"Innocence Project co-director Barry Scheck expressed disappointment in the appeals court's Tuesday ruling.
"While there may not be enough time to litigate this case through the appeals courts before Judge Baird leaves the bench, we feel this is a matter of extreme importance, particularly to the Willingham family and to the justice system of Texas," Scheck said. "We are determined to find a way to get an adjudication on the merits in the Texas courts to restore Willingham's reputation.""
REPORTER ALLAN TURNER: HOUSTON CHRONICLE;
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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. Last year Baird 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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"The posthumous effort to clear Cameron Todd Willingham of the 1991 murders of his three young children ground to a halt Tuesday when an appeals court ruled that an Austin judge handling a so-called court of inquiry acted improperly," the Houston Chronicle story by reporter Allan Turner published on December 21, 2010 begins, under the heading, "Appeals court freezes Willingham trial probe: Justices say Austin judge erred; Innocence Project to pursue case."
"Innocence Project lawyers for Willingham's mother and cousin had petitioned Travis County state District Judge Charles Baird to hold the inquiry and declare that Willingham had been wrongfully convicted," the story continues.
"Willingham, 36, a Corsicana auto mechanic, was executed in 2004, consistently denying he had set the house fire in which the children perished.
When Baird moved forward with the inquiry in mid-October, Navarro County District Attorney R. Lowell Thompson, a successor to the district attorney who prosecuted Willingham, filed a petition asking the judge to relinquish jurisdiction in the case.
Third Court of Appeals justices Tuesday said Baird should have recused himself or referred the matter to the presiding judge of the administrative judicial district to name a presiding judge. The court's ruling essentially freezes action on the court of inquiry until the judge takes one of those actions.
"I've said from the beginning that if we are going to do these things, we should do them right and follow the procedures," Thompson said Tuesday. "I'm sure that Judge Baird will determine what he wants to do, and we'll move forward from there."
The effort to convene a court of inquiry has marked the Innocence Project's second front in the battle of the Willingham conviction. The New York-based organization also filed a complaint with the Texas Forensic Science Commission, which has conducted a protracted, contentious review of the case.
Three expert reviews — one commissioned by the Innocence Project — have found fault with fire investigations conducted by state and local arson officers.
Innocence Project officials claim Willingham was innocent, although the state commission repeatedly has said that it is considering only the soundness of the investigations and will not determine guilt or innocence.
On Tuesday, the 3rd Court noted that Baird responded to Lowell's petition for recusal by wrongly finding that the district attorney had no standing in the case. After dispensing with Lowell's demand that he step aside, Baird convened a daylong hearing in which fire experts blasted the earlier arson probes.
That session ended as Thompson succeeded in getting the appeals court to issue an emergency stay.
Innocence Project co-director Barry Scheck expressed disappointment in the appeals court's Tuesday ruling.
"While there may not be enough time to litigate this case through the appeals courts before Judge Baird leaves the bench, we feel this is a matter of extreme importance, particularly to the Willingham family and to the justice system of Texas," Scheck said. "We are determined to find a way to get an adjudication on the merits in the Texas courts to restore Willingham's reputation.""
Baird is scheduled to vacate the bench on Dec. 31.
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The story can be found at:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7349716.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#
