 enbar says: A damning piece by The New Yorker on the story of Todd Willingham. Willingham was executed in 2005 for triple homicide after being convicted of killing his three children by setting their room on fire. Texas officials ignored reports by fire scientists, whose investigations showed that there had been no solid evidence that the fire was arson. The arson investigators who testified in Willingham's case relied on traditional methods whose scientific validity had long ago been disproven, and the parole board apparently did not even bother to read the exonerating information provided to them by Willingham's lawyer. It was a long, sad article. Bad things happen in life. Like the father (step-father?) of that young girl who was kidnapped and held captive for 18 years; he always got blamed for it. It's "interesting," how there are some things humans won't admit to....or what they will risk their lives for. Very good article. One of the things that got me was the prosecutor's reaction to Willingham's tattoo. "So he liked skulls and snakes! That means he was obsessed with death and violence!" Actually, speaking as someone with some experience with tattoo parlors, what it means is probably that he walked in, looked around, and said "Gimme that one. No, not the black panther clawing its way down the arm, the skull with the snake through it. Number G3! Don't you people know your own flash?" And the reaction to the Led Zeppelin and Iron Maiden posters... oy. If charged with a crime in Texas, you'd better hope you're not a rock&roll fan, I ... Worthless article? "Cameron Todd Willingham: Media Meltdown & the Death Penalty: "Trial by Fire: Did Texas execute an innocent man?", by David Grann http://homicidesurvivors.com/2009/10/04/cameron-todd-willingham-media-meltdown--the-death-penalty.aspx This was written and released prior to the Corsicana Fire Marshall's report, below: EXCLUSIVE: City report on arson probe: State panel asks for city response in Willingham case http://www.corsicanadailysun.com/news/local_story_276222736.html And what's your point exactly? The crux of the article is that Beyler's report shows that the science on which the original arson investigation was based, and without which the case against Willingham wouldn't have even gotten a hearing, was completely baseless. Neither of the links you give even bother to contradict that point. |
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