporters; letters from inmate and supporters; and general correspondence from the public. Cornyn's ruling states that the confidentiality protects not only the prisoner's privacy but also "the deliberations of the board by encouraging frank and open discussion in its decision-making process." What's more, the confidentiality exemption from open records laws continues even after the inmate has been executed, according to the ruling.
The ruling brought up a lot of questions in my mind about transparency in the decision-making process at the Board of Pardons and Paroles, so I posed those questions to Cornyn. I asked how the public would be able to discern whether the board is giving adequate attention to reports such as the one in the Cameron Todd Willingham case that questioned the legitimacy of evidence indicating he started the fire that killed his children. Since DPS criminal records are mostly already public information, I asked why those would be considered confidential when in the hands of the parole board. I asked Cornyn what "frank and open discussion" would be left to be had by the board if the state had already executed the inmate. And, finally, I asked in light of recent questions about the possibility that Texas executed an innocent man in Willingham's case, would Cornyn still contend that all this information should remain confidential.
Initially, Cornyn spokesman Kevin McLaughlin said via e-mail that he'd try to get a response to me today. But instead, I received a second e-mail from him that said, "After further review ... it would be more appropriate for you to talk to the Texas AG's office regarding this matter."
I sent my questions to a spokesman for Attorney General Greg Abbott this evening. I'll let you know when I hear back."The story can be found at:
http://www.texastribune.org/blogs/post/2010/feb/09/records-case-open-file-closed/
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
