Rick Perry, Willingham and Trial By Fire

As the execution of Troy Davis took place yesterday those against the death penalty brought up the case of Cameron Todd Willingham a man convicted and sent to death in Texas for the arson murder of his three infant girls.

Last evening Barry Scheck of The Innocence Project was speaking on Chris Matthews and mentioned that soon Rick Perry would have to answer questions about how he put to death an innocent man. Perry as Governor refused to stay the execution and there are many that question whether he even reviewed the evidence.

I read a New Yorker article called Trial by Fire which many take to be the best introduction to the case. Willingham emerged from his house stating that his babies were burning. His wife was out of the house and he awoke that morning to his house being on fire.

Fire invesigators later found evidence of acclerants being used and stated that it along with the fact that Willingham left the house barefoot and suffered no burns on his feet.

A study of fire investigators and their methods has shown that it is a very subjective science. In fact when the Supreme Court ruled that all experts must provide evidence based on a scientific method fire investigators stated that they should not be held to that standard as their science is more of a case of hunches. The fact that someone can be put to death based on the hunches of an investigator should make us all nervous.

Later as Willingham neared death he finally had his case reviewed by one of the most reknown experts in the field. Test fires had been done that had shown that the methodology and science used in the investigation was flawed. Without going into the full science of it this gentleman disproved the entire science and methodology used in Texas in this case. Still armed with this information Rick Perry chose to let this man die.

Why is there a rush to exectute a man that science has shown to at least have a reasonable doub. Rick Perry will answer questions over the next year but there is one sad truth that is reflective in all politics today.

For those that are in favor of the death penalty there will be no overriding concern that this man might have been killed. In America today you are either for or against and there is very little in between.

Hopefully he was guilty but the whole process is flawed. Why are we so violent. Whey are we the only Western country that executes like this.