The Texas Forensic Science Commission's Addendum to the Willingham/Willis Investigation Report, what appears to be the Commission's final word, is available in Adobe .pdf format.
"Willingham inquiry ends, but effects linger," is the title of Chuck Lindell's report for the Austin American-Statesman. It appeared in the Saturday edition.
A state investigation into the science used to convict and execute Cameron Todd Willingham came to a quiet close Friday, but its results might echo across the justice system and the nation's death penalty debate for years to come.
Making final changes to its report on the Willingham case, the Texas Forensic Science Commission signed off on a document acknowledging that unreliable fire science played a role in the Corsicana man's conviction for the murder-by-arson deaths of his three young daughters in 1991. He was executed in 2004.
Following commonly held beliefs now known to be wrong, arson investigators testified that the Willingham house fire was intentionally set using a liquid accelerant, the commission concluded.
Modern fire experts working for the commission and for the New York-based Innocence Project, which is representing Willingham posthumously, have determined that none of the more than 20 "arson indicators" identified by fire investigators in 1991 are reliable evidence of accelerant use. The cause of the fire should have been "undetermined," the experts said.
Though the commission's inquiry was never intended to weigh Willingham's guilt or innocence, the findings have added fuel to the debate over capital punishment.
"The world should now know that the evidence relied upon to convict and execute Cameron Todd Willingham for the fire that killed his daughters was based on scientifically invalid and unreliable evidence," said Stephen Saloom , policy director for the Innocence Project. "By any fair estimate, that indicates he was innocent, that he did not set that fire."
And:
The agency's final report includes a commitment from the state fire marshal's office — whose investigator was the chief prosecution witness at Willingham's trial — to review old arson rulings to determine whether convictions were based on now-debunked assumptions.
The Innocence Project of Texas will provide most of the heavy lifting — about 40 forensic science and law students — to help the fire marshal identify and review old arson cases, said Jeff Blackburn, chief lawyer for the Texas nonprofit legal organization.
"I think this is a great opportunity," Blackburn said during Friday's commission meeting in Austin. "As far as I know, this is the only example of this kind of cooperation going on anywhere in the country."
The Texas Tribune post is, "Forensic Science Panel Recommends Arson Probe," by Claire Cardona.
Now, a new stage of work begins that will require time and cooperation to conduct an exhaustive review of previous arson cases. But Blackburn said with the Fire Marshal's involvement, all the pieces are falling into place.
The commission's recommendations include the creation of a questionnaire for inmates convicted of arson to see if their cases are worth reviewing. The panel also recommended a review of death certificates in cases where the murder charge is listed as arson.
The recommendations also include new certification criteria for expert witnesses, and additional rules and regulations aimed at preventing the use of outdated science and improving the quality of testimony and analysis.
Since his 2004 execution, Willingham's family has continued a fight to prove his innocence. Willingham's cousin, Patricia Ann Willingham-Cox, thanked the commission for its work.
"Have we gotten justice for Todd in the state of Texas? No, not yet, but we will," Cox said. "Has Todd's death effected needed change? Yes."
"Texas forensic board recommends review of arson convictions," is the title of Will Weissert's AP report. It's also available via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
A Texas commission no longer allowed to investigate a case where death penalty opponents say a man may have been executed based on a faulty arson investigation recommended Friday that all cases involving people locked up on arson convictions be reviewed.
The reviews were among 17 recommendations for improving arson inquiries approved by the Texas Forensic Science Commission. The State Fire Marshall's Office has agreed to scrutinize forensics in cases where determinations that fires were deliberately set led to an arson conviction or a murder by arson conviction.
The Innocence Project of Texas, the state arm of a national non-profit that specializes in using DNA evidence to overturn wrongful convictions, will help identify cases for review by providing written surveys to prisoners. State officials also will examine death certificates to ensure qualifying murder cases are identified — since some that involve fires don't list arson as the official cause of death.
Jeff Blackburn, the Innocence Project of Texas' chief attorney, said priority will be given to Texas death row inmates. How many prisoners could have their cases reviewed is unclear, but just looking at arson convictions could involve 750 to 900 cases.
The eight-member panel made its recommendations after the state attorney general limited the scope of its investigation in the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was put to death in 2004 for setting a 1991 fire that killed his three children. Arson experts hired by the forensic commission determined the evidence used to convict Willingham didn't meet modern scientific standards and the fire was most likely accidental.
The commission took up Willingham's case after the New York-based Innocence Project filed a complaint in 2007. It couldn't have overturned his conviction but might have determined whether evidence was collected and analyzed properly, supplying grounds for an appeal if it wasn't.
Earlier coverage of the Todd Willingham case begins at the link. All Willingham coverage is available through the Todd Willingham index.
The Beyler report prepared for the Forensic Science Commission is here in Adobe .pdf format.
David Grann's September 2009 New Yorker article is noted here. Steve Mills and Maurice Possley first reported on the case in a 2004 Chicago Tribune series on junk science. The December 9, 2004 report was titled,"Man executed on disproved forensics."
The Innocence Project has a Todd Willingham resource page which provides a concise overview of the Willingham case with links to all relevant documents.
This is also a perfect time to point readers back to Dave Mann's enterprise reporting on questionable arson convictions in the Texas Observer.
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