Cameron Todd Willingham: An Innocent Man Executed in Texas
Cameron Todd Willingham was executed in Texas in 2004. Willingham was convicted of murder in 1992 after his three young daughters died in a fire at his Corsicana, Texas, home.
The prosecution claimed he intentionally set fire to his home in order to kill his own children. Willingham, who was asleep in the home when the fire started, always said he was innocent. He was convicted based on the testimony of forensic experts who said the fire was intentionally set and a jailhouse informant who said Willingham had confessed to him.
In the days leading up to Willingham's execution, his attorneys sent the governor and the Board of Pardon and Parole a report from Gerald Hurst, a nationally recognized arson expert, saying that Willingham's conviction was based on erroneous forensic analysis. Documents obtained by the Innocence Project show that state officials received that report but apparently did not act on it.
Months after Willingham was executed, the Chicago Tribune published an investigative report that raised questions about the forensic analysis. The Innocence Project assembled five of the nation's leading independent arson experts to review the evidence in the case, and they issued a 48-page report finding that none of the scientific analysis used to convict Willingham was valid.
In 2006, the Innocence Project formally submitted the case to the Texas Forensic Science Commission, asking the empowered state entity to launch a full investigation. Along with the Willingham case, the Innocence Project submitted information about another arson case in Texas where identical evidence was used to send another man to death row. In that case, Ernest Willis was exonerated and freed from prison because the forensic evidence was not valid.
In 2008, the Texas Forensic Science Commission agreed to investigate the case. The commission hired renowned arson expert Craig Beyler to review all of the evidence in the case. In August 2009, Beyler submitted his report to the commission, finding that the forensic analysis used to convict Willingham was wrong - and that experts who testified at Willingham's trial should have known it was wrong at the time.
An investigative report in the September 7, 2009, issue of the New Yorker deconstructs every facet of the state's case against Willingham. The 16,000-word article by David Grann shows that all of the evidence used against Willingham was invalid, including the forensic analysis, the informant's testimony, other witness testimony and additional circumstantial evidence.
Members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission said in 2009 that they intended to hear testimony from Beyler in October 2009 and produce a report on the Willingham case in early 2010. A hearing scheduled for October 3, 2009, was abruptly cancelled, however, when Gov. Rick Perry announced October 1 that he was replacing three members of the commission whose terms had expired. As of October 7, 2009, the commission’s review of the Willingham case was on hold, according to new chairman John Bradley, the Williamson County District Attorney.
On October 22, a group of more than 400 people from 120 towns across Texas sent a letter to Bradley urging him to ensure that the Forensic Science Commission continues its review of the arson evidence in the case. Among those signing the letter were 15 Texans who were wrongfully convicted and later exonerated through DNA testing.
On November 10, at a special meeting of the Texas State Senate Criminal Justice Committe, representatives questioned on the status of the Forensic Science Commission’s work and plans for continuing ongoing investigations. Watch video of the the full hearing, and Innocence Project Co-Director Barry Scheck’s comments at a press conference following the hearing.
(Updated November 20, 2009)
Resources in the case are below, along with background on the role of unvalidated forensics in wrongful convictions.
Innocence Project Press Releases:
8/31/09: New Report Shows that Cameron Todd Willingham, Executed in Texas in 2004, Was Innocent
5/2/06: Innocence Project Submits Two Arson Cases to Texas Commission and Requests System-Wide Review
Key Reports and Documents:
Chicago Tribune Investigation: Man Executed on Disproved Forensics - 2004
New Yorker investigation: Trial by Fire - 2009
Innocence Project Filing to Texas Forensic Science Commission - 2006 (PDF)Expert Panel Report on Willingham and Willis convictions (submitted as part of the filing) - 2006 (PDF)
Documents Obtained from Texas via Open Records Act (PDF)Report of Craig Beyler to the Texas Forensic Science Commission - 2009
Background on Broader Issues:
The Just Science Coalition: Supporting Forensic Reform to Improve the Accuracy of the Criminal Justice System
Understand the Causes: Unvalidated or Improper Forensic Science
September 2009 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on improving forensic science (referencing Willingham's case).
Selected Press Coverage and Multimedia:
November 2009
Houston Chronicle Editorial: CSI: Texas (11/17/09)
Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial: Texans Too Quiet About Their State’s Broken Justice System (11/15/09)
Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial: Commission Should Work in Public (11/13/09)Houston Chronicle Column by Rick Casey: Don’t Pick a Lawyer to Do Science (11/12/09)
Dallas Morning News: Former Chair Says Overhaul Could Delay Commission’s Work by Years (11/12/09)
CNN: Texas Execution Probe Won’t be ‘Hijacked,’ Chairman Says (11/10/09)
Talking Points Memo: Perry Appointee in No Rush to Wade into Willingham Case (11/10/09)
CNN: Texas Resists Family’s Effort to Clear Executed Man’s Name (11/07/09)
October 2009
Fort-Worth Star-Telegram Op-Ed: Willingham: So Many Questions That Refuse to Go Away, by Eugenia Willingham (10/30/09)
Houston Chronicle Op-Ed: Willingham Review Could Improve Forensic Science Analysis, by Innocence Project Co-Director Barry Scheck and Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis (10/30/09)
Texas Tribune / Texas Weekly: Exit Notices for Some, but Not for All (10/26/09)
Texas Monthly: Video Interview with Former Texas Death Row Prisoner Ernest Willis
Houston Chronicle: Freed Death Row Inmate Calls on Perry to Halt Executions (10/26/09)
Anderson Cooper 360, CNN: Did Texas Execute an Innocent Man? (10/23/09)
Los Angeles Times: Cameron Todd Willingham: Executed but Innocent? (10/23/09)
New York Times: Controversy Builds in Texas Over an Execution (10/19/09)
Chicago Tribune: Statements by Gov. Rick Perry and Others Don't Align with Facts (10/19/09)
Houston Chronicle: Review Death Penalty Law, Ex-Governor Urges (10/18/09)
Austin American-Statesman: Opportunities Missed in Fatal Texas Arson Case (10/18/09)
The Economist: Did Texas Kill an Innocent Man? (10/13/09)
Austin American-Statesman: Forensic Panel Members Urged Perry Against Shakeup (10/07/09)
Dallas Morning News: Inquiry Into Flawed Arson Case that Led to Execution on Hold (10/7/09)
TIME Magazine: Why Did Texas Gut Its Forensics Commission? (10/6/09)
Houston Chronicle Column: Is Perry Pulling a Nixon?, by Lisa Falkenberg (10/02/09)
Dallas Morning News: Perry Removes Panel Appointees Before Hearing on Flawed Arson Inquiry; New Chair Delays Session (10/1/09)
September 2009
ABC News - Nightline: The Wrongful Execution of Cameron Todd Willingham (9/17/09)
Newsweek: Innocent Until Executed, by Dahlia Lithwick (9/14/09)
MSNBC Morning Joe: David Grann discusses his New Yorker Article (9/9/09)
New Yorker: Trial by Fire (9/7/09)
New Yorker Video: Flashover (9/7/09)
New Yorker Readers Chat with Reporter David Grann (9/7/09)
Chicago Tribune: Photo Slideshow
National Public Radio All Things Considered: Texas May Have Executed an Innocent Man (9/2/09)
Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial: The Risk in Getting it Wrong (9/2/09)
Houston Chronicle Editorial: Up In Smoke (9/1/09)
August 2009
Huffington Post: Innocent, But Executed, by Barry Scheck (8/31/09)
Houston Chronicle Column: Arson Probe May Be Catalyst For Reform, by Allan Turner (8/31/09)
New York Times Column: Innocent but Dead, by Bob Herbert (8/31/09)
New York Times Editorial: Questions About an Execution (8/30/09)