Todd Willingham 's Conviction Process

Imagine spending a quarter of one’s life in prison for a crime one didn’t commit. This is what happened to Michael Morton back on February 17, 1987, when he was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife even though there wasn’t real evidence linking him to the murder. There was no scientific evidence, no eyewitness, no murder weapon, or a believable motive. He was their only suspect, and the only thing they had on him that made him look guilty was the statement of the medical examiner Dr. Roberto Bayardo who placed Christine Morton’s time of death at 1:15 AM that morning before Michael left for work. The medical testimony had convinced the jurors that the wife had died while Michael was still in the house. Christine died of eight

     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

There are many causes that can contribute to a wrongful conviction. Witness misidentification is the most common cause; we know that the human mind is not like a tape recorder, and can make mistakes. Forensic analysts presenting evidence that has little or no scientific basis, false confessions by suspects during the interrogation process, government officials taking steps to ensure that a suspect is convicted despite poor evidence, testimony by people with incentives to testify, and poorly prepared lawyers are just some of the other causes that can result in a wrongful conviction. The death penalty case of Cameron Todd Willingham, of Corsicana, Texas, is one that experts now agree that the evidence proves he was wrongfully convicted. But unfortunately, he was already put to death by lethal injection.

This tragic fire demonstrated how the fire inspections and precautions were noticeably lacking safety for these workers even though “a little more than five months before the tragedy Firemen Edward F. O’Conner made a routine inspection and said the Asch Building was ‘good’ and the building was ‘fireproof’”(28). The fire finally died down with over one hundred dead bodies piled along the streets. Sunday morning “thousands of people began to form into a slowly moving parade around the city blocks”(89). The people were walking in honor of these workers and would go around trying to identify the bodies and confiscate any items the bodies my have possessed for reminiscences. On the other hand, the departments felt immediate quilt for not stepping in to fix the Asch building before, because the departments knew of the horrible safety and health precautions the Asch building had but nobody emphasized the problems. “But who was to blame?” (113). Chief Croker was quick to blame

As I, Klaudia Hoxha (forensic technician), approached the crime scene at 4 o'clock pm at the residence of Josh Powell. As i approached the scene i noticed 4 reporting officers, and the fire fighters who put the fire out, were present at this two story single family dwelling. I approached the reporting officers and fire fighters and took copies of there reports. I then immendently, sent in my team to take pictures and any kind of evidence they can find. From the looks this residential seemed occupied. A fire expands horizontally and vertically from it's point of origin, which in this case is the center of the house. According to a report, i noticed a witness who was a member/ social worker from Powell's meeting groups ,gave a statement that

Approximately 10,000 people in the United States may be wrongfully convicted of different crimes each year. Just like Kirk, most of these innocent people are mistakenly arrested because of errors of eyewitnesses. “The study also found that the most important factor leading to wrongful conviction is eyewitness misidentification” (spring). Kirk Bloodsworth landed in prison because of the two boys that confused him with the man that actually committed the crime. If all these 10,000 that may be wrongfully convicted people were actually sentenced to death, it would have been too late before they were proved innocent. Some individuals that were actually executed while having strong evidence of innocence include: Carlos DeLuna, Ruben Cantu, Larry Griffin, Joseph O'Dell, David Spence, Leo Jones, Gary Graham, Claude Jones, Cameron Willingham, Troy Davis and Lester Bower (“Executed”). They lost their lives because of human error. Even if they were released while still alive, no amount of money could return the amount of time they’ve lost from each of their lives. This is also a general justice system problem.

Anthony Graves was living on death row for almost two decades while being in solitary confinement. While he was proven un-guilty of murder he still has the punishment of eighteen years of living while being mentally and physically dead. After Mr. Graves was let out of prison, he still has to rethink about almost being killed because of a prosecutor that didn’t want to lose her case. How unprofessional could that be, letting someone rot in jail for a crime he didn’t commit, while the prosecutor knew of doubts, but went along like he didn’t hear it. The cost of one’s life is more than all of the money in the world, because once someone is lethally injected, no one can bring them back. Now I am starting to wonder about the death penalty and questioning myself is it fit for the worst of crimes for is it not fit at all. Kerry Max Cook was a former death row inmate that had conversations with Robert Earl Carter, "Anthony, I really believe, is innocent. I'm stunned that an innocent person is this close to execution (Rice,2005), was stated by former death row inmate Cook, that was let off for being proven

It is almost impossible for justice to be served when the trail was a mess. There was a 12 hour police interrogation of Jessie Misskelley. He is intellectually disabled, causing him to give a false confession. The police should have known the psychology of false confession and shouldn't have interrogated Mr. Misskelley for 12 hours. The sentences were based on hearsay testimony of witnesses who heard the boys talk about the murders: “...the defendant had been motivated as members of a satanic cult” (Robertson 4). Hearsay doesn't prove anything in the court of law. The jury is supposed to know nothing about the case; but of course one juror already had his mind set on his conviction. This juror

Facts: A fire was evolved on September 23, 1981 in a log cabin due to a hot plate. The hot plate was left on with an accelerant and kerosene near by. The owner of the cabin, Henry Xavier Kennedy was convicted of Arson as he obtained an insurance policy for $40K on the cabin five days prior to this fire and police found evidence that the construction business owned by Mr. Kennedy was losing money, and Mr. Kennedy's alibi was insufficient to eliminate him as a suspect.

Todd Willingham was a man living in the state of Texas with his wife and three kids. He was a man who was described to be a delinquent his whole life getting into small crimes as he grew up and matured. On December 23, 1991 a fire broke out in his household which led to the death of all three of his children. In his statement to the police he said he was woken up by the screams of his kids but could not get to them in time before they were killed, which was later found out to be a lie. The cause of the fire was unknown but thought to be just an accident that ended in tragedy. After the fire Willingham’s demeanor was said not to be of a person who had just lost his three children. He was reported getting drunk with his friends the day after and making comments that were on the suspicious side, such as now that this has happened the money will start rolling in. After this police began to investigate the fire and concluded that it was not accidental but actually arson and Willingham had become the prime suspect. He was later arrested on accounts of arson and three accounts of murder for each of his children. He was sentenced the death penalty but still claimed to be innocent. While on death row a fellow inmate reported that he allegedly confessed to him that he did set the fire and this only added to evidence against him. As he sat in jail awaiting death he began to write to a woman who eventually came to see him in jail. This woman said Willingham seemed to be a great guy and

Even though flawed expert testimony and racism caused misuse of the evidence in the “Trial by Fire” and “Snow Falling on Cedars,” the truth actually showed a man innocent and free. Given the compelling and overwhelming evidence, it is clear that Willingham and Miyamoto were wrongfully convicted. The reputation of Willingham and Miyamoto is hereby restored; however, no one can restore the life of Willingham. The wrongful convictions of Cameron Todd Willingham and Kabuo Miyamoto demonstrate a remarkable and profound failure of the judicial system of the U.S. These cases expose the urgent need for the legislative branch to become actively involved in formulating a solution to ensure that a tragedy like these cases never happens again. When the

For years if not decades, firefighters have responded to a reported structure fire that turned out to be a fully involved single room. This fire scenario requires a core set of fire tactics and skills to control and extinguished the fire, but is it this simple? Perhaps twenty years it may have been, but new dangers are lurking in every scenario and may have detrimental outcomes for unsuspecting and unaware firefighters and victims. The National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) agency along with the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) have been conducting research to understand fire behavior and fire dynamics. This research is providing firefighters with new information about how and why

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.

Thousands of fires occur on a yearly basis throughout the United States. Whether it is forest fires, house fires, or any other event that involves uncontrollable flames, the outcome will always be the same; high amounts of destruction and physical damage. When fire emergencies occur, responding to the incident may not be much of a complication as apposed to determining the source from where the fire started or what triggered its behavior, which is truly the challenge. In order to do so, a fire investigator has to be present at the scene of the fire after it has been eliminated. The investigator, after reviewing any possible marks or behavior trails, will conclude if the incident was indeed an accident or intentional, thus making it an act

According to a 1987 study published in the Stanford Law Review, at least 23 non-culpable individuals have been executed from 1900 to 1987, which is more than one innocent execution every four years. These miscarriages of justice are often due to evidence that was not discovered or made available until after the execution. Although recent scientific improvements, such as forensic DNA evidence, have enabled investigators to more accurately pinpoint guilt in a suspect, no current amount of scientific or technological advancement can completely guarantee that errors will never be made. In an issue such as the death penalty, where the stakes are so high – human life – any margin of error, no matter how minuscule, is unacceptable.