"WILLINGHAM CAN’T BE HELPED AT THIS POINT. RATHER, THE GOAL OF THE FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION INQUIRY IS TO LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES MADE IN WILLINGHAM’S CASE AND APPLY THOSE LESSONS TO OTHER CASES. THERE ARE MANY OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIKELY BEEN WRONGLY CONVICTED OF ARSON. (READ MY COVERAGE OF THAT ISSUE HERE.)
MORE THAN 700 PEOPLE ARE SERVING SENTENCES IN TEXAS PRISONS ON ARSON CONVICTIONS. PERHAPS A THIRD OR EVEN HALF OF THEM COULD BE INNOCENT."
DAVE MANN; THE TEXAS OBSERVER;
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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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"After a delay of nearly seven months, the disputed case of Cameron Todd Willingham—whose 2004 execution was based on disproved arson evidence—will be back before the Texas Forensic Science Commission when the panel meets on Friday in Irving," the Texas Observer story by reporter Dave Mann published earlier today under the heading, "Willingham Case Finally Back on the Agenda," begins.
"It’s not clear how the investigation will proceed or if it will proceed at all. Three members of the commission met last week behind closed doors to discuss the Willingham case, as reported by Grits," the story continues.
"That three-member panel is expected to present recommendations on the Willingham inquiry at tomorrow’s meeting. (Download the meeting agenda here.)
Willingham was convicted of starting the 1991 house fire that killed his three children in North Texas. Just before the 2004 execution, a nationally known fire expert delivered a report to the governor’s office contending that the forensic evidence against Willingham was outdated and flawed. Gov. Rick Perry ignored the report and allowed Willingham to be executed.
Eight of the nation’s top fire scientists have since examined the case and concluded that the fire was likely accidental and that Texas likely executed an innocent man. (Perry has repeatedly said he still believes Willingham was guilty. Read more details about the case here.)
In late 2008, the Forensic Science Commission began examining the Willingham case to determine if the arson evidence was flawed.
But last September, Perry replaced three members of the commission, including its chairman. The governor appointed Williamson County DA John Bradley to chair the panel. He promptly canceled the next meeting at which the commission was scheduled to hear testimony from a nationally recognized fire expert, hired by the commission, who had concluded that the arson evidence in the case was shoddy and outdated.
The Willingham inquiry has been on hold ever since.
The timing couldn’t have been better for Perry and his reelection campaign. The Willingham investigation has now been silenced and stalled past the March primary in which Perry defeated his two rivals.
Meanwhile, Bradley has gone about rewriting rules and procedures for the commission, which some critics see as a stalling tactic. And some members of the commission have complained that Bradley is hoarding too much control.
You need not be a cynic to conclude that Bradley was installed as chairman to slow-walk the Willingham investigation.
Rick Casey, in a recent column in the Houston Chronicle, suggested that Bradley would stall the Willingham case until after the general election in November. And it’s had to argue with that.
Hopefully we’ll learn more about the timeline tomorrow. I’ll be at the meeting in Irving and will post several reports throughout the day.
The Innocence Project is also live-steaming the meeting at this site.
One thing to keep in mind: The Willingham case has been politicized by death-penalty and election politics. But the central issue here remains the reliability of forensic arson evidence.
Willingham can’t be helped at this point. Rather, the goal of the Forensic Science Commission inquiry is to learn from the mistakes made in Willingham’s case and apply those lessons to other cases. There are many other people who have likely been wrongly convicted of arson. (Read my coverage of that issue here.)
More than 700 people are serving sentences in Texas prisons on arson convictions. Perhaps a third or even half of them could be innocent.
Those are the people who need help and those are the people most harmed by continued stalling of the Willingham investigation."
The story can be found at:
http://www.texasobserver.org/contrarian/willingham-case-finally-back-on-the-agenda
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
