The letter is a devastating meditation on the guilt Todd said he bore for being unable to save his daughters from the fire. The family remembers when Todd learned that the jailhouse snitch Webb was going to testify. Eugenia advised her stepson that all he could do was talk to his lawyer, David Martin. Perry refused to stay the execution.
Eugenia and the Cox sisters were with Todd right before he died and remember it vividly. They also have mementos of that day. He was executed at 6 p. Judy, particularly, remembers the details of that day. And it started chiming. And we were to stand up and hold hands—the chaplain wanted us to hold hands—and that clock was right to my left, and I could hear that chiming [snaps fingers in time with clock], as it chimed off.
And I was counting them, because they were going to execute him at 6. Comes now a new report by the Washington Post that thoroughly discredits the final remaining piece of evidence used to convict Willingham: testimony by jailhouse informant Johnny Webb, who had said Willingham admitted his guilt while behind bars.
But, according to a lengthy paper trail and the informant himself, Webb was indeed coaxed to testify against Willingham. None of the evidence used to send Willingham to the lethal injection gurney was credible; the longer Perry and his state continue to deny this, the more the case against Willingham will continue to unravel without their help.
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The bar had accused Jackson of violating several sections of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct that prohibit making false statements to a judge as well as obstructing justice. The state bar previously was successful in obtaining the disbarment of two other former prosecutors for making false statements and obstructing justice. In , Williamson County District Judge Ken Anderson resigned as a judge and a lawyer and pled no contest to a contempt of court charge for failing to reveal evidence of innocence in the case of Michael Morton, who was exonerated after being wrongly convicted and serving 25 years in prison for the murder of his wife.
In June , former prosecutor Charles Sebesta was disbarred for concealing evidence of innocence while prosecuting Anthony Graves, who was convicted and sent to Texas death row for the murders of six people.
Withholding evidence that is favorable to a defendant, whether it is evidence of innocence or evidence that undercuts a prosecution witness such as Webb, is one of the most egregious acts of misconduct a prosecutor can commit. The National Registry of Exonerations, a national database of 2, wrongful convictions in the U. He is also a senior researcher for the National Registry of Exonerations. Can you help us make a difference? The Marshall Project produces journalism that makes an impact.
Our investigation into violence using police dogs prompted departments from Indiana to Louisiana to change their policies. Thousands of cameras were installed in the infamous Attica prison after we revealed the extent of violent abuse by guards. Willingham, who was asleep when the fire started, survived. His wife was at the Salvation Army buying Christmas presents for the girls. Willingham said he was asleep in the home when the fire started and always maintained his innocence. He was convicted based on the testimony of forensic experts who said they had determined that the fire was intentionally set and a jailhouse informant who said Willingham had confessed to him.
On October 29, , he was sentenced to death. Download the full trial transcripts here. Documents obtained by the Innocence Project show that state officials received that report but apparently did not act on it.
Willingham was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville on February 17, Months after Willingham was executed, the Chicago Tribune published an investigative report that raised questions about the forensic analysis. In , the Innocence Project formally submitted the case to the Texas Forensic Science Commission, asking the empowered state entity to launch a full investigation. Along with the Willingham case, the Innocence Project submitted information about another arson case in Texas where identical evidence was used to send another man to death row.
In that case, Ernest Willis was exonerated and freed from prison because the forensic evidence was not valid. In , the Texas Forensic Science Commission agreed to investigate the case. Days before the expert was set to testify, however, Gov.
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