Saturday, January 8, 2011

No Surprises in Willingham Hearing

I'm well aware that the Texas Forensic Science Commission took testimony yesterday (Friday) in the case of Cameron Todd Willingham. I have more than 25 Google alerts to that meeting. I haven't posted about that meeting because I'm consumed by another, more pressing case.

The testimony was as expected. Well-recognized fire experts, specifically Craig Beyler and John DeHaan, testified that the fire science evidence provided to Willingham's jurors was based on even-then outdated rules-of-thumbs. The Willingham fire should have been classified as "undetermined" rather than "incendiary." Texas fire experts testified that the fire evidence used to convict Willingham was solid, that all other possible causes of the fire were excluded.

The testimony formalized positions long held and espoused by the opposing parties. If you would like a good, quick summary of the commission testimony, try this. If you want to understand the case in detail, if you want to have a much better idea of what actually took place, try this.

I'll have more to say about the commission in future posts.  Right now, I'm distracted (and troubled) by my research into the case of Richard Clay, scheduled to be executed by the people of Missouri 4 days from today, on 12 January.