"Bradley's appointments to the various panels are scheduled to be approved when the full commission convenes at 9:30 a.m. April 23, at the Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas in Irving. And that makes curious the fact that two of the panels -- one to review the Willingham case and the other to screen additional filed complaints -- will meet Thursday in the Fort Worth office of Dr. Nizam Peerwani, the chief medical examiner for Tarrant County, who was appointed to the commission in December. Thursday's meetings won't be public. If part of regaining its credibility with the people is transparency, this isn't the fresh start that open government advocates hoped for."
EDITORIAL; THE STAR-TELEGRAM; Wikipedia informs us that, "The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a major U.S. daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex."
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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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"The good news is that the Texas Forensic Science Commission is set to meet this month and discuss the case of an executed man whose guilt has been called into question," the April 13, 2010 Star-Telegram editorial begins, under the heading, "Building credibility in Texas forensic science."
"The not-so-good news is that the commission may have a hard time regaining its credibility and, regardless of its findings, may never satisfy the doubts raised by a series of unfortunate delays," the editorial continues.
"The Legislature created the TFSC in 2005 to address an acknowledged deficiency in the quality and accuracy of some scientific evidence used to convict defendants in state courts.
With problems reported at several crime labs, more checks and balances were needed to assure fairness in trials that relied heavily on forensic evidence.
The new commission was ensnared in controversy when it revisisted a case that resulted in the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was convicted of murder after being charged with setting a fire that killed his three young daughters in 1991.
The controversy escalated in September when Gov. Rick Perry replaced his four appointees to the nine-member body. He acted just days before the commission was to hear from a Baltimore fire expert whose research found that Willingham's conviction was based on outmoded and faulty investigation techniques. The expert's report suggested that the fire might not have been deliberate.
If the blaze was accidental and not arson, Willingham was not guilty of murder. An innocent man might have been executed on Perry's watch.
The timing of the governor's actions, which resulted in postponing review of the Willingham arson evidence and a delay in other commission business, caused some critics to question whether the new appointees are puppets of the governor. The new chairman, Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley, insists that the delays resulted from the panel's need to establish work guidelines and procedures.
The commission adopted procedures in January that call, in part, for a screening committee to review complaints that could be referred to a three-member investigative panel. Recommendations from the investigative panel would be submitted to the full commission for ratification.
Bradley's appointments to the various panels are scheduled to be approved when the full commission convenes at 9:30 a.m. April 23, at the Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas in Irving.
And that makes curious the fact that two of the panels -- one to review the Willingham case and the other to screen additional filed complaints -- will meet Thursday in the Fort Worth office of Dr. Nizam Peerwani, the chief medical examiner for Tarrant County, who was appointed to the commission in December.
Thursday's meetings won't be public.
If part of regaining its credibility with the people is transparency, this isn't the fresh start that open government advocates hoped for.
The Willingham case, although very important, will not and should not be the TFSC's defining moment. Its mission is much broader than that. It cannot abandon or betray the confidence the people of this state placed in it with the hope that Texas could restore greater faith in the concept of fair and impartial trials.
Tarrant County has seen up-close the work of three commission members: Peerwani; Fort Worth defense attorney Lance Evans; and Dr. Arthur Eisenberg, professor and chairman of the department of forensic and investigative genetics at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth.
None of these men has a reputation for being anyone's puppet. Let's hope they use their collective influence to make sure the people's business is done in a manner the people can trust."
The editorial can be found at:
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/04/13/2112080/building-credibility-in-texas.html
harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;o
