Cameron Todd Willingham

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Cameron Todd Willingham (born January 9, 1968 in Oklahoma , United States , † February 17, 2004 in Huntsville , State of Texas , United States) was an American man charged with the murder of his three young children. Willingham allegedly set fire to his own home in Corsicana , Texas on December 23, 1991 . He was executed in 2004 .

Life

William's case caught on again in 2009 when an investigative report authored by David Grann was published in The New Yorker magazine. Said report draws on arson experts and advances in fire science that have taken place since the 1992 investigation into the case. David Grann's conclusion is that the evidence allegedly supporting Willingham's guilt is inconclusive. Had this information been available during the trial against Willingham, Willingham might have received an acquittal.

According to another investigation report, also from 2009, the original arson lawsuit is in doubt. Said report is from one of the Texas Forensic Science Commission hired experts. Nevertheless, the Corsican fire damage department challenged these findings on the grounds that the report overlooked important evidence. The Willingham case was further complicated by the allegation made against Texan Governor Rick Perry that he tried to influence the results of the Commission's investigation by replacing three commissioners out of a total of nine. Rick Perry denies this allegation made against him.

Place of the event: Corsicana , Texas

fire

On December 23, 1991, a fire destroyed the Willingham family home in Corsicana , Texas . The family's three daughters were killed in the fire: two-year-old Amber Louise Kuykendall and one-year-old twins Karmon Diane Willingham and Cameron Marie Willingham. Willingham himself escaped the fire with minor burns. Stacy Kuykendall, Willingham's wife and mother of three children, was away when the fire broke out - she was shopping at the time. The plaintiffs therefore concluded that Willingham may have started the fire in an attempt to cover up abuse against the girls. Still, there was no evidence of any child abuse, and William's wife, Stacy, told plaintiffs that her husband was never able to harm the children. "We totally spoiled our kids," she said, insisting that her husband would never harm them.

Investigation & Litigation

Evidence

The main piece of evidence leading to William's arrest and conviction consisted of a post-fire police investigation which found that the fire had been started by the use of a liquid accelerator . This line of argument was based on charring on the ground, which had the shape of "puddles", the numerous starting points of the fire and the assumption that the fire burned "quickly and hot". All of these findings resulted in the belief that the fire was ignited using a liquid accelerator. The investigators also found charring under the aluminum post of the front door, which they believed to be a further indication of ignition by liquid fire accelerators. Tests showed evidence of such a fire accelerator near the front door. Although no clear motive was found and Willingham's wife denied an argument before the night the fire burned, a fellow inmate later testified that Willingham confessed to starting the fire.

Fuel liquor used to kindle charcoal and an outdoor grill were kept on the front porch , as evidenced by a molten container. Some of this fuel liquid may have entered through the front entrance of the house and been carried away by the water from a fire hose. While laboratory tests confirmed that an accelerator had been used near the front porch, it was also alleged that the accelerator was deliberately poured near the porch, one of the children's rooms, and one of the hallways to ignite the fire. Willingham included the entrance way on the veranda to make rescue attempts more difficult or even to prevent. He claimed squirrels got into the roof of the house weeks before the fire. Immediately after the fire, he told his neighbors that he suspected the fire resulted from an electrical problem. He retained this statement, with reservations due to his lack of technical knowledge, in his police statement. The prosecutor used this and other theories of arson, some of which were asked in retrospect in question.

Long after the original verdict, in 2004, Gerald Hurst, Doctor of Chemistry , was investigating the arson evidence compiled by Manuel Vasquez, a fire department spokesman . Hurst stated that Vasquez was incorrect in saying that the extreme heat of the fire (evidenced by a molten aluminum door sill) indicated that an accelerator had been used. Hurst also demonstrated through comparable experiments that fires through wood and those through liquid fire accelerators can burn with the same heat. Based on his own experiments, it has been found that burning with an accelerator does not leave the kind of brown stains Vasquez used to prove his theory. Hurst also said that the cracked glass Vasquez saw as a result of the accelerator was a result of undergrowth fires elsewhere. Experiments showed that cracked glass is not caused by rapid heating but rapid cooling and that the glass, which was cooled by water from a fire hose, is more likely to have cracks. A $ 20,000 experimental ignition of a model home without the use of accelerators created the same cast and V-shaped patterns that Vasquez used as an indicator of a liquid accelerator. Vasquez thought Willingham had lied when he said he escaped the house without burning his feet because he suspected an accelerator had been used which spread fire all over the hallway. However, since no fire accelerator is needed to achieve the results found, Willingham could very well have been telling the truth when he claimed to have left the house without burns to his feet before any sudden flame spread took place.

According to Hurst, once a fire starts to spread suddenly, it's impossible to see traces of fire accelerator. While the prosecution thought that the "bizarre" path of the flames evidenced the use of fire accelerators, Hurst said that the path of the flames followed the usual pattern after a flame jump, after which flames follow towards ventilation. Although Willingham was accused of using accelerators in three different locations, the front porch is the only place where accelerators have been found in laboratory tests. A photograph of the house in front of the fire showed that the charcoal grill was indeed usually on the porch. The family confirmed that ignition fluid was used to ignite the grill for family barbecues. Water distributed by the firefighters may easily have sprayed the ignition liquid from the molten container. All twenty indicators listed by Vasquez for the use of a fire accelerator were refuted by Hurst.

Upon returning to his house with Fireman Ron Franks, Willingham said he had distributed flammable British Sterling cologne in the hallway from the bathroom to the bedroom where the twins had died because they loved the smell.

A Craig Beyler for the Texas Forensic Science Commission authored report said that investigators the scientific method, described in NFPA 921, Guideline for fire and explosion investigations for analysis had fires ignored, and focus instead on " Folklore " and " myths left" . Beyler also said that Vasquez was wrong when he said that witnesses saw three different fires and that they only reported smoke from the bedroom fire. Beyler wrote in his report that “in the end, the only (basis) for establishing the arson ... the traces of fire on the floor of the children's room, the hallway and the porch were interpreted as a stain from a detonating liquid. None of these findings have any basis in modern science. ”Even so, the town of Corsicana was very critical of Beyler's report and produced a 21-page response that demonstrated the report's lack of objectivity and attributed the supposed role of Willingham's attorney to Beyler.

The office for pardons and release from prison received Hurst's description, but unanimously rejected William's pardon. Governor Perry declined to waive execution and announced through a spokesman that "the governor made his decision based on facts on the case." Governor Perry said the "supposed experts" were wrong and that no one should pay heed to the anti-death penalty propaganda. Perry's agent, Mary Anne Wiley, said the $ 30,000 hiring of fire expert Craig Beyler was a waste of taxpayers' money . Jackson, one of the plaintiffs, confirmed that an "irrevocably inadequate forensic report" had been used to convict Willingham, but that there had been other grounds showing that he was guilty .

Governor Rick Perry

In addition to arson evidence, a prison informant named Johnny Webb testified that Willingham confessed to starting the fire to cover up injury or the death of one of his children caused by his wife. Still, none of the children showed signs of physical injuries that could have been found even after death. Webb later told a reporter for The New Yorker magazine, “It is very possible that I misunderstood what he was saying. Being locked in such a small cell drives you crazy. My memory is cut into pieces. I was under a lot of medication at the time. Everyone knew that. ”At Willingham's trial, Webb offered an explanation for individually identifiable burns on Amber's forehead and arm, claiming Willingham confessed to burning them twice with an inflamed cotton pad to make it look like they had the children played with fire. Webb was later diagnosed as schizophrenic , and even the prosecutor described Webb as an "unbelievable kind of person". Even so, Jackson achieved his early release, according to Webb's testimony. Webb later sent Jackson a retraction of his statement: "Mr. Willingham is innocent of all allegations ”. Willingham's attorneys were not informed and Webb again revoked his revocation.

Webb and Plaintiff John Jackson consistently denied that Webb had been offered a release in exchange for testifying against Willingham, but in 2014, Innocent Project investigators discovered a handwritten note in Webb's files attesting to such a deal.

During the punitive stage of the trial, a plaintiff said that William's tattoo of a skull and a snake matched the profile of a sociopath. Two medical experts confirm this theory. Asked to interpret Willingham's Iron Maiden poster, a psychologist said that the image of a fist smashing a skull meant violence and death. He added that Willingham's Led Zeppelin Fallen Angel poster has often been an indicator of cult- like activity. Psychiatrist James Grigson said that a man with William's criminal history was an "extremely serious sociopath" and incurable. Grigson has witnessed several court cases across Texas as an expert. Prior to his death, he was suspended from the American Psychiatric Association and the Texan Association of Psychiatric Medicine for unethical practice.

Witnesses

In addition to Webb's testimony and the arson investigation, the prosecution sought to establish that Willingham’s behavior had been suspicious at the time of the fire and days after it. When the fire started, Willingham ran through the front entrance of his house, where he crouched near the entrance. When he saw one of his neighbors, Diane Barbee, Willingham yelled at her to call 911 and, "My babies are in there!" During the procedure, Willingham's behavior at the time was found to be wavering composed and described hysterically . On the one hand, he screamed for help and, on the other hand, quietly drove his car to safety from the flames.

Eyewitnesses described his appearance at the time of the fire with signs of burn marks and a burn injury to his right shoulder. Nonetheless, the prosecution stressed the lack of any trace of Willingham's smoke inhalation. His wrists and hands were black with smoke. Willingham had finally been transported to hospital for treatment, still struggling and handcuffed.

Her under oath stored according to statements both neighbors Brandice Barbee and Diane Barbee urged to return Willingham into the house and save his children. According to Brandice, Willingham refused and drove his car to safety before settling on the nearby lawn "without doing anything to save his children." As the flames jumped more and more and the fire department arrived, Willingham became more and more active, whereupon he had to be detained by rescue workers.

In the days that followed, Willingham returned to the house with friends and relatives. These meetings were described as frivolous by neighbors and only became more serious when authorities emerged. When Willingham returned to the scene of the fire with firefighter Ron Franks to secure personal belongings, Willingham was apparently dismayed that he could not find a set of darts . At a local bar where there was a fundraiser for the Willingham family, he ordered a new set of darts on the grounds that "money is not the problem now".

motivation

The prosecution alleged that Willingham wanted to get rid of his unwanted children. Furthermore, said the plaintiffs that the fire that took the children died, has already been the third attempt by Willingham after he had already tried both pregnancies of his wife by kicking in her belly cancel . Nonetheless, an article by David Grann noted that while there was evidence that Willingham beat his wife, including during pregnancy, there were no police reports or medical evidence that Willingham attempted to abort or abort his children kill. In addition, William's wife made it clear during the trial that her husband had never physically abused the children. However, the testimony of Johnny Webb, a prison informant, indicated that Willingham had tried to cover up injuries or even the death of one of the children caused by his wife.

The plaintiff also alleges that Willingham is a notorious abuser of women, both physically and mentally. Jackson also said Willingham tortured animals and was a psychopath . Nevertheless, the people not involved in the case and the proceedings show a different picture of William. His former probation officer, Polly Goodin, said Willingham never displayed bizarre or sociopathic behavior and that he may have been "one of her favorite children." Even a former judge , Bebe Bridges, who had been on the side against Willingham many times (she had already convicted him of robbery), said she could not imagine Willingham being capable of murder. "He was polite and he seemed to care," she said.

Legal proceedings

Willingham was charged with murder on January 8, 1992 . During his trial in August 1992, he was offered life imprisonment in return for an admission of guilt, which he declined on the grounds that he was innocent. Investigator Vasquez listed the three starting points of the fire - indicators of human ignition - during the trial; the marks on the doorstep and the integrity of Willingham's feet were also mentioned. It was concluded that Willingham had released fire accelerators when leaving the house. Numerous witnesses have corroborated this assumption.

Commenting on the condition of the house, Jackson said that all escape routes from the house were blocked; that a refrigerator had been propped against the back door, for example. Nonetheless, Grann's article in The New Yorker confirmed that on the one hand there were two refrigerators in the Willingham house and that on the other hand they were unrelated to the arson.

During his trial, Willingham declined to testify in his own defense .

Appeals, Detention & Execution

The Ellis Unit where Willingham was initially imprisoned

Willingham had inmate number 999041. While on death row , he was first held in the Ellis Unit and later in the Polunsky Unit . Willingham reiterated his innocence until his death and spent years challenging his conviction. The Texas Court still rejected a month before the execution of a further appeal for clemency from Willingham. Nevertheless, numerous reports testify to William's innocence and / or insufficient evidence. Neither Governor Rick Perry nor the relevant authorities heeded Willingham's pardon. In response to the allegation that Perry had an innocent man executed, the latter replied, “He was a woman bully.” “The whole case is based on the purest form of junk science. There is no evidence of arson, ”said Hurst. Governor Perry later testified that he was aware of the possibilities for interpreting the evidence.

Willingham was executed by lethal injection on February 17, 2004 in Huntsville, Texas . He was 36 years old.

Web links

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ CNN: CNN's Anderson Cooper 360: "Is Texas Governor Rick Perry Trying to Cover Up Execution of Innocent Man on His Watch" ( English ) "Texas Moratorium Network" (camerontoddwillingham.com). October 3, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
  2. ↑ a b c d David Grann: Trial by Fire: Did Texas execute an innocent man? . In: The New Yorker . August 17, 2009. Retrieved September 7, 2009.
  3. ↑ a b "Shake-up in Texas execution probe draws criticism, questions" . CNN . October 2, 2009
  4. ↑ "Statement of Sherry Cooley"
  5. ↑ Gillman, Todd (September 19, 2009), "Perry defends disputed '04 execution of Corsicana man" ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , The Dallas Morning News @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dallasnews.com
  6. ↑ Laura Bell: Groups Expel Psychiatrist Known for Murder Cases; Witness nicknamed 'Dr. Death 'says license will not be affected by allegations (English) , Dallas Morning News . July 26, 1995. Retrieved March 21, 2009. 
  7. ^ The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney: Cameron Todd Willingham
  8. ↑ Steve Mills: Man executed on disproved forensics (English) . In: Chicago Tribune , December 9, 2004. Retrieved September 1, 2009. 
  9. ↑ "Testimony of Johnny Webb on the first day of the trial" ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.innocenceproject.org
  10. ↑ Allan Turner: Flawed science "helped lead to Texas man's execution, but inquiry finds no negligence in trial did led to man's execution (English) . In: Houston Chronicle , July 24, 2010. Accessed 8 August 2010. 
  11. ↑ Beyler Report , August 25, 2009.
  12. ↑ a b John H. Jackson, Sr .: Willingham guilt never in doubt (English) , Corsicana Daily Sun . August 29, 2009. Accessed on September 5, 2009.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.corsicanadailysun.com  
  13. ^ John Schwartz: Evidence of Concealed Jailhouse Deal Raises Questions About a Texas Execution ( English ) In: New York Times . February 17, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  14. ↑ Jacobs, Janet (October 4, 2009), "City report on arson probe" ( Memento of the original from March 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Corsicana Daily Sun @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / corsicanadailysun.com
  15. ^ Statement of Vicky Prater
  16. ↑ "Statement of fireman Ron Franks" , December 30 1991st
  17. ↑ David Carson: Texas Execution Information: Cameron Willingham ( English ) February 23, 2004. Retrieved September 7, 2009.
  18. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.innocenceproject.org
  19. ↑ Craig L. Beyler: Analysis of the Fire Investigation Methods and Procedures Used in the Criminal Arson Cases Against Ernest Ray Willis and Cameron Todd Willingham ( English ) Hughes Associates, Inc. August 17, 2009. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010 . Info: The archive link is automatically inserted and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 1, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.docstoc.com
  20. ^ Rachel Farris, The Huffington Post , Sep 10, 2009, Dare Devils: Governor Rick Perry and the Texas Death Panel
  21. ↑ " Cameron Todd Willingham ( Memento of the original from June 12, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note ." Texas Department of Criminal Justice . Retrieved August 15, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tdcj.state.tx.us
  22. ^ Longview News-Journal , September 10, 2009, Perry's denial of stay could become campaign issue
  23. ^ Graczyk, Michael . " Inmate maintains innocence as execution approaches ." Lubbock Avalanche Journal . Saturday March 29, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
  24. ↑ Scott Cobb: CNN's Anderson Cooper to Air Report on Cameron Willingham Tonight ( english ) "Texas Moratorium Network". April 9, 2007. Accessed September 1, 2009.
  25. ↑ David Grann: David Grann, "The Prosecution Defends Itself (English) , The New Yorker . September 4, 2009. Retrieved September 6, 2009. 
personal data
SURNAME Willingham, Cameron Todd
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American murderer charged with the murder of his three young children and executed
DATE OF BIRTH January 9, 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH Oklahoma , United States
DATE OF DEATH February 17, 2004
Place of death Huntsville , State of Texas , United States