What's incredibly sad is this not the first, second or third time this has happened. There are more than a few cases of folks being tried, convicted and in more than a few cases executed for crimes that they were later cleared of. Texas leads the nation in death penalties. We also lead the nation in cases that are later overturned because DNA and other evidence proves innocence. In spite of the overwhelming evidence that the justice system here is one of the most broken in the nation, an overwhelming majority of Texans believe the system is relatively good. It's beyond disturbing. Barring some overwhelming conversion to critical thinking, the idiots that populate this state will keep the broken system as their preferred method of justice.
It disturbs me beyond words. Bosco --- On Mon, 8/31/09, Martin Baxter <truthseeker...@hotmail.com> wrote: From: Martin Baxter <truthseeker...@hotmail.com> Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man To: "SciFiNoir2" <scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com> Date: Monday, August 31, 2009, 4:28 PM (speechless) "If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director?" -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=fQUxw9aUVik To: cdemorsella@ yahoo.com CC: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com From: tdli...@multicultur aladvantage. com Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:38:04 -0700 Subject: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man From: African-Americans in Higher Education [mailto:AFAMHED@ LISTSERV. MUOHIO.EDU] On Behalf Of John Lindsay Sent: Monday, August 31, 2009 11:03 AM To: afam...@listserv. MUOHIO.EDU Subject: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:42:46 -0500 From: i...@innocenceproje ct.org To: jcli...@msn. com Subject: Texas Executed an Innocent Man New Reports Show that Texas Executed an Innocent Man in 2004 A new investigation shows that Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in Texas in 2004 after spending 12 years on death row, was innocent. An exhaustive report published today in the New Yorker deconstructs the case against Willingham and finds that all evidence used against him was false. "There can no longer be any doubt that an innocent person has been executed," Innocence Project Co-Director Barry Scheck said today. "The question now turns to how we can stop it from happening again." Read the full New Yorker story here. Willingham was convicted in 1992 of setting a fire that killed his three children (including two-year-old Amber, pictured on Willingham's shoulders). He proclaimed his innocence throughout his trial and refused an offer to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence, saying "I ain't gonna plead to something I didn't do, especially killing my own kids." The new report comes three years after the Innocence Project released analysis from the nation's leading arson experts that the evidence against Willingham was invalid. Documents obtained by the Innocence Project also show that Texas officials ignored convincing evidence of Willingham's innocence in the days leading up to his execution. The Innocence Project submitted this evidence of forensic error to the Texas Forensic Science Commission, which agreed to investigate the case in 2007. Last week, an independent arson expert contracted by the commission submitted his report, finding that the arson evidence in Willingham's case was wrong. The commission is reviewing the report and will release its findings next year. For background on the case and links to media coverage, video and more, visit the Innocence Project website. The Innocence Project — Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law 100 Fifth Ave. 3rd Floor - New York, NY 10011 www.innocenceprojec t.org Manage your email subscriptions / Donate to the Innocence Project / Visit our website Windows Live: Keep your friends up to date with what you do online. Find out more.