That's the title of Bob Moser's most recent post at AlterNet. LINK Moser is the editor of the Texas Observer.
The exercise of raw power is truly stunning to behold.
Gov. Rick Perry has replaced three members of the Forensic Science Commission, which is investigating whether Texas -- under Perry's administration -- executed an innocent man in 2004.
The Statesman and the AP are reporting that one of three deposed commissioners is chairman Sam Bassett, an Austin defense attorney.
Perry has installed as chairman John Bradley, the district attorney of Williamson County and one of the state's most notorious tough-on-crime advocates.
Bradley's first act? He canceled Friday's schedule meeting at which the commission was supposed to discuss the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, an apparently innocent man executed in 2004. Willingham was convicted of killing his three kids by starting a 1991 house fire. His case was recently featured in the New Yorker.
The commission last year hired a national arson expert to study the Willingham case. The expert, Craig Beyler, released his report in late August. He concurred with the other fire experts who have looked at the case: the fire was accidental, and Willingham almost assuredly innocent.
The commission planned to hear from Beyler at Friday's meeting. The commission also planned to release a final report on the case early next year. That raised the possibility that Texas would be the first state to officially admit executing an innocent man.
The timing couldn't have been worse for Perry, who's in a tough race for reelection.
And:
The Commission's inquiry of the Willingham case figured to pose mounting political problems for the governor. And Perry has never been crazy about the idea of the Forensic Science Commission, which the Legislature created in 2005.
It's worth noting that Bassett's term had expired, and the governor has the power to appoint whomever he chooses.
But Perry's actions certainly appear an attempt to bottle up the Willingham investigation.
The post also notes the NPR All Things Considered interview with Texas Observer writer Dave Mann, "Texas Governor Fires Commissioners Probing Arson."
ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
We recently heard the story here of Cameron Todd Willingham's conviction and execution for the arson deaths of his three young children.
Journalist David Grann of The New Yorker magazine described how the forensic evidence in that Texas murder case was reviewed by outside experts, and how the Texas Forensic Science Commission was likely to conclude that an innocent man had been wrongly convicted and put to death.
Well, here is the latest twist to this story. Texas Governor Rick Perry, who has expressed confidence in the verdict and the sentence, removed three of the eight commissioners yesterday, forcing the cancellation of a key hearing.
David Mann of the Texas Observer has been following all this and he joins us from Austin. And David Mann, what was the commission supposed to do tomorrow that it won't be doing?
Mr. DAVID MANN (Texas Observer): They were supposed to meet in Irving, Texas, where they were going to continue their investigation into the Willingham case. And they were scheduled to hear from Craig Byler who's based in Baltimore, is a national arson expert and recently produced a report on the Willingham case for the commission in which he concluded that the fire was likely accidental, which concurs with the conclusions of many of the other national experts who looked at this case.
But after Rick Perry's action yesterday, that meeting has cancelled and won't be happening.
SIEGEL: It'll be cancelled because there are now new commissioners, including a new chairman, who aren't up to speed. How routine or extraordinary was the replacement of the commissioners?
Mr. MANN: It's certainly not routine. Now, the three commissioners who were replaced, all their terms had expired in September. And the governor, as the governor's office has pointed out, has the authority to replace these commissioners and choose whoever he wants. But these commissioners had been serving for several years, particularly the chairman of the commission. He had done a lot of the work to get this commission off the ground. It had only been around since 2005, and he wanted to keep serving. So, certainly the timing has raised a lot of questions in people's minds about the governor's motivation for this.
Earlier coverage begins here.
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