"There is mounting concern about the execution of innocent people. No one wants to see an innocent person executed. With 12 individuals exonerated and freed from Texas’ death row since 1987, we know the system isn’t faultless.
Has Texas actually executed an innocent person? No one knows for certain, but death penalty scholars point to three executed prisoners who had credible claims of innocence: Cameron Todd Willingham, Ruben Cantu, and Carlos De Luna.
The Texas Forensic Science Commission’s April 15 report did not address Willingham’s actual guilt or innocence in the Corsicana house fire that killed his three daughters. However, nine fire experts who reviewed his case concluded there was no evidence of arson.
Investigative reporting by the Chicago Tribune on the De Luna case and by the Express-News and Houston Chronicle in 2006 on Cantu threw considerable doubt on the actual guilt of both men. It is immoral to have executed an innocent one."
ROGER C. BARNES: EXPRESS-NEWS; Roger Barnes chairs the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of the Incarnate Word.
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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
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"In 2003 there were 28 death sentences handed down in Texas, and last year, only eight. Harris County, which accounts for more than 100 of the 314 people on death row, saw no new death sentences in 2008 or 2009 and only two in 2010. Bexar County has seen only three death sentences since 2007," the Express-News commentary by Roger Barnes published on June 15, 2011 begins, under the heading, "Is the death penalty about to die?: Millions of dollars wasted on capital punishment in Texas," begins.
"It looks like Texas is having second thoughts about death sentences, and executions," the commentary continues.
"In 2010, Texas carried out 17 lethal injections, the fewest since 2001. Texas isn’t about to abolish the death penalty, but it may be starting to move away from its infamous grip on the death penalty.
There are three factors afoot:
There is mounting concern about the execution of innocent people. No one wants to see an innocent person executed. With 12 individuals exonerated and freed from Texas’ death row since 1987, we know the system isn’t faultless.
Has Texas actually executed an innocent person? No one knows for certain, but death penalty scholars point to three executed prisoners who had credible claims of innocence: Cameron Todd Willingham, Ruben Cantu, and Carlos De Luna.
The Texas Forensic Science Commission’s April 15 report did not address Willingham’s actual guilt or innocence in the Corsicana house fire that killed his three daughters. However, nine fire experts who reviewed his case concluded there was no evidence of arson.
Investigative reporting by the Chicago Tribune on the De Luna case and by the Express-News and Houston Chronicle in 2006 on Cantu threw considerable doubt on the actual guilt of both men. It is immoral to have executed an innocent one.
The financial costs of the death penalty are staggering. Fiscal conservatives question whether it is worth the price. The cost of a capital trial, the appeals process, time on death row and the execution itself cost an estimated $2.3 million in 1992, according to the Dallas Morning News. In today’s dollars, that would be more than $3.6 million.
In short, millions of dollars are wasted on a capital sentencing system in Texas. The money could be much better spent on improving policing functions, expanding restitution programs and developing more drug treatment programs — all of which would do far more to enhance public safety than having a death penalty.
Finally, there is an alternative to the death penalty — a sentencing option that Texas lawmakers adopted in 2005: life without parole. In 2010, Texas juries handed down three life-without-parole sentences in capital cases. The point is, juries don’t have to hand out death sentences.
Texas may be the death penalty capital of the United States, but, even here, the tide may be starting to turn."
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The commentary can be found at:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/commentary/article/Is-the-death-penalty-about-to-die-1422636.php
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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 found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
