Texas Governor: Executed Inmate was 'a monster'

[LuvNewcastle]

http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=11315747

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A man put to death in 2004 for killing his three children was "a monster," and suggestions that he may have been innocent are anti-death penalty propaganda, Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday.

Cameron Todd Willingham's convictions were upheld several times before he was put to death, and recent media reports looking into whether Willingham may have been innocent glossed over evidence that showed he murdered his children, Perry told reporters after addressing Texas Association of Realtors members at a luncheon.

"Willingham was a monster. He was a guy who murdered his three children, who tried to beat his wife into an abortion so that he wouldn't have those kids. Person after person has stood up and testified to facts of this case that quite frankly you all aren't covering," Perry said.

Willingham was convicted of capital murder for the 1991 deaths of his children, 2-year-old Amber and 1-year-old twins Karmon and Kameron. Prosecutors said he set fire to the family's Corsicana home while the children were inside.

Forensic scientists have called into question arson evidence used to convict Willingham, who maintained his innocence until his death. John Jackson, the Navarro County prosecutor who argued the case, still believes Willingham is guilty, but acknowledges it would have been hard to win a death sentence without the arson finding.

-snip-

A state fire marshal, now deceased, and a local fire investigator ruled the Willingham case was arson. The investigator stands by the findings.

But a Baltimore-based arson expert hired by the Forensic Science Commission to study the case, Craig Beyler, concluded that the arson findings were not scientifically supported and that investigators at the scene had "poor understandings of fire science."

[Zoeisright]

1. Project much, Mr. Perry?

I see Governor Good Hair has no brains under all that fake fluff.

[Jakes Progress]

2. Having no brains and good hair

was exactly why rove selected perry. They needed someone who would make bush seem smart by comparison.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Rick Perry's assessment of Willingham's guilt is equivalent to diagnosing the mental

capacity of Terry Schiavo via videotape. It can't be done.

He's entitled to his opinion, but it's without review of the judicial record and new evidence, thus it lacks strength.

[Orsino]

4. "Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained?"

[BeyondGeography]

5. He was laying it on extra thick

Distort, dissemble, distract. Wonder how it's playing down there.

[Democrats_win]

6. Nothing is worse than a worthless politician who editorializes.

What's the difference if the man was or wasn't a monster? The job of the judicial system is to decide if he is to face the death penalty while the job of the governor is to order that it be performed. The editorializing was unnecessary.

[The_Casual_Observer]

7. Of course he would say that. They killed a guy.

[REP]

8. 'Forensic Files' on CourtTV has done several good eps about very bad fire investigations

It's a good series, considering where it's aired; forensic science isn't portrayed as magic or flawless, and suspects are sometimes wrongly accused. Fire investigations seem to be especially rife with poorly trained investigators who look for things to support only their conclusions and willfully overlook anything else.

[WeekendWarrior]

9. People who feel guilty

always find rationalizations to assuage their guilt. And when you quite possibly may have caused a man's death to further your political fortunes --

Oh, wait. We're talking Republicans here. I forgot.

Who exactly is the monster? The man who may have killed his children, or the man who allegedly knew about evidence that could exonerate the killer and let him be executed anyway?

Just asking.

[baldguy]

10. What a fucking evil evil chunk of putrid slime!

Fuck that! Calling Perry a chunk of putrid slime is an insult to putrid slime! He's worse that that!

What the hell is wrong with Texas that they keep electing subhuman MONSTERS to high political office who kill people to satisfy their political needs?

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

11. Fellow Republicans are attacking Perry over this case

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/10/evidence_builds_that_perrys_office_pressured_panel.php

"...Things are looking worse and worse for Texas governor Rick Perry, accused of stifling a state panel's probe into that flawed arson investigation that may have led to the execution of an innocent man.

Sam Bassett, the former chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, has now told the Houston Chronicle that lawyers for Perry told him the case was inappropriate, and that the hiring of a nationally known fire expert was a "waste of state money." Over the weekend, Bassett had said he was pressured by the governor's lawyers.

Meanwhile, Perry's GOP rivals are slamming his handling of the issue, and accusing him of a cover-up. As governor, Perry signed off on the execution, despite receiving eleventh-hour documents from lawyers for the convicted man, Cameron Willingham, containing evidence that the original investigation was badly flawed. ..."

(...)

[d_b]

12. justice dept time?

[jeffbr]

13. The guy was executed because the arson investigator had "poor understandings of fire science"

WTF

[TexasObserver]

14. You have to see the video of Perry stopped by DPS as Lt. Gov.

ten years ago, maybe

he's a dork