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Texas may well have killed an innocent man

economist.com

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Re: Texas may well have killed an innocent man

#4

Post by Atroxide »

mplewis wrote: post #2

Does anyone have a way of bypassing the paywall? I can't read the article.

ON THE morning of December 23rd 1991 a fire destroyed a home in Corsicana, Texas shared by Cameron Todd Willingham, his wife and their three daughters. The fire killed the girls; Mrs Willingham was at the Salvation Army store shopping for Christmas gifts. Mr Willingham survived. The next year he was convicted of setting the fire. He was sentenced to death and executed in 2004.

His conviction rested on arson investigators’ findings and the testimony of Johnny Webb, a jailhouse informant who claimed that Willingham had confessed to him. Shortly before the execution, Willingham’s lawyers sent the governor and parole board a report from Gerald Hurst, another arson investigator, detailing multiple flaws in the first investigation. He concluded that the fire was caused by a space heater or faulty electrical wiring. Officials appear to have received this report before Willingham’s execution, but did nothing with it. Several independent arson investigators reached similar conclusions.

In this section The slow death of the death penalty Irrevocable Mass. appeal Buy now or later? Family portraits on wheels Cowboys v Feds Because men are not angels Reprints Related topics Crime Crime and law Willingham insisted on his innocence, refusing to plead guilty even to avoid execution. Mr Webb testified that, as he was passing Willingham’s cell, he heard him confess to having done the deed to cover up child abuse committed by his wife. But no bruises or signs of abuse were found on the children’s bodies.

Mr Webb recanted his testimony in 2000. He then recanted his recantation, but admitted to a journalist that “It’s very possible I misunderstood what [Willingham] said.” Mr Webb also testified that he was promised no benefit in exchange for his testimony. In February, however, lawyers working to get Willingham a posthumous pardon revealed a note discovered in Mr Webb’s file with the Navarro County prosecutor promising a reduced charge “based on coop[eration] in Willingham”. On April 3rd Texas denied Willingham a pardon. His lawyers can reapply in April 2016.

Re: Texas may well have killed an innocent man

#5

Post by parennoob »

A more in-depth article, which fills in a lot of details: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/07/090907fa_fact_...

This case seems to hinge mainly on the fact that a lack of a scientific approach to investigating arson, combined with overzealous prosecutors, may have contributed to what the original headline claims.

Some key paragraphs (though you should go there and read it yourself):

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"With the naked eye, it is impossible to distinguish between the pour patterns and puddle configurations caused by an accelerant and those caused naturally by post-flashover. The only reliable way to tell the difference is to take samples from the burn patterns and test them in a laboratory for the presence of flammable or combustible liquids."

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"On February 13th, four days before Willingham was scheduled to be executed, he got a call from Reaves, his attorney. Reaves told him that the fifteen members of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, which reviews an application for clemency and had been sent Hurst’s report, had made their decision.

“What is it?” Willingham asked.

“I’m sorry,” Reaves said. “They denied your petition.”

The vote was unanimous. Reaves could not offer an explanation: the board deliberates in secret, and its members are not bound by any specific criteria. The board members did not even have to review Willingham’s materials, and usually don’t debate a case in person; rather, they cast their votes by fax—a process that has become known as “death by fax.” Between 1976 and 2004, when Willingham filed his petition, the State of Texas had approved only one application for clemency from a prisoner on death row. A Texas appellate judge has called the clemency system “a legal fiction.” Reaves said of the board members, “They never asked me to attend a hearing or answer any questions.”"

Re: Texas may well have killed an innocent man

#7

Post by xzf »

Atroxide wrote: post #4
mplewis wrote: post #2

Does anyone have a way of bypassing the paywall? I can't read the article.

ON THE morning of December 23rd 1991 a fire destroyed a home in Corsicana, Texas shared by Cameron Todd Willingham, his wife and their three daughters. The fire killed the girls; Mrs Willingham was at the Salvation Army store shopping for Christmas gifts. Mr Willingham survived. The next year he was convicted of setting the fire. He was sentenced to death and executed in 2004. His conviction rested on arson investiga…

"On April 3rd Texas denied Willingham a pardon. His lawyers can reapply in April 2016."

They pardoned the dead guy?

Re: Texas may well have killed an innocent man

#8

Post by timw0j »

xzf wrote: post #7
Atroxide wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ON THE morning of December 23rd 1991 a fire destroyed a home in Corsicana, Texas shared by Cameron Todd Willingham, his wife and their three daughters. The fire killed the girls; Mrs Willingham was at the Salvation Army store shopping for Christmas gifts. Mr Willingham survived. The next year he was convicted of setting the fire. He was sentenced to death and executed in 2004. His conviction rested on arson investiga…

"On April 3rd Texas denied Willingham a pardon. His lawyers can reapply in April 2016." They pardoned the dead guy?

"lawyers working to get Willingham a posthumous pardon"

Re: Texas may well have killed an innocent man

#9

Post by rbanffy »

Death penalty would be applied much more responsibly if, in case an innocent person got executed, everyone involved in the verdict, police, forensics experts, prosecutors, judge and jurors, would have to be charged of at least manslaughter.

Realistically, this would only bring the systematic destruction of any exculpatory evidence.

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