Cameron Todd Willingham and family
The finality of a death sentence and its irreversible nature if errant is at the forefront of a case in Texas that was the subject of an AC360 report on Friday night.
Cameron Todd Willingham was convicted of arson in a 1991 fire that killed his three daughters. In 2004, he was executed for the crime. Now, with Governor Rick Perry facing reelection next year, it appears Perry may be trying to derail an investigation into Willingham’s death that may possible determine that Willingham was innocent of arson, as three investigations into the fire have since concluded.
For Perry, as he seeks reelection next year, such a conclusion would make him the first sitting governor to have ordered the execution of an innocent man. It appears the Governor is not willing to find out if that is true and whether an investigatory conclusion would be a death sentence for his career.
Instead, Perry this week ousted three members of the investigatory Texas Forensic Science Commission and began replacing them with political allies who are now trying to stall the investigation. This is where the search for truth exits and the politics come in.
It’s a funny thing about death penalty advocates. They proclaim themselves to be pro-life but fail to recognize the possible errantry that contradicts that when they also proclaim themselves to be pro-death in cases such as Willingham’s. For all its flaws, the Catholic Church, of which I am no fan, deserves kudos for being the only organized advocates of abortion who also oppose the death penalty.
For all others, consistency and integrity in their stance takes second place to politics, such as is the case with Gov. Rick Perry. Having abandoned the stance of consistency and integrity, he now seeks to abandon the search for truth in the fear it may tarnish his reputation. No wonder politics has the bad name it does.
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1 Comment
October 16, 2009 at 3:54 am
[...] politics can sometimes mean life or death Jump to Comments Two weeks ago, we told you about a case in Texas that may affect next year’s attempt for reelection by Governor Rick Perry. The case involves the execution in 2004 of Cameron Todd Willingham for arson in a 1991 fire [...]