As noted yesterday, the opinion and dissent are available in Adobe .pdf format.
"Appeals court rebukes Baird in Willingham case," is the title of Steven Kreytak's report in today's Austin American-Statesman.
An Austin appellate court ruled Tuesday that state District Judge Charlie Baird abused his discretion in handling an inquiry into the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, a Corsicana man whose lawyers contend that he was wrongfully executed in 2004.
The 3rd Court of Appeals found that Baird, who sits in Travis County, should not have held a hearing about the case in October after Navarro County District Attorney R. Lowell Thompson, whose office prosecuted Willingham, accused Baird of bias and asked him to recuse himself.
"Judge Baird abused his discretion by failing to either recuse himself or refer the motion to the presiding judge of the administrative judicial district," Chief Justice Woodie Jones wrote in the court's opinion.
In e-mails, Baird declined to comment on the ruling other than to say that he would forward Thompson's recusal motion to state District Judge Billy Ray Stubblefield, who sits in Williamson County and is the administrative judge for the region that includes Travis County.
But it is likely that the motion will not be decided by the time Baird leaves the bench at the end of the year to enter private practice. The case ultimately could fall to Baird's successor in the 299th District Court, former Assistant District Attorney Karen Sage said. She declined to comment Tuesday.
In a statement, Barry Scheck, who represents Willingham's family and is co-director of the New York-based Innocence Project, said he was disappointed.
"We feel this is a matter of extreme importance, particularly to the Willingham family and to the justice system in Texas," the statement said. "We are determined to find a way to get an adjudication on the merits in the Texas courts to restore Willingham's reputation."
At the Texas Tribune, Brandi Grissom posts, "Appeals Court Says Willingham Judge Abused Discretion."
The three-judge panel today ruled that in response to Thompson's motion, Baird should have either recused himself or referred the motion to the presiding judge of the administrative judicial district. The court granted Thompson's motion to recuse Baird and postponed the court of inquiry proceedings until the judge complies with the motion.
Mitch Mitchell writes, "Travis County judge ordered to reconsider recusal in Willingham inquiry," for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Others reviewing the appeals court's decision expressed disagreement more forcefully. "The bias claims that are presented in this case are ridiculous," said Cory Session, brother of Tim Cole, the only Texas inmate to receive a posthumous exoneration and pardon.
Thompson's motion states on the one hand that Baird supported Willingham's conviction and execution as an appeals judge and on the other hand opposes the death penalty because he received an award from an anti-death-penalty group, Session said.
Thompson cannot credibly argue both things in the same motion, he said.
"There is no way to tell whether Baird supports or whether he opposes the death penalty," Session said. "Baird has received awards from both defense and prosecution groups. No one ever said he was biased during the Tim Cole case."
Session also argued that the circumstances surrounding the Willingham and Cole cases are very similar.
"It's troubling that they would issue this type of ruling when the precedent has already been set in the Tim Cole case," Session said. "I wonder how they would differentiate what happened in the Tim Cole case with what could possibly happen in the Willingham case."
And:
On Jan. 7, the state Forensic Science Commission is expected to continue its look into the quality of the fire science that helped convict Willingham. Experts who have testified before the commission, as well as commission member Nizam Peerwani, the Tarrant County medical examiner, have said that the fire science used during the Willingham trial was faulty.
The AP report is, "Appeals court: Judge was wrong in Texas arson case," by Jeff Carlton. It's via the Washington Post.
The recusal issue must be resolved before the hearing into Willingham's possible innocence can continue. A complicating factor is Baird's retirement at the end of the year. The judge did not immediately respond to a message left by The Associated Press.
The ruling is the latest setback for anti-death penalty advocates trying to prove Willingham's innocence. If he were exonerated, it would mark the first time an official in the nation's most active death penalty state has formally declared someone was wrongfully executed.
Last month in a different case, a DNA test on a single hair cast doubt on the guilt of a Texas man who was put to death in 2000 for a liquor-store murder. The hair had been the only piece of physical evidence linking Claude Jones to the crime scene. The DNA does not prove Jones' innocence but does indicate there was not enough evidence to convict or execute him under Texas law
"The clock is ticking and it is running out," said Barry Scheck, the co-director of the New York-based Innocence Project, a legal center specializing in wrongful conviction cases. "The bottom line is we have been frustrated by an inability to get adjudication on the merits of these serious issues."
"Hearing delayed on possible mistaken Texas execution," is the AFP report, via Google News.
A court hearing to determine whether a man executed in 2004 was in fact innocent faced further delay when a Texas appeals court ruled the judge overseeing the case should have recused himself.
Cameron Todd Willingham's family is seeking to have his name cleared amid claims that the evidence arson investigators used in his 1992 trial was based on flawed science.
If the court exonerates Willingham of killing his three daughters he will be the first person officially declared innocent after being executed in the modern era of US capital punishment.
His family petitioned State District Judge Charlie Baird to clear his name and reputation.
Baird is known for exonerating Timothy Cole, who died in prison while serving a 25-year sentence after being wrongly convicted of being the "Texas Tech rapist."
Another man confessed to the rape after Cole's death and DNA evidence proved that claim to be true.
Earlier coverage begins with the post, "Appeals Court Rules in Willingham Court of Inquiry Recusal Issue," from yesterday.
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.
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