"Bassett, the replaced chairman, said in a prepared statement that "science prevailed" when the commission rejected the draft.
"It is heartening to see the scientists on the commission are taking this investigation seriously and requiring that more be done," he said.
Bassett said that there is "little doubt" some testimony "was based upon flawed science and outdated principles. While some don't seem to care about this anomaly and how it might affect hundreds of arson convictions, it is a relief that the majority of the commission does care......
During the public comment section of the meeting, Willingham's stepmother, Eugenia Willingham, thanked the commission for asking numerous questions about the case.
"As Todd's mother, I want to thank all of you," she said as her face turned red and she began to cry. "I appreciate it very much."
She said in an interview that when she first read the draft report, she thought, "Oh, no. They've already made a decision."
Willingham's family said that Perry knew at the time Willingham was executed that the science used to convict him was wrong."
REPORTER JENNIFER EMILY: THE DALLAS DAILY NEWS;
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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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"The Texas Forensic Science Commission rebelled Friday against its head commissioner, refusing to accept his draft report clearing arson investigators of misconduct or negligence in a 1991 fatal fire where flawed science was used to determine the blaze was intentionally set," the Dallas Morning News story by reporter Jennifer Emily published earlier today under the heading, "Texas Forensic Science Commission refuses to end inquiry into Willingham arson case," begins.
"Cameron Todd Willingham was executed in 2004 for killing his three children by setting that blaze. Texas may have executed an innocent man on Gov. Rick Perry's watch if the fire was accidental," the story continues.
""There's a lot of work to be done still," Tarrant County Medical Examiner Nizam Peerwani, a member of the commission, said after the meeting. "That's why the commission didn't approve the draft."
The commission instead plans to question arson experts at a future meeting about investigation standards at the time of the fire and will look into whether the investigators knew or should have known the science that led them to assume the fire was caused by arson was flawed.
That puts the commission's plans right back where they were nearly a year ago, just before Perry suddenly replaced the chairman and two members of the commission.
Perry's October 2009 dismissals came two days before commissioners were to hear from Baltimore-based Craig Beyler, a nationally recognized fire expert hired by the panel. Beyler has called the fire investigation into the Willingham case slipshod, saying the conclusion that the fire was caused by arson was based on wives' tales about how fire behaves.
Perry's replacements were seen by some as a political maneuver intended to change the outcome of the commission's decision. Perry replaced Austin defense attorney Sam Bassett with conservative Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley as head of the commission.
Perry, however, said the change was a typical use of his power for appointments.
When asked to respond to the commission's Friday decision to reject the draft report and keep reviewing circumstances around the arson ruling, Perry's office only pointed out that Willingham was convicted by a jury and that decision was upheld by state and federal courts.
"We expect that the commission will appropriately complete their review of this case," the statement said.
Had the commission accepted the draft report as Bradley wanted, it would have ended the commission's inquiry into the Willingham case.
Bassett, the replaced chairman, said in a prepared statement that "science prevailed" when the commission rejected the draft.
"It is heartening to see the scientists on the commission are taking this investigation seriously and requiring that more be done," he said.
Bassett said that there is "little doubt" some testimony "was based upon flawed science and outdated principles. While some don't seem to care about this anomaly and how it might affect hundreds of arson convictions, it is a relief that the majority of the commission does care."
At a meeting set for Nov. 19, the commission is now expected to hear from experts, including Beyler, who concluded that no reasonable investigator could determine that the Corsicana house fire was intentionally set.
Barry Scheck , co-founder of the Innocence Project in New York, the organization that filed the original complaint with the commission about the Willingham fire, said that Bradley was trying to push the approval of the report saying there was no wrongdoing through the commission before the November elections. Perry, a Republican, faces Democrat Bill White.
"He's been trying to bully these people into covering this up. It's obvious that's the name of the game since the commissioners were appointed," said Scheck, who attended the meeting. "It's gratifying they don't want to be bullied."
During the public comment section of the meeting, Willingham's stepmother, Eugenia Willingham, thanked the commission for asking numerous questions about the case.
"As Todd's mother, I want to thank all of you," she said as her face turned red and she began to cry. "I appreciate it very much."
She said in an interview that when she first read the draft report, she thought, "Oh, no. They've already made a decision."
Willingham's family said that Perry knew at the time Willingham was executed that the science used to convict him was wrong.
Global attention
The Willingham case has drawn worldwide attention from death-penalty opponents and others since questions were raised about the integrity of the scientific evidence used to convict him of murder.
State officials, including Perry, have taken issue with those who question Willingham's conviction.
Those who believe Willingham is guilty point to the fact that an inmate said Willingham confessed to putting lighter fluid on the floor and walls; that no one saw him go into the home to save the children but he moved his car to avoid fire damage; and that Willingham showed no signs of smoke inhalation, had normal levels of carbon monoxide and minor injuries.
A lengthy 2009 story in The New Yorker magazine quoted arson investigation experts as saying there was little or no evidence that the house fire was intentionally set, strongly intimating that Texas had executed an innocent man.
But the draft report said the fire investigators "met the standard of practice that an ordinary fire investigator would have exercised at the time the original Willingham investigation and trial took place."
It added, "Of course, that does not mean that parts of the standard of practice as they existed during the Willingham investigation and trial are not subject to criticism when compared to a more modern standard of practice."
The forensic science commission will address only the relatively narrow question of whether there was negligence or misconduct on the part of investigators based on standards at the time.
The commission will not address the question of whether investigators would have concluded the fire was caused by arson if more modern fire-investigation standards were applied to the case. Nor will the commission address the question of Willingham's guilt or innocence.
"We could talk about that forever," Bradley said during the meeting.
"I agree, absolutely," Commissioner Arthur Eisenberg of the University of North Texas Health Science Center quickly responded.
Contentious meeting
As commissioners discussed the case at the Embassy Suites near Dallas Love Field, they were surrounded by posters proclaiming injustice in Willingham's case. One poster said in big black letters on a yellow board: "NO ARSON, NO CRIME! TODD WAS INNOCENT."
Willingham maintained until his execution in 2004 that he did not kill stepdaughter Amber, 2, and 1-year-old twins Karmon and Kameron.
Friday's meeting became contentious when Bradley pushed members to make a final decision and end their investigation by voting that negligence or misconduct did not occur.
But commission members pushed back.
"I'm not convinced the science or the training was unavailable," said Commissioner Garry Adams of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University. He requested that the commission have access to training materials for arson investigators that were used by national and state agencies at the time of the fire.
When some members said they wanted to question experts in person, rather than have them answer questions in writing, Bradley responded that the panel could "waste another meeting" trying to get answers that don't exist.
Peerwani also brought up the issue of whether investigators had a "duty to correct" their findings as practices changed. Many of the investigative practices used at the time of the fire had changed by the time Willingham was executed in 2004.
An Aug. 20 letter from state Fire Marshal Paul Maldonado said the office supports the original finding, although the commission has already conceded in a previous meeting that flawed science was used.
"In reviewing documents and standards in place then and now, we stand by the original investigator's report and conclusions," he wrote.
Most commission members seemed to believe that the state should investigate other old arson cases to see if faulty science was used.
Peerwani said that he has called for a review of all deaths connected to arson cases over the last 20 years in his own jurisdiction, Tarrant County, to determine whether faulty science was used.
Bradley disagreed about the need for mandated reviews of old cases, saying that when DNA became a scientific standard, labs did not automatically test old cases.
But Eisenberg said that anytime there has been a question about a case in his jurisdiction, he has conducted DNA testing.
"But there's not a law," Bradley said.
"I don't need a law," Eisenberg shot back."
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The story can be found at:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/091810dnmetwillingham.2c6e807.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;