"MORE THAN 700 PEOPLE ARE SERVING TIME FOR ARSON IN TEXAS PRISONS ALONE. THERE'S COMPELLING EVIDENCE THAT AT LEAST 250 OF THEM WERE WRONGLY CONVICTED. IN THE TELEVISION SHOW, THE PROSECUTORS END UP DROPPING THE CHARGES, AND THE INNOCENT MAN GOES FREE. IN REALITY, MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, THE INNOCENT PERSON WOULD HAVE BEEN CONVICTED AND SENT TO PRISON—AND IN WILLINGHAM'S CASE, EXECUTED—BASED ON SHODDY FORENSICS."
DAVE MANN: TEXAS OBSERVER; Wikipedia informs us that: "The Texas Observer (also known as the Observer) is an American political newsmagazine published bi-weekly and based in Austin, Texas. Though nonpartisan, the publication has historically been an advocate for liberal political policies. [The Observer was founded by Frankie Randolph and founding editor Ronnie Dugger in Austin in 1954 to address topics ignored by daily newspapers in the state — such as issues affecting working people and concerning class and race. Upon its founding, Dugger declared the paper's manifesto as "We will serve no group or party but will hew hard to the truth as we find it and the right as we see it." The publication continues this mission through today by focusing on covering what the mainstream press does not.)
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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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"You know the controversy over false arson convictions has truly penetrated the wider culture when it appears on Law & Order," Dave Mann's April 29, 2010 Texas Observer column begins, under the heading, "Law & Order' Takes on Arson."
"Last night’s episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit featured the case of a man wrongly accused of setting a fire that killed his family," the column continues.
"I’ve been writing a lot about arson the past year—specifically how flawed arson evidence has sent innocent people to prison (or the death chamber). See our coverage here.
So this was one Law & Order I’m sorry I missed. But judging from a clip available on the NBC site, they did a pretty good job.
In the show, Sharon Stone plays an assistant DA who comes to suspect that the father she’s prosecuting for murdering his kids is actually innocent. (This seems based on the Cameron Todd Willingham case, though it could be any number of cases.) She seeks out a quirky independent expert—based on some combination of Austin fire expert Gerald Hurst (whom I profiled in this story) and Florida-based expert John Lentini.
An aging fire marshal has ruled the fire an arson based on burn patterns supposedly caused by an accelerant and so-called crazed glass—two of the most infamous pieces of forensic “evidence” that were used for years to convict thousands of defendants and have since been discredited.
(One quibble: Crazed glass has been so thoroughly debunked by now that I doubt any fire investigator, even one using outdated methods, still believes it. But burn patterns and “pour patterns” on the other hand— also debunked in post-flashover fires—are still used to this day in courtrooms.)
Stone’s character and the outside expert stage a test fire to show that an accidental-fire scenario—started without an accelerant—could leave the same burn patterns that were supposedly evidence of arson. This is reminiscent of the Lime Street Fire experiment of 1991—a breakthrough that showed scientists that a phenomenon known as flashover could make accidental fires look very much like intentionally set ones.
More than 700 people are serving time for arson in Texas prisons alone. There's compelling evidence that at least 250 of them were wrongly convicted.
In the television show, the prosecutors end up dropping the charges, and the innocent man goes free. In reality, more often than not, the innocent person would have been convicted and sent to prison—and in Willingham's case, executed—based on shoddy forensics."
The story - and a link to an excerpt from the episode - can be found at:
http://www.texasobserver.org/contrarian/law--order-takes-on-arson
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
