"Barry Scheck, co-founder of the Innocence Project, which filed the original Willingham complaint with the commission, praised members for rejecting the narrow findings included in Bradley's draft report but said "there is more work to be done."
"First you must make a finding that the science was unreliable and wrong," Scheck said. "It's time to stop pussyfooting around and say that. You are scientists, and the science was wrong."
Scheck also said the Fire Marshal's Office files must be scoured by an outside agency to find other convictions based on faulty science. "You can't trust the Fire Marshal's Office to do it," he said, noting that the agency still stands behind its Willingham findings."
REPORTER CHUCK LINDELL: THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN;
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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 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
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"DALLAS — Rejecting a quick resolution of its investigation into disputed arson findings that led to a 2004 execution, the Texas Forensic Science Commission decided Friday to move forward with a vastly expanded probe," the American-Statesman story published earlier today under the heading, "State panel expands inquiry into Willingham case as well as other arson investigations," begins.
"Chairman John Bradley had hoped to finish the commission's report Friday based largely on a draft he had circulated earlier in the week," the story continued.
"The commission's scientists, however, rejected that course, saying they needed more information before they could endorse the draft's most basic premise: that investigators of the Corsicana fire could not be held accountable for relying on arson indicators now known to be unreliable or misleading.
The draft report stated that the investigators were merely following the best practices available in 1991, when a fire in Cameron Todd Willingham's home killed his three young daughters. Convicted of murder in 1992, Willingham was later executed but maintained his innocence.
In perhaps their most far-reaching decision Friday, commission members agreed to also examine whether the State Fire Marshal's Office, which investigates fires statewide, had a duty to reopen past cases once it realized that earlier investigative practices had been "debunked" by scientific advancements.
The examination of past cases must begin with the Willingham fire, said commission member Nizam Peerwani, chief medical examiner for Tarrant County .
"In my mind, at least, I'm comfortable in thinking that the fire marshal was applying the standard of practice (common to) 1991, but then the case went on until the execution, what, 11 years? What duty do you have" to correct past mistakes? Peerwani asked.
Commission member Lance Evans, a Fort Worth defense lawyer , agreed, noting that the Fire Marshal's Office said its investigators have for years followed currently accepted arson guidelines established in "NFPA 921, Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations," first published by the National Fire Protection Association in 1992.
"That does open a very big question: Do they have a responsibility ... to go back and apply that to some previous investigations?" Evans asked.
In discussing the draft report on the Willingham matter, five of the commission's seven science professionals — two were absent — said they couldn't agree to such a sweeping determination absolving the investigators of blame without a better understanding of the state of fire science in 1991.
"It is my belief that you are under an obligation to be well-informed of the science if you are applying it, and clearly that wasn't the case at this time," said Sarah Kerrigan, a forensic toxicologist and associate professor at Sam Houston State University . "What kind of onus was on the individuals to remain current?"
The scientists also said any final report should include an accounting of the practices used by Willingham investigators that are now known to unreliably point to arson, such as floor patterns once thought to be caused by a poured accelerant, or the idea that accelerant-fueled fires burn hotter than "normal" blazes. They don't.
Last month, State Fire Marshal Paul Maldonado sent a letter to the commission saying his agency stands by its findings in the Willingham fire — even under modern fire standards. Kerrigan said she was shocked by Maldonado's statement. "We need to know directly from the Fire Marshal's Office why that is, when the consensus here is that the (scientific) standards have changed," she said.
The commission voted to convene a panel of fire experts — including a representative of the State Fire Marshal's Office — during a specially called meeting, tentatively set for Nov. 19. Members also agreed that the four-member Willingham subcommittee will convene in a public session soon after the meeting to begin crafting a final report on the forensic science used in the investigation.
Barry Scheck, co-founder of the Innocence Project, which filed the original Willingham complaint with the commission, praised members for rejecting the narrow findings included in Bradley's draft report but said "there is more work to be done."
"First you must make a finding that the science was unreliable and wrong," Scheck said. "It's time to stop pussyfooting around and say that. You are scientists, and the science was wrong."
Scheck also said the Fire Marshal's Office files must be scoured by an outside agency to find other convictions based on faulty science. "You can't trust the Fire Marshal's Office to do it," he said, noting that the agency still stands behind its Willingham findings.
Although the commission has steadfastly declined to weigh questions of Willingham's guilt, its activities have been closely watched by both sides of the death penalty debate. Any finding that bad science contributed to his conviction could bolster arguments that Texas may have executed an innocent man.
But the panel's conclusions also have implications for Gov. Rick Perry, who was presented with information that Willingham's arson investigation was potentially flawed but declined to intervene in his execution. Perry has since said he remains confident that Willingham was guilty.
The commission's conclusion also could have implications for the 750 people that the Innocence Project estimates are in Texas prisons on arson charges, some of whom may have been convicted based on investigative techniques similar to those used in the Willingham case.
All of which explains why the meeting of a relatively obscure panel, delving into a 19-year-old case, drew 50 spectators, two documentary film crews, five TV news cameras and Willingham's mother and cousins into a crowded hotel conference room near Love Field.
Members first met in private for an 80-minute consultation with the commission's lawyer. Bradley then led commissioners through the draft report, saying he had no illusions that it was perfect and encouraging members to take notes on anything they wanted to change.
Kerrigan, who emerged during the meeting as Bradley's chief opponent on the panel, quickly jumped in, complaining that the draft was submitted by only one member without input from the Willingham subcommittee. She also objected to the prosecution-friendly language in the draft report, which highlighted trial testimony harmful to Willingham.
"I would hope that we focus on the science," she said.
But Bradley defended its inclusion, saying that fire investigator must take the totality of evidence into account. "For us to completely strip out those things because they bother us a little bit ... does a great disservice of the science of fire investigation," he said.
Commissioners made no decision on whether the trial information would be included in the final report."
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The story can be found at:
http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-politics/state-panel-expands-inquiry-into-willingham-case-as-923042.html
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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;