Jordan Smith posts, "Third Court Rules in Willingham Case," at the Austin Chronicle.
The Third Court of Appeals has ruled that the region's presiding administrative judge must consider whether to grant recusal of Travis Co. District Judge Charlie Baird in case of executed inmate Cameron Todd Willingham.
In October, Baird heard testimony of fire experts, brought by lawyers for Willingham, during a proceeding seeking to posthumously clear Willingham's name. Baird was also asked to consider whether cause exists to initiate a court of inquiry into the actions (or inaction) of state officials prior to Willingham's death. At issue there is whether state officials (likely the State Fire Marshals Office and Gov. Rick Perry) relied on faulty science (and ignored new evidence) to conclude that Willingham set the 1991 fire at his Corsicana home that killed his three young children.
Navarro Co. District Attorney R. Lowell Thompson had sought to recuse Baird, who he said he believed couldn't be objective on the matter (because he had received an award from an anti-death penalty group, or alternately, because he'd once ruled in favor of upholding Willingham's death sentence while Baird was serving as a justice on the Court of Criminal Appeals). Baird heard his claim but ruled that Thompson was not a party to the action brought by Willingham's surviving relatives.
And:
In it's opinion, written by Chief Justice Woodie Jones and Justice Bob Pemberton (Justice David Puryear also considered the case and filed a dissent to the two-judge majority ruling), the court concluded that Baird should have recused himself or refer that motion to the region's presiding judge, Williamson County's Billy Ray Stubblefield, for consideration.
In dissent, Puryear concluded that although the hearing was unique, that didn't mean that it did not comport with the law; Baird should have been allowed to conclude the matter, he wrote.
The opinion and dissent are available in Adobe .pdf format.
Coverage of the Court of Inquiry at the link. More recent Willingham coverage begins with this post.
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.
I want to call attention to some recent changes in the Austin Chronicle's news coverage. Our beloved local, independent alt-weekly, has increased timely news updates through its news blog. They're doing an excellent job, as this news break demonstrates.
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