Joshua Powell Arson Cases

     The fire spread from the O’Learys’ barn to the yards nearby. Soon it was spreading throughout the neighborhood. William Lee, a neighbor a block away, saw the fire and ran to Bruno Goll’s drugstore to turn in the fire alarm. Bruno Goll refused to turn in the alarm because he said the fire truck had already gone past. So instead of arguing, Lee went home to his family. At the courthouse the lookout on duty saw smoke, but thought nothing of it, thinking it was just Saturday's fire and there was no reason to be alarmed. Then he looked up and noticed it was a different fire and had his assistant strike the Box 342 for the fire department. Soon fire trucks were at the scene and attempted to put out the fire. The fire department’s Chief Marshal, Robert A. Williams got the engines to circle the fire to contain it. They got as close to the fire as they could until their arm hair was being burned and their

It was Jimmy Lee Bayliss who had done the arson. Torkelson and Marshall found Bayliss and Drake McBride with a rifle. Bayliss gave himself up, but McBride ran. McBride was eventually found a little

A case like this overwhelms many individuals when involving kids. It is one thing when a kid disappears and is later discovered some place dead, yet this Ramsey case was puzzling

   The fire was supposedly caused by Catherine O'Leary's cow who kicked over a lantern, however this is just legend and can't be proven as the actual start of the fire. The fire burned out of control due to the windy quality of the city and possibly even the dry weather. Another contributing factor is that the fire department was sent to the wrong location, which caused them to arrived at the fire later then they should have. The Fire began on the night of October 8th and was finally put out on the 10th. The fire was extinguished by the firefighters, but was also put out due the rain that fell that day. As you can see the fire was very uncontrollable, lasted for a long period of time, and would cause severe damage to the city.

Saw shooting orange flames. Called son Mark Jessica’s father. The Couey’s place is on fire. Jessica Lunsford found wrapped up in two black garbage bags buried in a sandy hole. Jessica missing since the middle of the night.

The Boulder Police Department’s investigation was not conclusive and left more questions than answers. Also, upon advice from their attorney, the Ramsey’s refused to be interviewed initially. This further let the barriers that hindered a good outcome. All of these unanswered questions led to a media frenzy and speculation that fueled public speculation.

In the short video “Death by Fire” we learn of the story of Todd Willingham. We are presented with facts about a fire, which killed Willingham’s three children, which ultimately sent him to his death. The case begins in the small town of Corsicana, Texas. On December 13, 1991 Todd Willingham’s home was ablaze and his children were trapped inside. Neighbors say they witnessed Willingham outside, on the front porch screaming for his children and screaming for help. As the fire raged, firefighters arrived on the scene and were able to pull one of the children out of the home. Unfortunately all of the children died due to injuries they sustained in the fire. While the fire raged in the house Todd’s wife Stacy was out Christmas shopping and was unharmed. The attitude of Todd after the fire began to raise question with those who were close to him and also with investigators. The night after the fire, a local bar had a benefit to raise money for Todd’s family to help pay for the costs they would soon face. Many say that Todd became too involved with the festivities and seemed like he did not care his kids had just died. They say that Todd was bragging about how money would begin to roll in because people would feel bad for him. Having seen these things, investigators immediately labeled Todd as their prime suspect.

The police got in contact with the manufactures of the black bag (a piece was left unscathed at one of the scenes) who then said there were only two stores in the Washington D.C area who purchased them. The police individualized each bag with an alpha numeric thermal chip that would survive future fires. A pair of military dress pants were identified by a search dog with having gasoline one them. They were discarded at one of the fire scenes. The skin cells from the pants matched those of the wick and the hair found on the incendiary device. Fire investigators contacted the Navel yard and spoke with investigators to try to find leads. It turns out they were also searching for a serial arsonist who was setting fires to cars in the military parking lot. A surveillance tape showed Sweatt leaving the scene in his car. Police were able to track down Sweatt through his license plate. Sweatt was questioned by police, providing a DNA sample of his own. When Thomas Sweatt learned about the other DNA evidence the police had against him, he confessed to the fires some dating back 25 years

Sheriff's deputies responded, secured the scene, and contacted the bomb squad for assistance. Bomb squad techs and an investigator from the Maine State Fire Marshal's Office responded to the scene.

The local fire department extinguished the fire quickly. While conducting a walk thru of the community center, a body was discovered in the back office. One of the fireman, Colton Kendrick, on scene was a volunteer for the community center. Kendrick notified his superiors, and Parker Jacobs, the Lead Arson Investigator, that the office belongs to the Community center director, Finnegan Barrington. Soon arriving on location, was the chef for the community center, Ben Doherty.

In 1991, Cameron Todd Willingham murdered his three daughters by setting fire to their home in Corsicana, Texas. The damning evidence against Willingham was the arson investigator’s findings—that the fire was intentionally set with the help of a liquid accelerant, a discovery proven by laboratory tests and burn patterns. Willingham claimed he was innocent for years, appealing his conviction until his execution at the Texas State Penitentiary on February 16, 2004. However, Willingham may not have been the murderer. In 2009, the Texas Forensic Science Commission panel reopened the case, determining that the arson investigators had used flawed science when they labeled the fire as arson. And while fire science has improved since the year of the alleged arson, experts have argued that the Corsicana Fire Department was negligent in their findings. The science commission is still investigating the arson ruling, and if the judge clears Willingham, it will be the first time an official has formally declared a wrongful execution in Texas. So did he actually do it? We may never know, for it’s all just speculation now. Does this mistake pale in comparison to all those who have “rightfully” been executed under the death penalty? Depending on your moral code, it might. But rather than narrowing this argument down to one specific instance, let us look at the death penalty on a broader scale, its merits and its flaws, the factors that push someone to standing in fear of the execution

This story fits with what we have learned in class in a few different ways. First, we have talked about various environmental issues, environmental sustainability and the social work profession in class. This includes pollution and environmental damage. This smoke and ash from these huge fires is definitely not good for the planet or the people nearby. Many who were several miles away from any flames were noting ash raining from the sky. The air quality was therefore also affected and people could definitely smell the smoke. Second, as I already mentioned, people had to evacuate their homes. These people left behind everything they had and many people’s homes completely burned down, destroying everything. This would be very traumatic. There are numerous government programs in place that could assist with

A third house to the south side of the fire had some minor cosmetic damage to the exposed side. The paint on the side of the house started to bubbling, plastic railing on the deck was melted, and vinyl on a window was melted. Nevada County Sherriff Deputy forced entry into this house causing extensive damage to the front door of house searching for

'They were killed, that's what I think,' was his harsh response. 'He were not a good man, and he never treated that kiddie out of the goodness of his heart. No, I reckon they were killed.'

On the 4th and 8th of the month, we had two separate incidents of arson. Three or four juveniles