Cameron Todd Willingham: A Texas Travesty
Some Facts About The Case
Cameron Todd Willingham was born on January 9, 1968 in Oklahoma.
He was executed on February 17, 2004 at 6:20 pm by The State Of Texas by lethal injection.
Offense Date: December 23, 1991
Offense: Homicide by arson causing the death of his three young daughters.
Cameron was the 320th person to be executed in Texas.
The picture in this capsule is a photo of Cameron and his wife and three daughters.
The Texas Forensic Science Commission appointed by Gov. Rick Perry found the investigation to be flawed due to outdated arson investigation techniques. They issued a report stating that Cameron Todd Was not responsible for the fire that killed his children and was innocent. This report was given to Gov. Perry with a request for a 30 day stay of the execution.
The stay was denied and the entire Science Forensic Team hired by Perry was replaced. Cameron Todd Willingham was executed and the State of Texas will now forever bear the burden of knowing that an innocent man was killed.
The Innocence Project And Michael Morton
The innocence Project, run by Barry Sheck , along with Willingham's relatives and another exonere , Michael Morton are asking the Governor to open an investigation into the Willingham case. They claim to have evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.
They claim jailhouse informants whose testimony was crucial to the case were paid by the prosecution. One of the informants who claimed that Cameron had to confessed to him has recanted. Of course the prosecution denies this and the chances of Slick rick Perry opening an investigation are slim to none, especially since he has shut down another investigation into the case.
Michael Morton pleads to Perry to do the christian thing for Cameron and his family. Michael was incarcerated for 25 years for murdering his wife in 1987. He was exonerated in 2011 by DNA.
Cameron Todd Willingham On Texas Death Row
Exoneration
Judge Charlie Baird, a former Travis County judge had issued a 18 page opinion which exonerated Cameron Todd Willingham, but it was never filed. The Court of Appeals shut it down.
Judge Baird stated that the evidence in the Willingham trial was not reliable enough to take a mans life. He ordered the "exoneration of Cameron Todd Willingham because of overwhelming credible and reliable evidence that was presented in a one day hearing in Austin in 2011.
Judge Baird believed the State of Texas had convicted and executed an innocent man. You can't do anything for Willingham now except clear his name. Judge Baird tried to right a wrong but was stopped by the powers that be.
The exoneration never came to light. The Court Of Appeals critiizied Judge Bairds handling of the case and prohibiting him from working on it any further. He did not run for re-election and the Order For the Exoneration was never filed.
Exoneration denied. Justice Denied.
