"The inquiry was scheduled to start a week ago but Baird granted a delay to enable attorneys for Willingham’s family to respond to the motion by current Navarro County District Attorney R. Lowell Thompson, who questioned Baird's impartiality and contended that Baird is not following proper procedure in convening the inquiry.
Thompson, who was present in the courtroom as Baird announced his decision, protested the ruling but declined Baird's offer to participate in the court of inquiry. Thompson then left the courtroom and made no comment to reporters.
"I'm going to go ahead and begin the proceeding," Baird annnounced
Minutes later, San Antonio lawyer Gerald Goldstein and Barry Scheck, co-director of the New York-based Innocence Project, began laying out arguments designed to dismantle the case that resulted in Willingham's execution in 2004. Former Gov. Mark White is also a member of the Willingham family's legal team.
Goldstein said he and his associates plan to demonstrate that Willingham was "wrongfully convicted" and will seek "to salvage his reputation." A cornerstone of the Willingham case is the findings by several fire experts that the arson investigation used to convict the unemployed Corsicana mechanic was based on techniques that are now considered outmoded and largely invalid."
REPORTER DAVE MONTGOMERY: FORT WORTH STAR TELEGRAM;
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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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Attorneys for Willingham's family began setting out to prove that an arson investigation that led to Willingham's conviction was based on "junk science," Star Telegram reporter Dave Montgomery's story filed earlier today under the heading,"Judge in Willingham case goes ahead with court of inquiry," begins.
"Judge Charlie Baird allowed the court-of-inquiry to proceed after ruling against a motion to recuse him," the story continues.
"The inquiry was scheduled to start a week ago but Baird granted a delay to enable attorneys for Willingham’s family to respond to the motion by current Navarro County District Attorney R. Lowell Thompson, who questioned Baird's impartiality and contended that Baird is not following proper procedure in convening the inquiry.
Thompson, who was present in the courtroom as Baird announced his decision, protested the ruling but declined Baird's offer to participate in the court of inquiry. Thompson then left the courtroom and made no comment to reporters.
"I'm going to go ahead and begin the proceeding," Baird annnounced
Minutes later, San Antonio lawyer Gerald Goldstein and Barry Scheck, co-director of the New York-based Innocence Project, began laying out arguments designed to dismantle the case that resulted in Willingham's execution in 2004. Former Gov. Mark White is also a member of the Willingham family's legal team.
Goldstein said he and his associates plan to demonstrate that Willingham was "wrongfully convicted" and will seek "to salvage his reputation." A cornerstone of the Willingham case is the findings by several fire experts that the arson investigation used to convict the unemployed Corsicana mechanic was based on techniques that are now considered outmoded and largely invalid.
Gov. Rick Perry's office and Texas Forensic Science Commission Chairman John Bradley have also challenged the court of inquiry. Caren Burbach, Perry's general counsel, told Baird in a letter last week that there is no basis for the inquiry, saying that Willingham "had full access to every level of the appeals process and his conviction was reviewed and upheld by multiple levels of state and federal courts."
Perry has defended the execution, describing Willingham as "a monster."
In February 2009, Baird presided over a court of inquiry that exonerated Tim Cole of Fort Worth after DNA evidence proved that Cole was wrongfully convicted in the rape of a Texas Tech student. Baird noted on Wednesday that Perry recognized that decision and later granted Cole a posthumous pardon.
Willingham was convicted in 1992 of setting the fire on Dec. 23, 1991, that killed his daughters - 2-year-old Amber and 1-year-old twins Karmon and Kameron - but he repeatedly maintained his innocence.
The 63-page petition filed by the family claims that "there is no credible evidence that the crime for which he was put to death even took place - much less that Mr. Willingham was guilty of it."
Willingham's ex-wife, Stacy Kuykendall, told reporters gathered outside the courthouse last week that she believes Willingham killed their children, saying he confessed to her during a prison visit just before his 2004 execution.
Willingham was home alone with the children after Kuykendall had left for work. He was asleep, he testified, but was awakened by Amber's cries and saw smoke pouring through the house. Willingham said he groped through the smoke, trying to find his children as burning debris fell, but could not. He found the front door and escaped.
Authorities later said Willingham gave inconsistent accounts of what happened. Also, fire investigators concluded that accelerant was splashed on the floor and near the doorsill, presumably to block rescue attempts.
But nine arson experts have since questioned those findings, raising the possibility that the fire cold have been accidental.
Thompson asserted in his recusal motion that Baird served on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that sustained Willingham's conviction in the mid-1990s.
Thompson also noted that Baird was named as the recipient of the "Courage Award" this year by the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.
Thompson also said that Baird's decision to call a court of inquiry after receiving the petition conflicted with legally prescribed procedures."
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The story can be found at:
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/10/14/2547190/judge-convenes-court-of-inquiry.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;http://www.newsweek.com/2010/10/09/alter-rick-perry-texas-and-the-death-penalty.html#
