Did Texas execute an innocent man?

October 5, 2009 background video report: CNN’s Randi Kaye looks at whether politics is behind the delayed hearing on a controversial Texas execution.

The revolt of the scientists
(Jan 31) HARLINGEN — Friday started badly for John Bradley, the Williamson County district attorney selected last fall by Gov. Rick Perry to ride herd over the troublesome scientists on the Texas Forensic Science Commission.

His first official act of the morning was to violate the state’s open meetings law.
Then his day got worse.

This was the first meeting of the commission under Bradley, who was appointed last September. His first official act was to cancel a meeting three days later at which the commission was scheduled to receive a report from a nationally renowned arson expert hired by the commission in its first high-profile case.

The meeting had drawn national attention because the expert found that the arson investigation that helped lead to the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham for the murder of his children was badly flawed. It was especially controversial because Perry had rejected a request to delay Willingham’s execution based on similar expert analysis.

Bradley unilaterally wrote the agenda for Friday’s meeting to focus on new policies and procedures, omitting the Willingham report. He also unilaterally chose Harlingen (which is as close to Mexico City as to Fort Worth, where three of the nine uncompensated and busy commission members live), making wrong my snide prediction that he would hold the meeting in Presidio to discourage reporters.

Source: Houston Chronicle

Panel examining executions in Texas bars film crew
(Jan. 29) — When the state science panel charged with examining whether the state executed an innocent man met this morning, not everybody was welcome. Chairman John Bradley barred a film crew that is producing a documentary about the death penalty in Texas. The film is being spearheaded by Austinite Reid Nelson, an international consultant who isn’t active as an advocate on either side of the issue. Nelson hopes to showcase his film at Sundance and festivals around the country. But Nelson says when his crew tried to enter the meeting this morning in Harlingen, Bradley denied them entry, said there was an agreement that only one camera — the Innocence Project — would be permitted to cover the state agency meeting.

UPDATE: After the attorney general’s office talked with Bradley about excluding the film crew from the state agency meeting, Bradley allowed them in. Nelson says it took a couple of hours, but it appears the AG’s intervention resolved the impasse.

Source: Dallas Morning News – Trailblazer blog

Todd Willingham Cover-Up Continues: New Chair Violated Texas Open Meetings Act at Commission Meeting

(Feb. 1) — Last October, Texas Governor Rick Perry replaced the chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, as well as a few other members days, days before the commission was set to meet and discuss a report from a national arson expert that cast doubt on the validity of the forensic evidence used to convict and execute Todd Willingham. At the time, it looked like Perry was trying to cover-up and delay progress in the investigation until after the March primary. Now, it seems certain that was what he was trying to do and he has probably succeeded since the report was not discussed at Friday’s meeting of the commission and the next meeting is not until April.

Source: Daily Kos

Wikipedia article: Cameron Todd Willingham

Archived article: Trial by Fire; Did Texas execute an innocent man?

Archived Video Reports
CBS 11 Video Report

September 17, 2009
Nightline: The Wrongful Execution of Cameron Todd Willingham

CNN AC360 Oct 15, 2009