"The commission was created in 2005 to review charges of professional negligence, and, where appropriate, prescribe "corrective action" for the agency in question. Defining a forensic professional's "duty to correct" appears central to the spirit of the law.
The Willingham report will be the commission's first. The tone should reflect the high stakes involved in the nation's leading death penalty state."
EDITORIAL: THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS; Wikipedia informs us that, "The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas (USA) area..."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 were 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. Legendary "Innocence" lawyer Barry Scheck asked participants at a conference of the National Association of Criminal Defence Lawyers held in Toronto in August, 2010, how Willingham, who had lost his family to the fire, must have felt to hear the horrific allegations made against him on the basis of the bogus evidence, "and nobody pays any attention to it as he gets executed." "It's the Dreyfus Affair, and you all know what that is," Scheck continued. "It's the Dreyfus AffaIr of the United States. Luke Power's music video "Texas Death Row Blues," can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2010/09/cameron-todd-willingham-texas-death-row_02.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"There appears to be little or no dissent among members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission that soon-to-be outdated science was used to build an arson-murder case that led to Cameron Todd Willingham's execution," the Dallas Morning News editorial published on September 21, 2010 begins under the heading, "Forensic panel should push in defining 'duty'.
"The key decision for the commission now is how to formalize that conclusion. It should send the strongest message possible to forensic investigators about their duty to justice," the editorial continues.
"The commission wisely decided last week to summon experts for face-to-face questioning on the state of arson science in 1992, when Willingham was convicted of setting the Corsicana fire that killed his three children.
Members are interested not only in the standards at the time but also whether emerging science had escaped the notice of Willingham investigators. It's an obvious question: Were they diligent in staying abreast of their craft?
To their credit, a majority of commissioners want to push further: They want to sort out a forensic investigator's responsibility when evolving science casts doubt on conclusions that had been reached under outmoded standards.
Common sense dictates that a person convicted through faulty evidence should have the right to a review by the courts. The proper mechanism is less clear, but it needs to be worked out. At the time of Willingham's execution in 2004, should there have been a professional review of the forensic standards used to convict him?
Delving into an investigator's "duty to correct" is beyond the bounds of the commission's mandate, contends Chairman John Bradley, Williamson County district attorney.
It's encouraging that the scientists on the nine-member commission disagree. Meeting in Dallas last week, Bradley also failed to hurry them along to a final draft in the Willingham case with a finding of no negligence.
The pushback exasperated Bradley, who complained the commission would just "waste another meeting." The public should be exasperated with Bradley.
The commission was created in 2005 to review charges of professional negligence, and, where appropriate, prescribe "corrective action" for the agency in question. Defining a forensic professional's "duty to correct" appears central to the spirit of the law.
The Willingham report will be the commission's first. The tone should reflect the high stakes involved in the nation's leading death penalty state."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The editorial can be found at:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/editorials/stories/DN-forensic_0922edi.State.Edition1.8a8609.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://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=8369513443994476774
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;