"“This legislation, if passed, would allow the governor and his allies - instead of the forensic and scientific experts now sitting – to determine what is good forensic evidence. It would also hide all ongoing commission investigations from public view by making a radical exception to the open meetings law,” said Stephen Saloom, Policy Director for the Innocence Project, which is affiliated with Cardozo School of Law. “While it should come as no surprise given Governor Perry’s year and half crusade to destroy the commission, this is politics at its absolute lowest, obviously intended to wrest control from a commission that puts science and justice over politics, as it did in its recent Willingham/Willis report. While these amendments may serve the Governor, they are terrible for all other Texans except the real perpetrators of crimes who go free when the wrong person is convicted by bad forensic evidence – or when jurors refuse to convict based on proper forensic evidence because they believe that past forensic problems were not fixed. This legislation must be stopped in the House.”
INNCOENCE PROJECT PRESS RELEASE;
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
For an important critique of the devastating state of arson investigation in America with particular reference to the Willingham and Willis cases, go to:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/01/fire-investigation-great-read-veteran.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"(Austin, TX — Friday, May 13, 2011) The Texas Senate passed a bill today that would significantly weaken the Texas Forensic Science Commission’s ability to conduct investigations to ensure quality forensic evidence and prevent wrongful convictions," the Innocence Project press release, published on May 13, 2011, begins, under the heading, "Texas Senate Passes Bill that Would Significantly Weaken Investigations by the Texas Forensic Science Commission."
"The amendments, which were made by Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, were added to an earlier version of a bill on the commission following a report by the commission last month finding that the forensic evidence used to convict Cameron Todd Willingham was based on outdated forensic science," the release continues.
"“This legislation, if passed, would allow the governor and his allies - instead of the forensic and scientific experts now sitting – to determine what is good forensic evidence. It would also hide all ongoing commission investigations from public view by making a radical exception to the open meetings law,” said Stephen Saloom, Policy Director for the Innocence Project, which is affiliated with Cardozo School of Law. “While it should come as no surprise given Governor Perry’s year and half crusade to destroy the commission, this is politics at its absolute lowest, obviously intended to wrest control from a commission that puts science and justice over politics, as it did in its recent Willingham/Willis report. While these amendments may serve the Governor, they are terrible for all other Texans except the real perpetrators of crimes who go free when the wrong person is convicted by bad forensic evidence – or when jurors refuse to convict based on proper forensic evidence because they believe that past forensic problems were not fixed. This legislation must be stopped in the House.”
As amended, Senate Bill 1658 appears to significantly weaken the authority of the commission by:
* Giving all appointment power to the governor alone, as opposed to splitting that power with the attorney general and lieutenant governor as is present practice;
* Reducing the number of commissioners from 9 to 7, and no longer requiring the varied scientific expertise currently required;
* Changing terms of service to remove all non-gubernatorial appointees as soon as possible; • Preventing public access to commission investigation materials, potentially indefinitely, by making an exception to the Open Meetings Act;
* Removing the requirement that the commission issue a written report for investigations that involve labs unaccredited by DPS or involving a forensic method or methodology that is not an accredited field of forensic science;
* Blocking the commission from finding negligence or misconduct in investigations involving unaccredited labs and forensic methods/methodologies that are not an accredited field of forensic science; • Making commission reports in admissible in a civil or criminal action.
A copy of amended Senate bill 1658 that passed today is available here. A copy of the amendments are available at here and here. A copy of the existing law on the commission is available here. The commission’s findings in the Willingham investigation is available here."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The release can be found at:
http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Texas_Senate_Passes_Bill_that_Would_Significantly_Weaken_Investigations_by_the_Texas_Forensic_Science_Commission.php
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
