"Members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, investigating whether questionable science played a role in the conviction and 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, criticized the panel's chairman Friday for labeling Willingham a "guilty monster."
Chairman John Bradley's statement, made recently to The Associated Press, could damage the commission's credibility and raises questions about its objectivity, member Sarah Kerrigan said during Friday's commission meeting.
"We have no jurisdiction on guilt or innocence. It really muddies the waters, and it's confusing to the public when we go on record making statements on guilt or innocence," said Kerrigan, a forensic toxicologist and associate professor at Sam Houston State University.
Commission member Garry Adams, with Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine, urged Bradley to focus on questions of science and be careful when opining on a pending investigation.
But Bradley, Williamson County's district attorney, did not back down......"
REPORTER CHUCK LINDELL; THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN;
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, investigating whether questionable science played a role in the conviction and 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, criticized the panel's chairman Friday for labeling Willingham a "guilty monster," the American-Statesman story by reporter Chuck Lindell published earlier today under the heading, "Panel chides Bradley for calling Willingham 'guilty monster': Williamson County DA defends comments."
"Chairman John Bradley's statement, made recently to The Associated Press, could damage the commission's credibility and raises questions about its objectivity, member Sarah Kerrigan said during Friday's commission meeting," the story continues.
"We have no jurisdiction on guilt or innocence. It really muddies the waters, and it's confusing to the public when we go on record making statements on guilt or innocence," said Kerrigan, a forensic toxicologist and associate professor at Sam Houston State University.
"Commission member Garry Adams, with Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine, urged Bradley to focus on questions of science and be careful when opining on a pending investigation.
But Bradley, Williamson County's district attorney, did not back down. He said Innocence Project lawyers were manipulating commission proceedings to proclaim Willingham an innocent man who was wrongfully executed for a fatal 1991 house fire.
"I will not sit by and let this commission be misused in that manner," Bradley said. "It muddies the water when New York lawyers say any lie and nobody can respond to it. When do we get to respond to those lies?"
Friday's meeting of the commission — composed of seven scientists, a defense lawyer and a prosecutor — came one day after Travis County District Judge Charlie Baird opened a court of inquiry into Willingham's case.
Baird heard testimony from two fire scientists who said Willingham's investigators relied on bogus science to declare that the Corsicana man's three young daughters were killed in an intentionally set fire.
Prosecutors did not accept Baird's invitation to participate in the three-hour hearing, which ended shortly before the 3rd Court of Appeals halted proceedings at the urging of the district attorney in Navarro County, where Willingham was prosecuted. The appeals court gave both sides until Friday to submit briefs on whether the inquiry should continue.
At Friday's meeting, commissioners requested a transcript of the Baird hearing and discussed which fire experts to question at a November meeting on the Willingham case.
Kerrigan steered the conversation toward the propriety of Bradley's statements about Willingham's guilt.
Bradley had been criticizing the motives behind Baird's inquiry when he said: "What they are interested in is finding the poster boy for the abolition of the death penalty. And they want to make Willingham that poster boy. And they chose poorly, because Willingham is a guilty monster."
Bradley said Friday that he formed his opinion after reading the Willingham trial transcripts and investigative records, but added that he is able to separate his opinion from his evaluation of the forensic science involved.
But six of the seven other commission members present at the meeting voiced disapproval or discomfort with the statement from Bradley, who also is chairman of the four-member investigative subcommittee looking into the Willingham case.
"What troubles me is that the public may now become concerned that the commission has lost sight of (its job) to discuss the forensic science involved," said commission member Lance Evans, a Fort Worth defense lawyer.
Adams urged Bradley to rise above distractions from Willingham supporters.
"I think that is incredibly naive," Bradley responded. "We have to acknowledge that we're being used.""
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The story can be found at:
http://www.statesman.com/news/local/panel-chides-bradley-for-calling-willingham-guilty-monster-974840.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;http://www.newsweek.com/2010/10/09/alter-rick-perry-texas-and-the-death-penalty.html#