State panel declines to clear investigators in Willingham case
DALLAS -- Several members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission this morning rebuked efforts by the chairman to clear state fire marshal investigators of findings of professional negligence or misconduct in the Todd Willingham capital murder case.
"The investigators followed the standard of practice by investigators at the time, but what was not followed was the 'science' at the time," commission member Sarah Kerrigan said. "There is a disconnect between the investigator and the science."
Not a headline that garners a lot of attention but a significant one nonetheless. You see, here in the dark lands of Texas we'll take any ray of light we can get. What makes this significant is that the Chairman of the Forensic Commission is Governor Perry's personally appointed hatchet man. Perry removed three of the board members - including its leader - just as they were about to conduct a full scale investigation of the Willingham case.
Chairman John Bradley's job is to quash and delay any substantive findings until after the November elections. Why? Because the state of Texas willfully murdered Todd Willingham and Perry is now desperate to cover it up having staked his reputation - such as it is - on the righteous guilt of Willingham.
I've blogged before on the railroading of Willingham and the shameless and cowardly defense of it by Texas authorities. Willingham was convicted of setting fire to his own home that killed his three children. Jokesters who passed as fire marshals decided it was arson because it made for an irresistibly juicy story on which careers could be made. Welcome to the nightmare of good ol' boy Texas justice.
Bradley with his mouth full of lies.
Over Chairman John Bradley's objections, she and other scientists on the commission demanded a further examination of the forensic standards and said the commission may issue a report by January. What's more, some commissioners said a systematic review of all arson cases handled by the Texas fire marshal's office may be needed because it was using faulty methods.
Willingham, a Corsicana mechanic, was convicted of setting a fire that killed his three children in 1991. Friday's commission meeting was seen as the showdown in the years-long debate of whether the fire marshal's office botched the arson investigation that sent Willingham to the death chamber in 2004.
A commission panel issued a draft report this summer concluding that the office had not committed professional negligence or misconduct in the Willingham case because the forensic analysis met the standards of the day. Bradley, district attorney in Williamson County, recommended ending the case.
Your future is in our hands!
When the initial draft report came out I really thought the bastard Bradley was going to get away with it. (How scary is it that someone so politically invested and utterly dismissive of the truth is a District Attorney in charge of prosecuting justice? His fellow Texans may claim him, God won't.) So reading about this rebuke last weekend tickled me pink! His fellow board members refused to kowtow to the madman and have decided to get to the bottom of what really happened.
At issue is the good ol' boy method of arson investigations used at the time. Method that went something like this:
"It done burnt down, Leroy. All way right ta tha ground!"
"Yup, Elmer. And I hear tell its sum librul living here too."
"Gotta figger that, doncha? Acting all careless and such. Yep, looks like arson to me."
"That me profeshunal opinyun too, Elmer."
And just how have they gotten away with this sort of self-serving, laksadasical behavior? By excusing it with the claim it met the "standards of the day". But it seems maybe - just maybe - that's not going to wash anymore. Bastard Bradley was livid with the board members failing to advance his political career.
Bradley, clearly frustrated by the discussion and hammering other commission members with questions, said not enough credible and reliable information exists to fault the arson investigators.
"It is incapable for us to come to any other conclusion because of the ambiguity of the case," Bradley told commission members. "Fire standards have evolved. ... We are not tasked with deciding guilt or innocence."
Instead, he said, the commission's task is to determine "whether fire investigators exhibited significant negligence or misconduct."
Later in the meeting, after concerns were expressed about the contents of the draft report, he said, "I'm a little bit tired of a committee's continued criticism of individual words when [I am] trying to reach consensus."
"Reach consensus" i.e. railroad the meeting! Instead the commission voted to convene a "live panel" this November to bring in officials from the fire marshal's office as well as outside experts. Bradley questioned this, snidely calling it "a battle of the experts" and also questioned the commission's legal authority to review further arson cases. He then sucked his thumb and pouted.
Wilingham's relatives were also in attendance, tearfully thanking the board members for their stance. They hope to finally clear Todd's name and tell the story of how a devastated and grieving father over the death of his three children was then slandered year after year and finally murdered in a surreal miscarriage of justice. The Innocence Project has played a key role in bringing this outrage to light:
In 2006, the Innocence Project filed a complaint with the Forensic Science Commission about the science used in the investigation.
The commission eventually hired a national arson expert to examine the case. He found that the fire investigators had a poor understanding of fire science and suggested that the fire could have been accidental.
But before his report could be formally presented to the commission last year, Gov. Rick Perry replaced the chairman and several other members, delaying the inquiry. Perry has defended Willingham's execution.
This is far from over and it's apparent Bradley is dug in like a tick on a coon dog. The live panel will be spun as "my expert cancels out your expert" along with reasonable sounding comments like "the truth lies somewhere in between" to muddy the waters further. But I do have hope a definitive statement will be made eventually and Texas can be rightly branded as a killer of an innocent man.
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