Texas' Forensic Science Commission was scheduled to hear testimony about the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was convicted of setting the 1992 fire that killed his three daughters. Right before his execution, Willingham contended he was innocent. A Chicago Tribune investigation revealed that he had been executed over objections from forensic experts who said the fire was likely not intentionally set -- and that many of the forensic markers used in arson investigations "have been disproved by rigorous scientific scrutiny."
Gov. Rick Perry contends that Willingham was guilty and his execution was therefore justified. But he's not taking any chances. Yesterday, Perry fired the chairman and two members of the forensic board prior to scheduled testimony from Craig Beyler, a fire science expert. The Innocence Project's Barry Scheck, believing that Perry's move is an attempt to prevent the panel from concluding that Willingham may in fact have been executed on the basis of flawed evidence, compared it to President Nixon firing Watergate investigators, the so-called "Saturday Night Massacre."
Texas of course, leads the nation in executions. From a legal standpoint, conservatives have argued that executing the innocent really isn't all that important as long as the individual had "a full and fair trial," which, for Antonin Scalia, includes the use of flawed evidence disproved after the fact.
-- A. Serwer
