"Bradley and panel member Sarah Kerrigan, a forensic toxicologist and director of a crime lab at Sam Houston State University, acknowledged the science the fire investigators used in the Willingham case was flawed. But they said that didn't translate into professional negligence, because investigators were relying on the techniques and information available at the time.
New fire investigation standards were not adopted until 1992, the same year Willingham was convicted, but it was several years after that before they were adopted nationally, said Bradley, who is also the Williamson County district attorney.
The panel will prepare its final report and present it for a vote at a meeting sometime before mid-October."
REPORTER JUAN A. LOZANO; THE ASSOCIATED PRESS;
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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."
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"HOUSTON — A commission reviewing a disputed conclusion that a Texas man committed arson, which led to his 2004 execution for the deaths of his three children, said Friday its preliminary findings indicate fire investigators didn't commit negligence or misconduct," the Associated Press story by reporter Juan A. Lozano, publiched earlier today under the heading, "Texas panel: Arson investigators didn't err," begins.
"Members of Texas Forensic Science Commission said they believe there is insufficient evidence to establish whether arson investigators botched their 1991 investigation of the fire that killed Cameron Todd Willingham's three young daughters," the story continues.
"Investigators with the Texas State Fire Marshal's Office had ruled the blaze was an arson started by an accelerant. Willingham, 36, was later convicted of capital murder for setting the deadly blaze.
In a report prepared last year for the commission, fire expert Craig Beyler said the original investigation was so seriously flawed that the finding of arson can't be supported. He said the investigation didn't adhere to the fire investigation standards in place at the time, or to current standards.
The commission then appointed a four-person panel to review Willingham's case. John Bradley, who is chairman of both the panel and the commission, said the panel's review concluded arson experts in the case did not commit misconduct or negligence.
Bradley and panel member Sarah Kerrigan, a forensic toxicologist and director of a crime lab at Sam Houston State University, acknowledged the science the fire investigators used in the Willingham case was flawed. But they said that didn't translate into professional negligence, because investigators were relying on the techniques and information available at the time.
New fire investigation standards were not adopted until 1992, the same year Willingham was convicted, but it was several years after that before they were adopted nationally, said Bradley, who is also the Williamson County district attorney.
The panel will prepare its final report and present it for a vote at a meeting sometime before mid-October.
Willingham, an unemployed mechanic from Corsicana, 55 miles southeast of Dallas, did not testify at his trial. But he always contended — even in the moments before his execution — that he was innocent. He suggested the Dec. 23, 1991, blaze could have been accidentally started. Prosecutors argued Willingham wanted to get rid of his children, 2-year-old Amber and 1-year-old twins Karmon and Kameron.
Patricia Cox, Willingham's cousin, told commission members she appreciates the group's acknowledgment the forensic evidence used to convict her loved one was flawed.
"Even though there may not have been any malice or intent by fire investigators about not being informed on current standards, that doesn't excuse the fact that based on this misinformation, Cameron Todd Willingham was executed and that can't be corrected," said a tearful Cox.
Willingham's stepmother, Eugenia Willingham, was too upset to speak during the meeting's public comment section. But during a break said she couldn't believe the panel's conclusion and vowed to continue fighting for her stepson's exoneration.
Both Cox and Eugenia Willingham came from their hometown of Ardmore, Okla., to attend the meeting. Two other women at the meeting held signs with photographs of Willingham that read: "No More Cover Up! Todd: Innocent and Executed!" and "Put Todd Willingham on the Agenda."
Barry Scheck, co-director of the New York-based Innocence Project, whose request prompted the commission to review Willingham's case, said his group wasn't asking if the individual investigators were negligent. Instead, the group wants to know whether the state fire marshal's office committed misconduct by not notifying prosecutors that Willingham was convicted based on flawed investigative standards.
As Scheck spoke during the public comment portion, he got into a heated argument with Bradley, who told Scheck, "You enjoy the cameras. You enjoy the drama."
The Innocence Project, a legal group that specializes in overturning wrongful convictions, and Willingham's family have been highly critical of delays in the commission's investigation.
The commission first agreed in 2006 to review Willingham's case and that of another man after the Innocence Project said experts it commissioned concluded the fires in both cases were not arson.
In September, two days before the commission was to discuss Beyler's report and question him, Gov. Rick Perry replaced three of its members, including its chairman. Bradley, the new chairman, canceled that meeting and didn't assign a panel of four commission members to review the case until April.
Perry's appointment of Bradley, a conservative ally of the governor, raised concerns that politics would trump science on the forensic panel. If the evidence were to prove Willingham did not kill his children, it would be the first known wrongful execution in Texas.
In the other case the commission is reviewing, Ernest Ray Willis was convicted in 1987 in a fatal house fire that killed two women in the West Texas town of Iraan. He was freed in 2004 after 17 years on death row when a federal judge ruled authorities concealed evidence and needlessly drugged him during his trial."
The story can be found at:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/7122545.html
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be accessed at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
For a breakdown of some of the cases, issues and controversies this Blog is currently following, please turn to:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-feature-cases-issues-and.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
