"With unique access to those closest to the case, FRONTLINE examines the Willingham conviction in light of new science that raises doubts about whether the fire at the center of the case was really arson at all."
PBS: ANNOUNCING "DEATH BY FIRE." FRONTLINE; (Airs Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at 9 P.M. on PBS (check local listings));
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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. 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 moving music video on the Willingham case, "Texas Death Row Blues," can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2010/09/cameron-todd-willingham-texas-death-row_02.html
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Texas Governor Rick Perry's undisguised attempt to contain the ugly dark and ugly truth that Texas has executed an innocent man continues to flounder in the face of growing public awareness of the Cameron Todd Willingham case. New Yorker writer David Grann's "Trial by Fire: Did Texas Execute an Innocent Man?" had an enormous impact, both nationally and internationally, as it exposed the troubling forensic flaws in the investigation. Now CBS "Frontline" is posed to wade in with "Death By Fire" which is scheduled to run on October 19, 2010. As a general rule notorious miscarriages of justice tend to make their way into the popular culture. The Willingham case is no exception. Wikipedia informs us under a section headed "popular culture" that: "The plot of the season seven episode of the police procedural Cold Case called Flashover which aired on March 21, 2010, bears a striking resemblance to the Cameron Todd Willingham case. A man, Joe Don Billingsley, is killed in prison after being convicted of the arson deaths of his two sons in his own home. After his death in prison evidence emerges that overwhelmingly suggest his innocence. As in the Willingham case, the man was convicted based on outdated, unscientific and incorrect assumptions by arson investigators; that original investigation not matching what the convict asserted had happened; a jail house snitch that lied under oath, and a public and authorities not understanding how a man could supposedly let his children burn to death and not make an effort to save them. Also as in real life the family, including the wife of Billingsley who was also the mother of the dead children, came to believe in Billingsley's guilt. The only significant differences being that Billingsley, unlike the real life Willingham, was killed by prisoners and it was one of the original investigating policemen Det. Nick Vera was the one who brought the new evidence to light, including finding that a very prominent fire investigator using recognized scientific methods that disputed the original findings (leading to profound feelings of guilt on the part of that detective) instead of reporters taking the initiative and finding the arson expert as in real life. Although Pennsylvania (Cold Case is set in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) does have a death penalty like Texas, Pennsylvania executes its death row inmates much less frequently; which is probably why the writers opted for Billingsley to be killed in prison by another inmate, for greater immediacy. The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode Torch (S11XE21) which aired on April 28, 2010 is also based on the case, but unlike real life and the Cold Case version, it has an upbeat resolution with the falsely accused alive and well when vindicated at trial only spending a minimum amount of jail time before he is released. Other differences from real life include that the victims were two girls with a third surviving eldest daughter who was not at the blaze; the prosecutor led the effort to prove the accused was innocent including finding a scientific arson expert to dispute the Fire Marshall's findings instead of the news media. The Willingham case has also found its way into America's musical culture through Song-writer/singer Luke Power's moving music video "The Texas Death Row Blues." As Barry Scheck, a co-founder of the Innocence Project explains, the Cameron Todd Willingham case has become the "Dreyfus Affair" of the U.S.A, because it strikes deeply into the soul of Americans. The genie is out of the bottle. There's is no way Governor Perry can force it back in.
HAROLD LEVY; PUBLISHER; THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG;
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"Did Texas execute an innocent man?," the PBS release begins.
"Several controversial death penalty cases are currently under examination in Texas and in other states, but it’s the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham—convicted for the arson deaths of his three young children—that’s now at the center of the national debate," the release continues.
"With unique access to those closest to the case, FRONTLINE examines the Willingham conviction in light of new science that raises doubts about whether the fire at the center of the case was really arson at all. The film meticulously examines the evidence used to convict Willingham, provides an in-depth portrait of those most impacted by the case, and explores the explosive implications of the execution of a possibly innocent man."
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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;
