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| Todd Willingham |
A judge who had been asked to re-examine evidence used to convict a Texas man who was executed for burning down his home and killing his three daughters postponed a hearing in the case on Wednesday after prosecutors asked him to step aside.
State District Judge Charles Baird delayed the hearing in the Cameron Todd Willingham case until Oct. 14, telling the court he wanted to give an attorney for Willingham's family time to respond to prosecutors' request to have him removed. In the meantime, Baird may decide to recuse himself or ask another judge to decide whether he should step aside.
Attorneys for Willingham's family, backed by the legal aid center the Innocence Project, are seeking to clear his name. Willingham was put to death in 2004 after being convicted of burning his Corsicana home in 1991 and killing his 2-year-old daughter and 1-year-old twins. Several fire experts have found serious fault with the arson ruling that led to the conviction.
If the judge cleared Willingham, it would be the 1st time an official in the nation's most active death penalty state had formally declared that someone was wrongly executed.
Many believe the case increasingly has become intertwined with political agendas, beginning last year with Gov. Rick Perry's sacking of three members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission just days before they were to review reports that cast doubt on the arson finding. Perry installed a conservative ally, Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley, as the new chairman, and Bradley canceled the subsequent meeting and since has sought to close the inquiry.
Bradley criticized the Innocence Project petition as a politically motivated attempt to undermine the death penalty. Bradley's forensic commission is scheduled to take up the Willingham case again Oct. 15 in Austin.
Navarro County District Attorney R. Lowell Thompson sought Baird's removal, noting that Baird previously ruled on Willingham's case as a member of the Court of Criminal Appeals and questioning Baird's impartiality because he received an award from an anti-death-penalty group.
When Baird previously heard the appeal, there was not yet evidence from fire experts questioning the arson finding.
Source: Associated Press, October 7, 2010
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