The Devil Made Him Do It

I posted a couple of weeks ago about the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in Texas in 2004 for allegedly setting a fire to his house that killed his three small children. Last night, Nightline followed up on the story with interviews with the trial prosecutor, who is now a judge, and the arson investigator. They stand by their decision, and the prosecutor adds some outrageous new claims to the mix. The video is above.

Before Willingham was executed, Texas officials received a report debunking the arson science at his trial. The lethal injection went ahead anyway, and Willingham's last words were: "I am an innocent man - convicted of a crime I did not commit. I have been persecuted for 12 years for something I did not do."

Since his execution, two more reports by arson experts have completely debunked his conviction. In the September 7 New Yorker, David Grann finished the case, debunking the arson and all of the other evidence presented at Grann's trial. Judge John Jackson is not going down without throwing all the dirt he can at the innocent executed man. Watch the video above and you'll see what I mean.

Jackson says it's very likely that Willingham was "obsessed with Satan-like figures" and that this points to his guilt. His evidence: Jackson alleges that Willingham sprayed lighter fluid in the shape of a pentagram. The first problem with this argument: more than six arson experts have already found that there was no accelerant.

But this devil worship nonsense isn't Jackson's only offense in the interview. The other comment is just plain sad, and it's a strong argument for the end of the death penalty. Reporter Terry Moran asks Jackson is the debunking of the arson evidence gives him pause for sending a man to death on questionable evidence, and Jackson responds: "Not a man like Todd." So because he was a bad guy, it's ok that he was innocent of this crime?

By the way, I've enjoyed following the great conversation following the last Willingham post, thanks to all who have participated. It's great to know so many thoughtful people are committed to following these issues and bringing about real change in the system.

Opinions expressed here are my own and don't represent the Innocence Project (where I work when I'm not blogging here).