The Execution of an Innocent Man: Questioning the Reliability of Arson Investigations in the Texas Justice System

Abstract

Death by fire 'Death by fire' is a film based on a true story that tends to question Texas's justice system through the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham. Willingham was accused of killing his three daughters through what investigations conclude as arson. The story of Willingham brought some controversy in that upon revisits of the evidence. It could be possible that wrong conviction was done and arising new evidence and queries on the evidence presented before the trial, an innocent man was executed. The investigations as per the film seem rushed as if arson could be the only possibility of a fire. Witnesses changed their stories, and the prosecutor makes a big deal of music's taste for the defendant connecting it to Satanism. The film demonstrates that the firefighters did the investigations to the case through what is referred to as fire fighting experience. In fact, such investigations should have been done by experts who would interpret the happenings from a scientific or arson point of view. The film also demonstrates that a rogue prosecutor, through a rogue psychiatrist determination to end a man's life through hasty conclusions at play. Through inexperience, the investigations concluded that Willingham had been involved in satanic cults, making connections with the posters and the genre of music he listened to. Experts asserted that Willingham’s daughters had died of instant ignition of flammable material in the room, commonly known as a flashover (Grann, 2009). A couple of days before the execution, Gerald Hurst, a fire science expert, reviewed the original investigation report and differed with the fire marshal's conclusions citing it invalid in the light of the current knowledge. Hurst says that "I thought that somebody would at least say, let’s stop and take a look, at it" (Grann, 2009). Hurst, in this case, relied on his skills, claiming that arson forensics had become far more advanced and standardized in the last decade. Therefore, this meant that the analysis done on the origin of the fire had many critical errors as far as interpretation of the evidence was concerned. Further, the texas forensic science commission hired Dr. Craig Beyler, who reviewed the arson conclusions and confirmed Hurst's conclusions (Dioso-Villa, 2013). Unfortunately, crime in America draws lots of interest, especially from the political class. A good example is evident where politicians do things not to get to the heart of the matter but fit what suits them politically. For instance, Governor Rick Perry ignored all the new evidence that could have changed the case concerning Willingham's case. The governor wanted to show his supporters that he had no mercy for criminals and should go where they belong. Deep inside, the governor knew what he was doing was deliberately giving out Willingham as a sacrificial lamb for his political career. Due to his political interests, he made tremendous changes to the investigations that could have saved Willingham’s life. Still, he chose to have him executed to prove that criminals should not be spared. The Beyler report was conclusive in giving the modern analysis to the fire, which seemed to favor Willingham. Still, unfortunately, before Dr. Beyer could present his report to the commission that had been formed to investigate the case, Governor Perry replaced three members of the commission (Newkirk and Hull, 2014). Days before the commission was set to hear the testimony and findings from Beyler, Perry was within a few months of facing U.S senator Kay Bailey Hutchison in what was presumed to be a heated primary (Bloom, 2019). To safeguard his career, Perry dismissed the commission's chairman; Austin defines attorney Sam Basset and two other commission members. To the governor, it was not a matter of...