Breaking News: Maurice Possley: The Marshall Project; Washington Post: "More than a decade after Cameron Todd Willingham was executed for the arson murder of his three young daughters, new evidence has emerged that indicates that a key prosecution witness testified in return for a secret promise to have his own criminal sentence reduced. In a previously undisclosed letter that the witness, Johnny E. Webb, wrote from prison in 1996, he urged the lead prosecutor in Willingham’s case to make good on what Webb described as an earlier promise to downgrade his conviction. Webb also hinted that he might make his complaint public. Within days, the prosecutor, John H. Jackson, sought out the Navarro County judge who had handled Willingham’s case and came away with a court order that altered the record of Webb’s robbery conviction to make him immediately eligible for parole. Webb would later recant his testimony that Willingham confessed to setting his house on fire with the toddlers inside. Jackson’s handling of the case is now under investigation by the State Bar of Texas, following a formal complaint of prosecutorial misconduct last summer. That grievance asked that Jackson be sanctioned or even prosecuted for falsifying official records, withholding evidence and obstructing justice......... Regardless of when Jackson would have learned of a possible deal, he would have been legally bound to disclose any such favorable treatment of a witness to the defense. For Willingham — who maintained his innocence until he was executed in 2004 — the revelation might have been sufficient grounds for a new trial. To death penalty opponents, Willingham’s case is among those that have come closest to proving for the first time in the modern era of capital punishment that an innocent person has been put to death in the United States."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/letter-from-witness-casts-further-doubt-on-2004-texas-execution/2015/03/09/d9ebdab8-c451-11e4-ad5c-3b8ce89f1b89_story.html
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Readers. Due to a 'writing' assignment, I will not be filing fresh posts for several weeks. (With the exception of breaking news;) When I am back in action I will make up for lost time with a vengeance. In the meantime, please keep me up to date with developments and don't hesitate to bring new matters of interest to this Blog to my attention at hlevy15@gmail.com.
Best wishes,
Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
PS: For latest coverage of the Mark Lundy retrial go to: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/mark-lundy-murder-retrial
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
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/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com.
Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
