"The ex-wife of the Texas man executed for setting fire to their home and killing their three daughters tearfully reiterated her contention Wednesday that he confessed his guilt to her.
Stacy Kuykendall read a prepared statement to reporters outside the Travis County courthouse. She told reporters that Cameron Todd Willingham set the fire that killed the girls "and watched while their tiny bodies burned."
A hearing is scheduled for later Wednesday in which a judge has been asked to clear Willingham's name based on allegedly faulty evidence of arson.
"My ex-husband murdered my daughters, and just before he was executed, he told me he did it," Kuykendall said;"
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS;
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BACKGROUND OF REVIEW: District Judge Charlie Baird agreed to hold the unprecedented two-day hearing to consider evidence on whether Cameron Todd Willingham was actually innocent of and executed for a crime that never occurred. Willingham was executed in 2004 in connection with a fire in his home in Corsicana that claimed the lives of his three young children. State officials – including the State Fire Marshal's Office – concluded that the 1991 fire had been deliberately set by Willingham; Willingham maintained his innocence, including in his last words before death...Baird, who will retire at the end of the year, will consider testimony and evidence in the case on Oct. 6 and 7. Baird last year presided over the state's first posthumous hearing in the case of Tim Cole.
BACKGROUND OF WILLINGHAM CASE: (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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'AUSTIN, Texas – The ex-wife of the Texas man executed for setting fire to their home and killing their three daughters tearfully reiterated her contention Wednesday that he confessed his guilt to her," the Associated Press story begins, under the heading, " Ex-wife says Cameron Todd Willingham killed 3 kids in arson case."
"Stacy Kuykendall read a prepared statement to reporters outside the Travis County courthouse. She told reporters that Cameron Todd Willingham set the fire that killed the girls "and watched while their tiny bodies burned," the story continues.
"A hearing is scheduled for later Wednesday in which a judge has been asked to clear Willingham's name based on allegedly faulty evidence of arson
"My ex-husband murdered my daughters, and just before he was executed, he told me he did it," Kuykendall said.
Kuykendall voice began quavering early in her statement, as she noted her oldest daughter would be 21 and her twins would be 19. "I think about my girls every day and I miss them," she said.
Willingham publicly maintained he was innocent until he was put to death in 2004.
If the judge clears Willingham, it will mark the first time an official in the nation's most active death penalty state has formally declared that someone was wrongly executed.
Prosecutors are fighting that effort, which is being led by the Innocence Project, a New York legal center.
John Bradley, the top prosecutor in Williamson County who also chairs the Texas Forensic Science Commission, said he believes the effort to have Willingham declared innocent is not about justice – or even the guilt or innocence of Willingham.
"What they are interested in is finding the poster boy for the abolition of the death penalty," Bradley said. "And they want to make Willingham that poster boy. And they chose poorly, because Willingham is a guilty monster."
Bradley was appointed to the science commission post by Gov. Rick Perry in what many viewed as a political move to bury new evidence that cast doubt on Willingham's guilt.
State district Judge Charlie Baird scheduled an unusual court of inquiry hearing Wednesday after the Innocence Project filed a petition asking him to "restore the reputation" of Willingham and declare he was wrongly convicted.
Navarro County District Attorney R. Lowell Thompson filed a motion late Monday asking that Baird recuse himself from Wednesday's hearing. Thompson noted that Baird previously ruled on the case as a member of the Court of Criminal Appeals and questioned whether he is impartial, noting he won a "Courage Award" this year from the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.
Baird declined to comment.
A disputed arson finding made by a pair of fire investigators following the 1991 deaths of Willingham's daughters is at the heart of the case.
A jury in Corsicana, south of Dallas, convicted Willingham of capital murder in 1992. He was executed in 2004, after Perry turned down his final appeal despite evidence from a renowned fire expert that there was not enough evidence to support the arson determination.
Testimony from fire investigators was the primary evidence against Willingham. The defense did not present a fire expert because the one hired by Willingham's attorney also said the fire was caused by arson.
But the investigators' conclusions have been strongly challenged by several fire experts. Craig Beyler, the chairman of the International Association of Fire Safety Science, wrote in a report last year that investigators didn't follow standards in place at the time and did not have enough evidence to make an arson finding.
The opinions of a state fire official in the case were "nothing more than a collection of personal beliefs that have nothing to do with science-based fire investigation," Beyler wrote. The State Fire Marshal's Office continues to stand behind the arson finding.
The science commission was set to hear testimony from Beyler last year. But a few days before that meeting, Perry removed three members of the commission and appointed Bradley, a conservative ally, as its chairman. Bradley subsequently canceled the meeting amid accusations that Perry was interfering with the inquiry.
The science commission is still looking into whether investigators were negligent in ruling the fire was caused by arson. Commissioners last month rejected Bradley's efforts to close the case and conclude that fire investigators did not commit professional misconduct."
blockquote>http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/100710dntexwillinghamhearing.65d58e.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;
