"Bradley said then that the decision vindicated his position. “This AG opinion will correct the course of the Forensic Science Commission,” he said.
But in his letter, Saloom wrote that the attorney general’s opinion should not stop the work the commission has done on the Willingham case. The Innocence Project filed the complaint about the Willingham case not as a means to establish Willingham’s guilt or innocence, but in the hopes of identifying cases where questionable science may have been used to convict an innocent person."
REPORTER BRANDI GRISSOM: THE TEXAS TRIBUNE;
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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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"The Innocence Project is urging the Texas Forensic Science Commission to forge ahead with its investigation of the Cameron Todd Willingham and Ernest Ray Willis arson cases despite a recent ruling from the state’s top lawyer that seemed to limit the panel’s authority," the Texas Tribune story by reporter Brandi Grissom published earlier today under the heading "Advocates urge science panel to continue arson probe," begins.
"“As these cases so vividly demonstrate, your investigation is a matter of justice or wrongful convictions; indeed, it is a matter of life or death,” Steven Saloom, policy director at the New-York based organization, wrote in a letter Tuesday to the commission," the story continues.
"The commission is meeting today and Friday for the first time since Gov. Rick Perry appointed Dr. Nizam Peerwani chairman, replacing firebrand prosecutor and Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley. It’s also the first meeting since Attorney General Greg Abbott issued a ruling in July concluding that the panel cannot consider evidence in cases older than 2005. Willingham was convicted of igniting the 1991 blaze that killed his three young daughters. He was executed for the crime in 2004. Willis was convicted based on similar arson investigation techniques and was exonerated in 2004.
The Innocence Project in 2006 asked the Forensic Science Commission to investigate the science used to convict the two men. Since the commission agreed in 2008 to take up the matter, it has become a proxy fight between death penalty abolitionists and proponents.
Bradley, a political ally of Perry’s, called Willingham a “guilty monster” and objected to the commission’s involvement in the case. Before his stint on the board ended this year when lawmakers refused to confirm his appointment, Bradley asked Abbott to opine about whether the panel had jurisdiction over the matter.
