Innocent man executed, governor now tries to cover up his mistake
A Texas judge began a hearing Thursday to determine whether Cameron Todd Willingham was an innocent victim of capital punishment. Willingham, convicted of arson, was put to death in 2004 for killing his three children.
In 2004 Texas Governor Rick Perry allowed Willingham’s execution to go forth despite a mountain of evidence indicating Willingham’s lack of guilt. Since then Perry has been engaged in a campaign to cover-up the facts surrounding the case and subsequent execution, as well as silence those looking for the truth.
Prior to 2004, evidence used against Willingham was proven to be “junk science,” yet Perry ignored the truth and permitted the execution of an innocent man.
Experts now agree, as they did in 2004, that the fire was not arson, but an accident, probably caused by faulty wiring. Perry was aware of the overwhelming and compelling forensic evidence clearing Willingham of arson, yet chose to ignore it.
Now, desperate to halt the hearing and avoid public humiliation and rebuke, Perry’s proxy, Navarro County District Attorney R. Lowell Thompson, whose office convicted Willingham in 1992, managed to get a last minute temporary stay from a state appeals court.
However, the appeals court order came at the end of an afternoon of testimony in which two fire experts testified the blaze that killed Willingham’s three daughters was an accident, not arson.
The stay is only temporary, and legal experts seem certain the hearing will continue, and Willingham will be cleared.
When Willingham is cleared, it will be the first time an official in the nation’s most active death penalty state, Texas, has formally declared that someone was wrongfully executed.
Cameron Todd Willingham deserves justice. Rick Perry’s mistake in allowing the execution of an innocent man is only compounded by his attempt at cover-up. Perry is proof the system is imperfect and fallible.
The criminal justice system cannot be trusted with life and death. As Governor, Perry was responsible to prevent the execution of an innocent man. Perry failed, and justice suffered.
Capital punishment is legal in Oregon. The last two individuals to be executed by the state of Oregon were Harry Charles Moore and Douglas Franklin Wright, both executed in the mid 90′s.
Cameron Todd Willingham: Rick Perry’s capital punishment cover-up exposed
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