A few weeks ago, I posted a "Nightline" segment featuring an interview with John Jackson, the prosecutor in the death penalty case of Cameron Todd Willingham. Willingham, who was almost certainly innocent, was nonetheless found guilty and executed by the state of Texas in 2004. The basis for the conviction was evidence given by arson investigators that was subsequently shown to be entirely unscientific. Confronted by correspondent Terry Moran, Jackson had this to say:
Moran: They say the conclusions reached by these [arson] investigators are not warranted by modern fire science and are based on primitive old wives' tales and folklore.
Jackson: That's not to say that they're not correct, though.
Moran: You sent a man to death on that.
Jackson: I'm comfortable with that.
Now, via Ta-Nehisi Coates, I see that Willingham's defense attorney, David Martin, has been interviewed by CNN's Anderson Cooper, and his belligerent insistence on Willingham's guilt is, if anything, more shocking than Jackson's blase acceptance of having sent a man to death on the basis of faulty evidence.
Martin, who is in no way a trained arson investigator--let alone a fire scientist--explains that he bought some carpet, poured lighter fluid on it, and set it aflame and it looked "just exactly like the carpet in Todd Willingham's house." On this basis, he concluded, "There was no question whatsoever he was guilty," adding, "That's why they found him guilty, I think, in under 30 minutes." (The quality of his defense obviously couldn't have played a role.) Watch, and see how many times you have to remind yourself that this man was Willingham's defense attorney:
It continues to astonish. For anyone unfortunate enough to be charged with a capital crime and lacking the resources or reputation to defend themselves, the Texas justice system is essentially a well-lubricated execution machine: the overzealous prosecutors, the half-hearted (or in Martin's case, worse) defense attorneys, the slipshod investigators, the psychiatric "experts" who attest that every defendant is a criminal psychopath, the judges and juries and politicians--and ultimately, of course, the voters who don't seem to care. It is a national disgrace.
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COMMENTS (12)
The truly unfortunate thing is that the more the media outside the state of TX covers this story, the more resistant Texas voters and politicians will be to examining what happened in the Willingham case. Texans are a fiercely independent lot with nothing but contempt towards anything outside the state's borders. So, if a bunch of non-Texans (or worse, "Yankees") start to criticize the Texas criminal "justice" system, then the state must be doing something right.
The truly unfortunate thing is that the more the media outside the state of TX covers this story, the more resistant Texas voters and politicians will be to examining what happened in the Willingham case. Texans are a fiercely independent lot with nothing but contempt towards anything outside the state's borders. So, if a bunch of non-Texans (or worse, "Yankees") start to criticize the Texas criminal "justice" system, then the state must be doing something right.
outstanding post Chris, one of your best.
outstanding post Chris, one of your best.
I concur. This was appalling, and Texans need to be continually reminded of it.
I concur. This was appalling, and Texans need to be continually reminded of it.
And, at what point would the Federal Government be justified in stepping in to ensure that proper justice is carried out in Texas?
And, at what point would the Federal Government be justified in stepping in to ensure that proper justice is carried out in Texas?
yeah, i saw those segments on Anderson Cooper, this David Martin is loathsome, a disgrace to defense attorneys everywhere. How anyone could ever consider hiring him as a defense attorney is beyond me. My only hope for that state is that Hispanics one day outnumber the whites.
yeah, i saw those segments on Anderson Cooper, this David Martin is loathsome, a disgrace to defense attorneys everywhere. How anyone could ever consider hiring him as a defense attorney is beyond me. My only hope for that state is that Hispanics one day outnumber the whites.
Speechless.
Speechless.
Yes, perfectly said.
Yes, perfectly said.
Don't they have a bar association with, you know, standards in this state?
Don't they have a bar association with, you know, standards in this state?
In Texas killing a convict is a prerequisite for moving up the political ladder. I think it's in the preamble of the state constitution.
If the con turns out to be innocent? Well, that's extra credit. It shows you have the guts to go on and become President of the United States. Where do you suppose Dubya acquired the balls needed to torture people? to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in Iraq? You're not just born with those gifts. You accummulate them as a seasoned pol in Texas.
Let's examine how these things work in Wyoming next.
And then Chicago.
gw
In Texas killing a convict is a prerequisite for moving up the political ladder. I think it's in the preamble of the state constitution.
If the con turns out to be innocent? Well, that's extra credit. It shows you have the guts to go on and become President of the United States. Where do you suppose Dubya acquired the balls needed to torture people? to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in Iraq? You're not just born with those gifts. You accummulate them as a seasoned pol in Texas.
Let's examine how these things work in Wyoming next.
And then Chicago.
gw
Is there any provision in the Constitution for forced secession?
Is there any provision in the Constitution for forced secession?
Another walton "I post therefore I am " comment: irrelevant, and far fetched.
Another walton "I post therefore I am " comment: irrelevant, and far fetched.
This was clear from the New Yorker article, and elsewhere, so I'm entirely unsurprised. The reason the guilty verdict was returned in 30 minutes, and why an innocent man was executed, was because he was presumed guilty very early on in the investigation, and that colored everything that was to follow- the gathering of evidence, the testimony of witnesses which was shown to diverge massively from original statements (and for the divergent testimony to be in many cases inconsistent with verifiable facts), the pitiful performance of the defense. The whole kit and caboodle was corrupted because no one gave any thought as to their obligations to this average no one, who also happened to be a huma ... view full comment
This was clear from the New Yorker article, and elsewhere, so I'm entirely unsurprised. The reason the guilty verdict was returned in 30 minutes, and why an innocent man was executed, was because he was presumed guilty very early on in the investigation, and that colored everything that was to follow- the gathering of evidence, the testimony of witnesses which was shown to diverge massively from original statements (and for the divergent testimony to be in many cases inconsistent with verifiable facts), the pitiful performance of the defense. The whole kit and caboodle was corrupted because no one gave any thought as to their obligations to this average no one, who also happened to be a human being with parents a wife and three dead children.
Willingham spoke of the frustration of trying to convince his defense attorney's of the veracity of his defense. These clowns thought they were doing him a favor by plea bargaining down to life in prison. Add that injustice to having your three children burned alive, being accused of murdering them and sent to death believing that the truth of your innocence will never come to light. Then remember not to complain about whatever happens to you in your life.
In a way, this is the perfect case to expose, not the death penalty, but the corruption of justice in this country. A corruption that includes things like the idea that killing Muslims is the appropriate response to a certain small slice of them that commits atrocities against Americans. It is a case of a relatively unsympathetic person who was victimized and ultimately murdered by an entire community of people who thought nothing of their capacity for doing awful things, simply their own righteousness and opportunity to punish. I can truly say that I have seen the enemy....
RIP Todd Willingham.