"In response to a request from Hearst's Houston Chronicle earlier this year, Perry's office refused to release the clemency report, saying it was protected from disclosure under the law. That prompted the news organization's lawsuit.
Hearst asked for the memo and other documents in pre-trial motions.
The state attorney general's office, representing Perry, said the memo was protected under attorney-client privilege, and that the supporting documents from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles were confidential under the law."
REPORTER PEGGY FICAK: HOUSTON CHRONICLE;
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"AUSTIN — A Travis County state district judge has denied a motion by Hearst Newspapers to force Gov. Rick Perry's office to hand over a memorandum and supporting documents he received before denying a stay of execution in the high-profile case of Cameron Todd Willingham," the Houston Chronicle story by reporter Peggy Ficak published on December 17, 2010 under the heading, "Perry keeps clemency report secret: Judge denies Hearst effort to make him yield 2004 pre-execution memo," begins.
"Willingham was executed in 2004 for the 1991 deaths of his three daughters in a fire. Lawyers for the New York-based Innocence Project, citing modern forensics, have said the blaze cannot be proven to have been arson," the story continues.
"In response to a request from Hearst's Houston Chronicle earlier this year, Perry's office refused to release the clemency report, saying it was protected from disclosure under the law. That prompted the news organization's lawsuit.
Hearst asked for the memo and other documents in pre-trial motions.
The state attorney general's office, representing Perry, said the memo was protected under attorney-client privilege, and that the supporting documents from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles were confidential under the law.
Judge Suzanne Covington earlier denied a request from the news organization's lawyers that they be allowed to review the memorandum and supporting documents through an "attorneys' eyes only" protective order so they could better frame their argument.
Instead, Covington had said she would review the documents to decide whether they are protected. In an order dated Thursday, Covington refused to release the documents.
Her decision to deny the motion goes to the heart of the lawsuit. The news organization is evaluating its options, a Hearst lawyer said Friday. It could attempt to immediately appeal her decision or go ahead with the case, reserving the right to appeal until the end of trial court proceedings."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The story can be found at:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/7344654.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;
