Cameron Todd Willingham: "Courts should thoroughly investigate cases of arson." Matthew Schmid. The Point Park Globe.

STORY: "Courts should thoroughly investigate cases of arson," by reporter Matthew Schmid published in the Point Park Globe on February 20, 2012.

GIST: "You may assume that it requires years of study, commitment, testing and hard work to become a fire marshal. You would be wrong. It is extremely easy to become one; all you have to do is ride on a fire truck for six years, take a 40-hour class and then you are considered an accredited expert on how fires start. As a thick-blooded Irishman, I am a big fan of FX's series "Rescue Me," about a struggling alcoholic Irish fireman. But even the main character, Tommy Gavin, would agree that he and his colleagues do not know a thing about sifting through the rubble of a fire and determining the cause, and a two-day class would not transform them into fire experts in the least."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.pointparkglobe.com/mobile/opinions/courts-should-thoroughly-investigate-cases-of-arson-1.2788608

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;