"By this time we were shooting the film, originally inspired by David Grann's extensive and terrific article in the New Yorker. So it evolved from a project that was initially about science and law to also include this political story about an apparent attempt to slow down a process whereby the truth would come out about the Willingham case."
REPORTER JUSTIN ELLIOT; SALON;
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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
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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"Did Texas Gov. Rick Perry sign off on the execution of an innocent man?," the story by Justin Elliot published in Slate on June 25, 2011 begins under the heading, "The darkest chapter of Rick Perry's career."
"As Perry flirts with a presidential candidacy, the long-disputed case of Cameron Todd Willingham, executed in 2004 for an arson that many fire experts believe he did not commit, is emerging again," the story continues.
"Willingham was convicted of setting a 1991 fire that destroyed his house and killed his three young daughters," the story continues.
"Perry denied a last-minute request for a stay of execution in 2004 based on new scientific analysis that there was no evidence of arson at the house. And he later removed several members of a state panel investigating the case -- a move designed to delay a politically damaging report from the panel, critics charge.
In April, a state commission investigating the case finally issued a lengthy report calling for more training for fire investigators. It is now awaiting a legal opinion on whether it can rule that fire investigators in the Willingham case were negligent or guilty of misconduct -- a conclusion that, if it is made, would likely generate more damaging headlines for Perry.
To learn more about the case, I spoke with Steve Mims, co-director of a recent documentary on the case, "Incendiary." The transcript has been edited for length and clarity; the trailer for the film is at the bottom of this post.
For people who have not been following this case, what's this all about?
In 1991 there was a fire at Cameron Todd Willingham's residence in Corsicana, Texas, which killed his three daughters. He had a trial in 1992 and he was convicted of arson and sentenced to be executed. He was then on death row from 1992 to 2004 when he was executed. At the time he was convicted, the authorities used the arson investigation techniques that were known by these local guys in Corsicana. But it turns out the process they used at the trial was not current to the standards of that time for investigating arson.
While Willingham was on death row, a fire scientist in Austin got a chance from an appeals attorney to review the case materials. That scientist wrote a report outlining his conclusion that there was no evidence of arson. His report went to the governor's office a few days before the execution, with Willingham's appeals attorney asking for a stay and a 30-day review based on the new analysis. That request was declined by Rick Perry. So he was executed in spite of the fact of a scientific opinion that there was no evidence of arson.
What do we know about the thinking that went into Perry's decision to reject the request for a stay in 2004?
The only thing that we know is via Willingham's appeals attorney, who spoke to someone in the governor's office. That staffer said that the governor had taken a look at it and didn't see anything that would warrant postponement of the execution. That's basically all we know about it.
Why is the case still in the public eye so many years later?
Well, eventually the Texas Legislature formed a body called the Texas Forensic Science Commission to look at cases where there had been possible abuses. The Innocence Project brought the Willingham case to that commission because of the concerns about bad science being used to convict a person for murder. The commission hired independent scientific experts to look at the case and eventually it had two reports finding that there was no evidence of arson. That brings us up to October of 2009 when the Forensic Science Commission was about to accept a verbal report from one of the scientists about his findings. And the governor removed three members of the commission -- the chairman and two others -- which in effect canceled that presentation.
By this time we were shooting the film, originally inspired by David Grann's extensive and terrific article in the New Yorker. So it evolved from a project that was initially about science and law to also include this political story about an apparent attempt to slow down a process whereby the truth would come out about the Willingham case.
So the timing of Perry's removal of these commissioners -- what was going on with the investigation?
They were removed two days before a scientist named Craig Beyler was scheduled to formally present his findings that there was no evidence for arson. Perry appointed a new chair of the commission and the body did not meet again until the end of January 2010. Now, part of the backdrop of this was this was all going on in the middle of the Republican gubernatorial primary. So the case had become an issue because of the attention this investigation was getting.
Were you able to talk to Perry?
No. As a matter of fact during that time he wouldn't even debate anybody as part of the campaign. What we do have is an excellent interview done by Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune, the only person Perry sat down with. Perry said that he believed the scientific evidence was correct and that the judicial process had been correct. It's impossible to know what his thinking is. But objectively you can look at it and conclude there is no political upside to going out on a limb to someone you think is guilty and who you think has committed a heinous crime."
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The story can be found at:
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/06/25/cameron_todd_willingham_rick_perry
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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;
