Tag Archives: Craig Beyler

Forensic Science Commission finally hears Willingham testimony

Posted on January 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

If you were hoping the state of Texas would be open to changing how arson investigations should be done, then the hearing was a disappointment. Still, some good things happened. Speaking at a special meeting of the Texas Forensic Science … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Forensic Science Commission finally hears Willingham testimony

So what did the Forensic Science Commission do?

Posted on July 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I guess I wasn’t expecting this. A majority of the Texas Forensic Science Commission has tentatively concluded that there was no professional negligence or misconduct by arson investigators whose flawed work in a fatal Corsicana fire contributed to the conviction … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Forensic Science Commission finally gets back to Willingham case

Posted on April 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start, but it’s not much more than that. Meeting for the first time since January, the nine-member Texas Forensic Science Commission voted to obtain and review the complete transcript of the capital murder trial of Cameron Todd Willingham, … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Forensic Science Commission to finally get back to Willingham case

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s sure taken them long enough. After months of delay and internal upheaval, the revamped Texas Forensic Science Commission is poised to reopen discussion of the Cameron Todd Willingham case when it meets April 23 in Irving. Tarrant County Medical … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Forensic Science Commission to finally get back to Willingham case

Bradley and the Texas Open Meetings Act

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Casey finds another way in which John Bradley, the Chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, is a failure. Friday started badly for John Bradley, the Williamson County district attorney selected last fall by Gov. Rick Perry to ride … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Bradley and the Texas Open Meetings Act

Where’s Willingham?

Posted on January 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Forensic Science Commission will meet on January 29. You will be shocked to hear that Cameron Todd Willingham is not on their agenda. Instead, the meeting will focus on formalizing procedures explaining how the group will conduct business, … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Where’s Willingham?

Bradley’s penchant for secrecy

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know what John Bradley’s goals are as the Chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission. But if one of them is to dispel the notion that he’s Rick Perry’s stooge, who was installed for the purpose of covering … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The case against Willingham

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Most of the pushback against the criticism of the Cameron Todd Willingham investigation and conviction has so far been of the form of “He was a bad guy!” and “We did too use science to prove arson!”, neither of which … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The case against Willingham

Perry goes on the attack as evidence of a coverup mounts

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The evidence keeps coming in. Lawyers representing Gov. Rick Perry on two occasions grilled Austin lawyer Sam Bassett on the activities of his Texas Forensic Science Commission, telling him its probe into a controversial Corsicana arson case was inappropriate and … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tim Cole advisory panel begins its work

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Tim Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions, which was created to much fanfare by the Lege this spring, begins its mission this week in the shadow of the Cameron Todd Willingham uproar. Cole was wrongfully convicted in 1986 and … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

More heat on Perry over the Forensic Science Commission

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chicago Tribune provides further evidence that gutting of the Texas Forensic Science Commission was all about politics. Just months before the controversial removal of three members of a state commission investigating the forensics that led to a Texas man’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Reschedule the meeting

Posted on October 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve read a bunch of coverage of Governor Perry’s conveniently-timed decision to replace members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission just before they were scheduled to review the Beyler report on the Cameron Todd Willingham arson investigation, and one thing … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

It’s hard to get a conviction when there’s no evidence of a crime

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The main bit of news in this AP story about the Todd Willingham case review is that the Texas Forensic Science Commission will be reviewing the Beyler report about the shoddy investigation of the fire on Friday. I hope, though … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The New Yorker on Todd Willingham

Posted on September 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

If you haven’t done so already, you really need to read this in-depth story, as well as the brief followup, on the Cameron Todd Willingham case. Author David Grann gives a thorough overview of the case, and gets into why … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

More on the Willingham report

Posted on September 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Now that the Texas Commission on Forensic Sciences has received its report on the botched investigation of Cameron Todd Willingham and the likelihood that he was convicted and executed for a non-crime, will that help improve forensic standards so that … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Forensic Science Commission gets its report on Willingham case

Posted on August 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s going to be a lot harder for anyone to claim with a straight face that the state of Texas has never executed an innocent man. Key testimony that sent a Corsicana auto mechanic to the execution chamber for setting … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Innocence

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Falkenberg examines what Circuit Judge Jacques L. Wiener Jr. referred to as “the elephant in the room” in granting a stay of execution to Larry Swearingen. The nation’s highest court hasn’t directly addressed whether a claim of actual innocence … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments