Clear & Convincing - Episode 34 - Texas v. Cameron Todd Willingham

On December 23, 1991, a fire broke out in the home shared by Todd and Stacey Willingham with their three daughters, Amber, 2 and twins Karmon and Kameron, 1.   Willingham was at home alone with the girls at the time of the fire and he was the only one to escape it.  Willingham’s callous behavior and his inconsistent statements to family, friends and investigators caused suspicion.  Those suspicions were confirmed when investigators ruled out electrical or gas problems in the house and found no evidence of an accidental cause.  Testing of the threshhold of  between front door and porch found traces of charcoal lighter fluid, which is an accelerant.  Other indicators of arson were observed, including pour patterns in the floor of the twin’s bedroom and in the hallway leading to the front door.   Willingham was convicted and sentenced to death in August, 1992.  After unsuccessful direct appeal, state post-conviction and federal habeas corpus proceedings, including writs to the U.S. Supreme Court that were declined by the Court, Willingham’s execution date was set for February 17, 2004.  Two weeks before the execution date, materials were sent to Dr. Gerald Hurst, a chemist and arson expert.  Dr. Hurst issued a report ruling out arson and criticizing the original investigation.  This claim, too, was unsuccessful and Willingham’s execution went forward.  Join Lisa O’Brien and Michael Carnahan on Tuesday, January 8, 2019, at 8:00 p.m. Central for a discussion of the evidence against Willingham, his direct appeal and post-conviction claims and the continued efforts by his family, with the help of the Innocence Project, to exonerate him.