Man executed on disproven evidence, experts say

 

Four of the nation's top arson experts have concluded that the state of Texas executed a man in 2004 based on scientifically invalid evidence, and on Tuesday they called for an official reinvestigation of the case.



In their report, the experts, assembled by the Innocence Project, a non-profit organization responsible for scores of exonerations, concluded that the conviction and 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham for the arson-murders of his three daughters were based on interpretations by fire investigators that have been scientifically disproved.



"The whole system has broken down," Barry Scheck, co-founder and director of the Innocence Project, said at a news conference at the state Capitol in Austin. "It's time to find out whether Texas has executed an innocent man."



The experts were asked to perform an independent review of the evidence after an investigation by the Tribune that showed Willingham had been found guilty on arson theories that have been repudiated by scientific advances. In fact, many of the theories were simply lore that had been handed down by generations of arson investigators who relied on what they were told.



The report's conclusions match the findings of the Tribune, published in December 2004. The newspaper began investigating the Willingham case following an October 2004 series, "Forensics Under the Microscope," which examined the use of forensics in the courtroom, including the continued use of disproved arson theories to obtain convictions.



In strong language harshly critical of the investigation of the 1991 fire in Corsicana, southeast of Dallas, the report said evidence examined in the Willingham case and "relied upon by fire investigators" was the type of evidence "routinely created by accidental fires."



No fatal mistakes confirmed



Since the death penalty was reinstated in the U.S. in 1976, 1,020 men and women have been executed, with more than one-third--362--put to death in Texas.



Although more than 100 people have been released from Death Row in the U.S. during that time, no government authority has concluded that an innocent person was executed.



The arson report singled out the testimony at Willingham's trial of Manuel Vasquez, a deputy state fire marshal, who said he found numerous indicators in the debris that he interpreted as evidence that Willingham intentionally set the fire.



"Each and every one of the `indicators' listed by Mr. Vasquez means absolutely nothing," the report states.



Scheck said copies of the report have been sent to the nine members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission with a request that the commission open an investigation of Willingham's prosecution. The commission was created last year to investigate allegations of "professional negligence or misconduct that would substantially affect the integrity of the results of a forensic analysis."



In addition to the Willingham case, the report examined the arson prosecution of Ernest Ray Willis, who was charged with the arson-murders of two women in Iraan, Texas, on June 11, 1986.



In 2004--a few months after Willingham was executed--Willis, who was facing the death penalty in a retrial of his case, was released and the case dismissed after arson experts concluded there was no evidence that the fire was intentionally set.



The report assessing the two cases notes that even though the interpretations of the physical evidence in the Willis case were the same as in the Willingham case, authorities in Texas have declined to say that Willingham was wrongly convicted and executed. The report said the "disparity of the outcomes in these two cases warrants a closer inspection."



In the letter to the commission, Scheck said, "Willis cannot be found `actually innocent' and Willingham executed based on the same scientific evidence."



Further, Scheck asked that the commission commence a systemwide review of arson cases, saying Texas leads the nation in the percentage of people incarcerated for arson convictions, many of which undoubtedly are based on the same sort of invalid science cited in the Willis and Willingham cases.



House full of smoke



Two days before Christmas in 1991, Willingham's wife left their house to pay bills and shop for Christmas gifts for their 1-year-old twins, Karmon and Kameron, and their 2-year-old daughter, Amber.



Willingham testified that he was awakened about an hour later by Amber's cries for help and found the house full of smoke. Willingham escaped, but the children did not.