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Summary:

Two days before Christmas in 1991, Willingham poured a combustible liquid on the floor throughout his home and intentionally set the house on fire, resulting in the death of his three children.

According to autopsy reports, Amber, age two, and twins Karmon and Kameron, age 1, died of acute carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of smoke inhalation.

Neighbors of Willingham testified that as the house began smoldering, Willingham was “crouched down” in the front yard, and despite the neighbors’ pleas, refused to go into the house in any attempt to rescue the children.

An expert witness for the State testified that the floors, front threshold, and front concrete porch were burned, which only occurs when an accelerant has been used to purposely burn these areas.

The witness further testified that this igniting of the floors and thresholds is typically employed to impede firemen in their rescue attempts.

The testimony at trial demonstrates that Willingham neither showed remorse for his actions nor grieved the loss of his three children.

Willingham’s neighbors testified that when the fire “blew out” the windows, Willingham “hollered about his car” and ran to move it away from the fire to avoid its being damaged.

A fire fighter also testified that Willingham was upset that his dart board was burned. Willingham told authorities that the fire started while he and the children were asleep.

An investigation revealed that it was intentionally set with a flammable liquid. His claims of heroic effort to save the girls were not borne out by his unscathed escape with little smoke in his lungs.

Citations:

Willingham v. State, 897 S.W.2d 351(Tex.Cr.App. 1995). (Direct Appeal)
Willingham v. Johnson, (N.D.Tex. 2001). (Not Reported) (Habeas).
Willingham v. Texas, 116 S.Ct. 385 (1995) (Cert. Denied).
Willingham v. Texas, 118 S.Ct. 2229 (1998) (Cert. Denied).
Willingham v. Dretke, 124 S.Ct. 466 (2003) (Cert. Denied).

Final Meal:

Three barbequed pork ribs, two orders of onion rings, fried okra, three beef enchiladas with cheese and two slices of lemon creme pie.

Final Words:

"The only statement I want to make is that I am an innocent man convicted of a crime I did not commit. I have been persecuted for 12 years for something I did not do. From God's dust I came and to dust I will return so the Earth shall become my throne. I gotta go, Road Dog." He expressed love to someone named Gabby and then addressed his ex-wife, Stacy Kuykendall, who was watching about 8 feet away through a window and said several times, "I hope you rot in Hell, bitch." He then attempted to maneuver his hand, strapped at the wrist, into an obscene gesture. His former wife showed no reaction to the outburst.

ClarkProsecutor.org

Texas Attorney General

Media Advisory

Friday, February 13, 2004

Cameron Todd Willingham Scheduled For Execution

Austin – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers the following information about 35-year-old Cameron Todd Willingham, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. February 17, 2004. Willingham. a former auto mechanic, was sentenced to death for killing his three young children in the family’s house in Corsicana in December 1991.

FACTS OF THE CRIME

The opinion of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeal summarized the offense as follows:

The evidence provided at the trial showed that on December 23, 1991, Willingham poured a combustible liquid on the floor throughout his home and intentionally set the house on fire, resulting in the death of his three children.

According to autopsy reports, Amber, age two, and twins Karmon and Kameron, age 1, died of acute carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of smoke inhalation.

Neighbors of Willingham testified that as the house began smoldering, Willingham was “crouched down” in the front yard, and despite the neighbors’ pleas, refused to go into the house in any attempt to rescue the children.

An expert witness for the State testified that the floors, front threshold, and front concrete porch were burned, which only occurs when an accelerant has been used to purposely burn these areas.

The witness further testified that this igniting of the floors and thresholds is typically employed to impede firemen in their rescue attempts.

The testimony at trial demonstrates that Willingham neither showed remorse for his actions nor grieved the loss of his three children.

Willingham’s neighbors testified that when the fire “blew out” the windows, Willingham “hollered about his car” and ran to move it away from the fire to avoid its being damaged.

A fire fighter also testified that Willingham was upset that his dart board was burned. One of Willingham’s neighbors testified that the morning following the house fire, Christmas Eve, Willingham and his wife were at the burned house going through the debris while playing music and laughing.

CRIMINAL HISTORY/PUNISHMENT PHASE EVIDENCE

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals summarized the evidence presented during the punishment phase of Willingham’s trial as follows:

At the punishment phase of trial, testimony was presented that Willingham has a history of violence. He has been convicted of numerous felonies and misdemeanors, both as an adult and as a juvenile, and attempts at various forms of rehabilitation have proven unsuccessful.

The jury also heard evidence of Willingham’s character. Witnesses testified that Willingham was verbally and physically abusive toward his family, and that at one time he beat his pregnant wife in an effort to cause a miscarriage.

A friend of Willingham’s testified that Willingham once bragged about brutally killing a dog. In fact, Willingham openly admitted to a fellow inmate that he purposely started this fire to conceal evidence that the children had been abused.

Dr. James Grigson testified for the state at punishment. According to his testimony, Willingham fits the profile of a sociopath whose conduct becomes more violent over time, and who lacks a conscience. Grigson explained that a person with this degree of sociopathy commonly has no regard for other people’s property or for other human beings.

He expressed his opinion that an individual demonstrating this type of behavior can not be rehabilitated in any manner, and that such a person certainly poses a continuing threat to society.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The Director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has lawful and valid custody of Willingham pursuant to a judgment and sentence of the 13th Judicial District Court of Navarro County, Texas.

On August 20, 1993, the jury found Willingham guilty of capital murder and, after a separate punishment phase hearing, the trial court imposed a sentence of death.

Willingham’s judgment and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari review on October 30, 1995. Willingham then filed a state writ of habeas corpus on which the trial court recommended denying relief.

The Court of Criminal Appeals denied the writ of habeas corpus on the findings of the trial court. The U.S. Supreme court denied Willingham’s certiorari petition on June 8, 1998.

Willingham filed a federal writ of habeas corpus in the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division on April 21, 1998. The state filed an answer and motion for summary judgment on July 1, 1998, and filed a supplemental answer on October 15, 1998.

On July 25, 2000, the federal magistrate issued findings and conclusions and recommended that relief be denied. Subsequently, the court adopted the magistrate’s findings, granted the state’s motion for summary judgment and denied Willingham’s petition for federal habeas relief.

Willingham subsequently filed an application for a certificate of appealability in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The application was denied on February 17, 2003.

After the appellate court also denied Willingham’s motion for rehearing, he filed a timely petition for writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court on July 21, 2003. The Supreme Court denied his petition for certiorari review on November 3, 2003.

ProDeathPenalty.com

Cameron Willingham, 36, was sentenced to die for the deaths of his three daughters. The three children -- Amber Louise Kuykendall, 2, and 1-year-old twins Karmon Diane Willingham and Kameron Marie Willingham -- died in a fire at their home on West 11th Street in Corsicana. The fire occurred on Dec. 23, 1991, just before Christmas.

Corsicana fire marshall James Palos was the fire department's chief investigator at the Dec. 23, 1991 fire scene. It's a day he remembers well. "I can remember what I was doing that day, what was going on," Palos said. "I can remember it just like it was yesterday." He said firefighters had been called out earlier in the day to a fire that was also ruled an arson.

Palos said there were 11, 1-gallon jugs of gasoline involved in that fire. It was while the fire department was in the mop-up stages of that North 36th Street fire that firefighters got the call to go to the Willingham fire in the 1200 block of West 11th Avenue.

The mood back at the firehouse, after the Willingham fire, was different than most after-action gatherings. "Guys that normally joke around, take things in stride ... well, that day was real solemn," Palos said. "And the word of the fire and children's deaths spread around town real quick." Referring to Willingham's execution day being set, Palos said, "It's been due a long time."

Then 22 years old, Willingham told authorities that the fire started while he and the children were asleep. An investigation revealed that it was intentionally set with a flammable liquid. According to autopsy reports, Amber and twins Karmon and Kameron died of acute carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of smoke inhalation.

His claims of heroic effort to save the girls were not borne out by his unscathed escape with little smoke in his lungs. Neighbors of Willingham testified that as the house began smoldering, Willingham was “crouched down” in the front yard, and despite the neighbors’ pleas, refused to go into the house in any attempt to rescue the children.

An expert witness for the State testified that the floors, front threshold, and front concrete porch were burned, which only occurs when an accelerant has been used to purposely burn these areas. The witness further testified that this igniting of the floors and thresholds is typically employed to impede firemen in their rescue attempts.

The testimony at trial demonstrates that Willingham neither showed remorse for his actions nor grieved the loss of his three children. Willingham’s neighbors testified that when the fire “blew out” the windows, Willingham “hollered about his car” and ran to move it away from the fire to avoid its being damaged.

A firefighter also testified that Willingham was upset that his dart board was burned. One of Willingham’s neighbors testified that the morning following the house fire, Christmas Eve, Willingham and his wife were at the burned house going through the debris while playing music and laughing.

The proceeds of an insurance policy on the girls were later used to buy a pickup truck. Willingham argued that his ex-wife's boyfriend started the blaze, but the jury in his 1992 trial delivered a guilty verdict and the death penalty.

At the punishment phase of trial, testimony was presented that Willingham has a history of violence. He has been convicted of numerous felonies and misdemeanors, both as an adult and as a juvenile, and attempts at various forms of rehabilitation have proven unsuccessful.

The jury also heard evidence of Willingham’s character. Witnesses testified that Willingham was verbally and physically abusive toward his family, and that at one time he beat his pregnant wife in an effort to cause a miscarriage. A friend of Willingham’s testified that Willingham once bragged about brutally killing a dog.

In fact, Willingham openly admitted to a fellow inmate that he purposely started this fire to conceal evidence that the children had been abused.

According to a psychologist for testifying for the state, Willingham fits the profile of a sociopath whose conduct becomes more violent over time, and who lacks a conscience. He explained that a person with this degree of sociopathy commonly has no regard for other people’s property or for other human beings. He expressed his opinion that an individual demonstrating this type of behavior can not be rehabilitated in any manner, and that such a person certainly poses a continuing threat to society.

UPDATE:

When firefighters arrived at the burning 5-bedroom house on Corsicana's south side, the man who lived there was outside.

Neighbors said they saw Cameron Willingham outdoors even before the blaze engulfed the place, according to testimony at Willingham's trial. "He was engaged in pushing his car out of the way so it wouldn't be scorched by the flames," John Jackson, the prosecutor in the subsequent criminal case, recalled. Inside, Willingham's 3 young children -- 2-year-old Amber, and 1-year-old twins, Karmon Diane and Kameron Marie -- were dying. It was 2 days before Christmas 1991.

Willingham was charged with setting the blaze that killed the 3 youngsters, was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. His execution was set for Tuesday night.

"In my opinion, Willingham was an utterly sociopathic individual," said Jackson, the former Navarro County district attorney and now a state district judge. "He had a lifestyle that really didn't include care and nurturing of children. And, in my opinion, the children were just an impediment to his lifestyle."

Willingham, now 36, insisted in a recent interview on death row he wasn't responsible for his daughters' deaths. "I was the only person at home and that was their way of thinking," he said of the charges against him. The resulting trial was "a joke," he said. "Any man who can look at me in the eye and say the justice system is not a farce is a liar. All they're going to do is kill an innocent man for something he didn't do. The most distressing thing is the state of Texas will kill an innocent man and doesn't care they're making a mistake."

Evidence at his trial showed an accelerant, believed to be charcoal lighter fluid, was used to ignite the floors, a front threshold to the house and on a concrete porch. A fire marshal testified the placement of the accelerant was designed to impede any rescue efforts by firefighters.

Willingham suggested a lantern lamp dumped fluid when a shelf collapsed inside the house and caught fire or his oldest daughter, who was "fascinated with everything," accidentally set off the blaze. "Either that or someone came in with the intent to kill me and the children," he said from prison. "The arson investigator was a liar."

"He really just wanted to get rid of them," said Pat Batchelor, who was Navarro County district attorney at the time. "He had a burn on his arm from charcoal lighter fluid." Willingham, a native of Ardmore, Okla., said his wife went out shopping and left him with the children. He was asleep late in the morning when the 2-year-old woke him with her cry for him. He saw smoke, jumped out of bed and told her to get out of the house, he said.

Willingham said he tried to get to the twins' room, couldn't get past the flames and ran to get help. His house had no phone. "The only way for me to get back into the house was to jump back into the flames," he said. "I wouldn't do that." Trial testimony showed he expressed no grief over the loss of the children. Neighbors said he "hollered about his car" and a firefighter testified how Willingham was upset over the loss of a dart board.

"I died 12 years ago," Willingham said from death row. "At 11:51 a.m., Dec. 23, 1991. That's when I died." Willingham's wife initially supported him and testified on his behalf at his 1992 trial. But Stacy Kuykendall told the Corsicana Daily Sun earlier this month that after reviewing case and meeting with her former husband in prison recently, she doesn't buy his version of the events that day. "It was hard for me to sit in front of him," she said. "He basically took my life away from me. He took my kids away from me."

Willingham had a history of violence and a record of felony and misdemeanor convictions both as an adult and juvenile. Evidence at his trial showed he was abusive to his family and once beat his pregnant wife with a telephone to try to force a miscarriage. In November, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review his case.

The Texas attorney general's office was unaware of any appeals pending. A clemency request was rejected Friday on a 15-0 vote by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Convicted killer in Texas executed by lethal injection Tuesday night

TheDeathHouse.com

February 17, 2004

McAlester, Okla. - Cameron Todd Willingham went to the Texas death house just after 6 p.m. for the murder of his three children.

Willingham was convicted of setting a fire at his home that killed the children, including one-year-old twins. But before he received the lethal injection, he looked toward his ex-wife and mother of the three children he had killed and said, "I hope you rot in Hell, bitch." The woman was witnessing the execution.

Willingham, who claimed he was innocent, was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m., seven minutes after the lethal dose of chemicals began.

Kills Three Children

The fire that Willingham was convicted of setting occurred two days before Christmas in 1993 in Coricana. Prosecutors charged that Willingham was trying to cover up abuse of the children. Killed were Amber Louis Kuykendall, 2, Karmon Diane Willingham and Kameron Marie Willingham, one-year-old twins.

Willingham's case is notable, critics of the death sentence had stated, because of the use of a controversial psychiatrist to predict that Willingham would be a future danger to society - one of the requirements for a death sentence in Texas.

The psychiatrist, James Grigson, who testified on future dangerousness in many death penalty cases in Texas, was later expelled from the American Psychiatric Association in 1995. In more than 100 of the 167 cases he testified in, he predicted the defendant would kill gain.

Texas Execution Information Ceneter by David Carson

Txexecutions.org

Cameron Todd Willingham, 36, was executed by lethal injection on 17 February 2004 in Huntsville, Texas for the murder of his three children.

On 23 December 1991, the Corsicana home of Cameron Willingham burned. Willingham's three children -- 2-year-old Amber Kuykendall and 1-year-old twins Karmon and Kameron Willingham, died of smoke inhalation. Willingham, 36, escaped.

Willingham told authorities that the fire started while he and the children were asleep. His wife, Stacy Kuykendall, was not home at the time. An investigation showed that a flammable liquid had been poured throughout the house. Willingham was arrested on 8 January.

At Willingham's trial, the fire marshall testified that the floors, front threshold, and front concrete porch were burned, which only occurs when an accelerant has been used to purposely burn these areas. He further testified that these areas are typically set on fire to impede firefighters in their rescue attempts.

Other testimony showed that Willingham deliberately set the fire to kill his children. Neighbors testified that Willingham came outdoors as the house began smoldering, before flames were visible from the outside. He first pushed his car away to protect it from being burned, then "crouched down" in the front yard.

Despite their pleas, Willingham refused to go into the house to attempt to rescue the children, they said. A firefighter testified that Willingham showed no grief over his children's deaths, but became upset upon discovering that his dart board was burned. A neighbor also testified that on the day after the fire, Willingham and his wife were going through the debris while playing music and laughing.

Willingham was convicted of burglary three months before the fire, and was serving a sentence of 6 years' probation. Testimony at his trial indicated that Willingham had a history of violence and family abuse, including an incident where he beat his pregnant wife with a telephone to try to force a miscarriage.

A jury convicted Willingham of capital murder in August 1993 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in October 1995. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

"Dude's a liar," Willingham said in an interview from death row, referring to the fire marshall. He called his conviction "a farce." He suggested that a lantern spilled fluid when a shelf collapsed, and then 2-year-old Amber, who was "fascinated with everything," accidentally started the fire. "Either that, or someone came in with the intent to kill me and the children," he told a reporter.

Willingham said that his wife was out shopping that morning, and he was asleep when Amber woke him. He saw smoke, jumped out of bed, and ordered Amber out of the house. He tried to get to the twins' room, but couldn't get past the flames. He ran outside to get help because the house had no phone. "They were great kids," Willingham said, but "I was a sorry husband - a piece of crap as husbands go ... I was so full of myself and dumb."

Stacy Kuykendall initially supported her husband and testified on his behalf at his trial. Recently, however, she told a reporter that she no longer believes his account of the events that killed her children.

"I am an innocent man convicted of a crime I did not commit," Willingham said at his execution. Ha also said, "From God's dust I came and to dust I will return, so the Earth shall become my throne. I gotta go, Road Dog." Next, he expressed love to someone named Gabby, then hurled obscenities at Kuykendall, who was watching from an observation room.

Willingham said that he hoped she would "rot in Hell," and attempted to make an obscene gesture with his hand, which was strapped to the gurney. He was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m.

Cameron Todd Willingham (January 9, 1968 – February 17, 2004), born in Carter County, Oklahoma, was sentenced to death by the state of Texas for murdering his three daughters—two year old Amber Louise Kuykendall, and one year old twins Karmon Diane Willingham and Kameron Marie Willingham— by setting his house on fire.

The fire occurred on December 23, 1991 in Corsicana, Texas. Lighter fluid was kept on the front porch of Willingham’s house as evidenced by a melted container found there. Some of this fluid may have entered the front doorway of the house carried along by fire hose water. It was alleged this fluid was deliberately poured to start the fire and that Willingham chose this entrance way so as to impede rescue attempts. The prosecution also used other arson theories that have since been brought into question.

In addition to the arson evidence, a jailhouse informant claimed Willingham confessed that he set the fire to hide his wife's physical abuse of the girls, although the girls showed no other injuries besides those caused by the fire.

Neighbors also testified that Willingham did not try hard enough to save his children. They allege he "crouched down" in his front yard and watched the house burn for a period of time without attempting to enter the home or go to neighbors for help or request they call firefighters. 

He claimed that he tried to go back into the house but it was "too hot". As firefighters arrived, however, he rushed towards the garage and pushed his car away from the burning building, requesting firefighters do the same rather than put out the fire.

After the fire, Willingham showed no emotion at the death of his children and spent the next day sorting though the debris, laughing and playing music. He expressed anger after finding his dartboard burned in the fire. Firefighters and other witnesses found him suspicious of how he reacted during and after the fire.

Willingham was charged with murder on January 8, 1992. During his trial in August 1992, he was offered a life term in exchange for a guilty plea, which he turned down insisting he was innocent.

After his conviction, he and his wife divorced. She later stated that she believed that Willingham was guilty. Prosecutors alleged this was part of a pattern of behavior intended to rid himself of his children. Willingham had a history of committed crimes, including burglary, grand larceny and car theft. There was also an incident when he beat his pregnant wife over the stomach with a telephone to induce a miscarriage.

When asked if he had a final statement, Willingham said: "Yeah. The only statement I want to make is that I am an innocent man - convicted of a crime I did not commit. I have been persecuted for 12 years for something I did not do. From God's dust I came and to dust I will return - so the earth shall become my throne. I gotta go, road dog. I love you Gabby."

However, his final words were directed at his ex-wife, Stacy Willingham. He turned to her and said "I hope you rot in hell, bitch" several times while attempting to extend his middle finger in an obscene gesture. His ex-wife did not show any reaction to this.

He was executed by lethal injection on February 17, 2004.

Subsequent to that date, persistent questions have been raised as to the accuracy of the forensic evidence used in the conviction, specifically, whether it can be proven that an accelerant (such as the lighter fluid mentioned above) was used to start the fatal fire.

Fire investigator Gerald L. Hurst reviewed the case documents including the trial transcriptions and an hour-long videotape of the aftermath of the fire scene. Hurst said, "There's nothing to suggest to any reasonable arson investigator that this was an arson fire. It was just a fire."

Wikipedia.org

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Cameron Willingham, TX - Feb. 17, 6 PM CST

The state of Texas is scheduled to execute Cameron Willingham, a white man, Feb. 17 for the 1991 murders of his three children Amber, 2, and twins Kameron and Karmon, 1, in Navarro county. The execution is scheduled for 6 p.m. CST. Mr. Willingham was sentenced to death based largely on the testimony of the controversial James Grigson, known as “Dr. Death” because of his tenacious and authoritative belief that seldom can murderers be rehabilitated.

The three girls died in a fire on December 23, 1991. Mr. Willingham stated that the fire started while they were asleep, but the investigation indicated flammable liquid had been ignited. The prosecution claims that Mr. Willingham started the fire in order to conceal evidence that his children had been recently abused.

The courts refused the defense’s request for a change in venue after the district attorney stated on television that “the children were interfering with [Mr. Willington’s] beer drinking and dart throwing.” In the punishment phase of the trial, James Grigson testified that Mr. Willington presented a future danger to the community. His practice of assessing future dangerousness – sometimes without interviewing the subject, resulted in his expulsion from the American Psychiatric Association in 1995. In more than 100 of 167 cases, he testified that the defendant would kill again.

Andrea Keilen, an attorney with Texas Defender Service, said she knew of dozens of former death row inmates whose sentences were reduced for various reasons and who have never been involved in any difficulties though Dr. Grigson testified they should be executed because they would likely commit murder again. In 1988, a report compiled by an assistant district attorney in Dallas concluded that after the study of 11 specific death penalty verdicts — where the defendants' terms had been reduced — not a single one had been other than a model prisoner.

James Grigson also testified in the case of Randall Adams. Mr. Adams was innocent and exonerated in 1989, but was sentenced to death based on Mr. Grigson’s testimony that he was “psychopathic and a degenerate.”

Texas does not offer the option of life without parole. Often, juries are concerned that men and women convicted of brutal crimes will be released from prison, which leads them to impose the death penalty. However, studies have shown that when given the choice juries are more likely to impose the sentence of life without parole. For example, 10 years ago Georgia introduced life without parole. Since then 369 people have been sentenced to life without parole, while death sentencing has dropped from an average 10 per year to four or less.

Texas is one of three states, along with Kansas and New Mexico, that does not offer life without parole. At the same time Texas is the leader in executions, and has been responsible for over one-third of the men and women executed since 1976. Please contact Gov. Perry and urge him to impose a moratorium on executions, endorse legislation to offer Texas defendants the option of life without parole, and commute the death sentence of Cameron Willingham.

Execution preceded by tirade

Man directs obscenity-laced language at his former wife

By Michael Graczyk, Associated Press

Houston Chronicle

Feb. 17, 2004

HUNTSVILLE -- Spewing profanities at his ex-wife standing a few feet away, an angry former auto mechanic was executed Tuesday evening for the deaths of his three young children in a fire at their home two days before Christmas 12 years ago. "The only statement I want to make is that I am an innocent man convicted of a crime I did not commit," Cameron Willingham said. "I have been persecuted for 12 years for something I did not do." Willingham, 36, said, "From God's dust I came and to dust I will return so the Earth shall become my throne. I gotta go, Road Dog." He expressed love to someone named Gabby and then addressed his ex-wife, Stacy Kuykendall, who was watching about 8 feet away through a window. He told her repeatedly in obscenity-laced language that he hoped she would "rot in hell" and attempted to maneuver his hand, strapped at the wrist, into an obscene gesture.

His former wife showed no reaction to the outburst. She declined to speak to reporters. Willingham was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m., seven minutes after the lethal dose began flowing through his veins.

Willingham previously acknowledged he was a lousy husband but insisted he wasn't responsible for the blaze in Corsicana that killed his daughters -- 2-year-old Amber and 1-year-old twins Karmon and Kameron. He was the seventh convicted killer executed in Texas this year and the third in seven days.

The U.S. Supreme Court in November refused to review his case and a late appeal Tuesday was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. Last week, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted 15-0 to deny a clemency request.

Texas executes man for killing daughters

By Michael Graczyk - Fort Worth Star-Telegram

February 17, 2004

HUNTSVILLE - Proclaiming his innocence and spewing profanities at his ex-wife standing a few feet away, an angry former auto mechanic was executed Tuesday evening for the deaths of his three young children in a fire at their home two days before Christmas 12 years ago.

"The only statement I want to make is that I am an innocent man convicted of a crime I did not commit," Cameron Willingham said. "I have been persecuted for 12 years for something I did not do." Willingham, 36, said, "From God's dust I came and to dust I will return so the Earth shall become my throne. I gotta go, Road Dog." He expressed love to someone named Gabby and then addressed his ex-wife, Stacy Kuykendall, who was watching about 8 feet away through a window. He told her repeatedly in obscenity-laced language that he hoped she would "rot in hell" and attempted to maneuver his hand, strapped at the wrist, into an obscene gesture.

His former wife showed no reaction to the outburst. She declined to speak to reporters. Willingham was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m., seven minutes after the lethal dose began flowing through his veins.

Willingham previously acknowledged he was a lousy husband but insisted he wasn't responsible for the blaze in Corsicana that killed his daughters -- 2-year-old Amber and 1-year-old twins Karmon and Kameron. He was the seventh convicted killer executed in Texas this year and the third in seven days.

The U.S. Supreme Court in November refused to review his case and a late appeal Tuesday was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. Last week, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted 15-0 to deny a clemency request. "I can't think of a more horrible case," said Pat Batchelor, who was district attorney in Navarro County when Willingham was the lone survivor of the blaze Dec. 23, 1991. "All you had to do was see the pictures of little babies. "Anybody that can do that, you just think: My God, what kind of sadistic monster is this?"

When firefighters arrived at the burning five-bedroom house on Corsicana's south side, Willingham was outside. At his trial, neighbors said he was outdoors even before flames engulfed the place and was concerned about his car getting scorched. Prosecutors contended he just wanted to get rid of the children. Evidence at his trial showed an accelerant, believed to be charcoal lighter fluid, was used to ignite the floors, a front threshold to the house and on a concrete porch. A fire marshal testified the placement of the accelerant was designed to impede any rescue efforts by firefighters.

"Dude's a liar," Willingham said in a recent interview on death row. "It's all a farce ... They just didn't want to pursue what really happened." Willingham suggested a lantern lamp dumped fluid when a shelf collapsed inside the house and caught fire or his oldest daughter, who was "fascinated with everything," accidentally set off the blaze. "Either that or someone came in with the intent to kill me and the children," he said.

Willingham, a native of Ardmore, Okla., said his wife went out shopping and left him with the children. He was asleep late in the morning when the 2-year-old woke him with her cry for him. He saw smoke, jumped out of bed and told her to get out of the house, he said. Willingham said he tried to get to the twins' room, couldn't get past the flames and ran to get help. His house had no phone.

Trial testimony showed he expressed no grief over the loss of the children. Willingham, who did not testify in his own defense, disputed the comments. "They were great kids," he said.

Willingham, a 10th grade dropout, had a history of violence and a record of felony and misdemeanor convictions both as an adult and juvenile. He said he got hooked on inhalants as a young teenager and was in and out of treatment centers beginning at age 14. He also spent time at a boot camp in Oklahoma. Evidence at his trial showed he was abusive to his family and once beat his pregnant wife with a telephone to try to force a miscarriage. "I was a sorry husband, a piece of crap as husbands go," he acknowledged from death row. "I was so full of myself and so dumb."

Willingham's wife initially supported him and testified on his behalf at his 1992 trial. But Kuykendall told the Corsicana Daily Sun earlier this month that after reviewing case and meeting with her former husband in prison recently, she doesn't buy his version of the events that day. "It was hard for me to sit in front of him," she said. "He basically took my life away from me. He took my kids away from me."

Willingham date set: Execution of child killer set for Feb. 17

By Loyd Cook - Corsicana Daily Sun

December 30, 2003

If actions taken in a Navarro County Courtroom Monday stand, Cameron Todd Willingham knows exactly when he will die. Willingham, convicted in August 1992 of the 1991 capital murders of his three children, saw his execution date set at Feb. 17 -- some 50 days from today.

Navarro County District Attorney Steve Keathley requested the setting of an execution date during a hearing presided over by Judge Bob McGregor of Hillsboro. "The appeals have run their course and the conviction and sentence have been upheld," Keathley said. "The State of Texas requests that this court set an execution date." Normally, District Judge John Jackson would have presided over such a hearing. But Jackson had recused himself, citing his ties with the Willingham case. Jackson was the lead prosecutor for the district attorney's office in the Willingham case 12 years ago, securing the death penalty.

Willingham was arrested and charged in the deaths on Jan. 8, 1992, according to records on the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Web site. The three children -- Amber Louise Kuykendall, 2, and 1-year-old twins Karmon Diane Willingham and Kameron Marie Willingham -- died in a fire at their home in the 1200 block of West 11th Street in Corsicana. The fire occurred on Dec. 23, 1991, just before Christmas.

On Monday, Willingham was accompanied by his appellate lawyer, Walter Reaves of Waco, and his attorney from the 1992 Navarro County trial, Rob Dunn of Corsicana. Keathley said that Reaves asked Judge McGregor to delay setting an execution date, citing ongoing litigation concerning the constitutionality of using the "death by lethal injection" method. Reaves asked that the court wait to set an execution date until after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision on lethal injection issues that are being raised. Judge McGregor denied Reaves' request, set the execution date for Feb. 17, and ordered Willingham returned to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to await the carrying out of his sentence.

The hearing was carried out under a heavy police presence, Keathley said, with members of the Navarro County Sheriff's Office and the Corsicana Police Department present for security purposes. The 1991 trial was carried out under similar conditions, although for that event law enforcement officials searched spectators before entrance and limited access to only one of the two sets of double-doors leading into the courtroom.

Corsicana fire marshall James Palos was the fire department's chief investigator at the Dec. 23, 1991 fire scene. It's a day he remembers well. "I can remember what I was doing that day, what was going on," Palos said Monday. "I can remember it just like it was yesterday." He said firefighters had been called out earlier in the day to a fire on North 36th Street, a fire that was also ruled an arson. Palos said there were 11, 1-gallon jugs of gasoline involved in that fire. It was while the fire department was in the mop-up stages of that North 36th Street fire that firefighters got the call to go to the Willingham fire in the 1200 block of West 11th Avenue. The mood back at the firehouse, after the Willingham fire, was different than most after-action gatherings. "Guys that normally joke around, take things in stride ... well, that day was real solemn," Palos said. "And the word (of the fire and children's deaths) spread around town real quick." He said he had no problem with Monday's proceedings. "It's been due a long time," Palos said.

Monday's setting of an execution date for Willingham was the first such proceeding in the district court since October 2001 when Gary Sterling, convicted for the May 1988 capital murder of a 72-year-old Navarro County man, was given a death date in early December 2001. Sterling was granted a stay of execution in November 2001. He remains on death row.

Keathley said he believes that won't happen for Willingham. He referred to a document from the U.S. Supreme Court that issued a denial of the latest request for a delay. That document was dated Nov. 3 of this year. "There's nothing in stone, especially when you're talking about the intricacies of the death penalty and the constitutionality issues associated with it," Keathley said. "However, I'd predict that this sentence would be carried out ... unless some unforeseen constitutionality issue comes up."

Father who killed 3 is executed

By Michael Graczyk - San Antonio Express-News

Associated Press - February 18, 2004

HUNTSVILLE — Spewing profanities at his ex-wife standing a few feet away, an angry former auto mechanic was executed Tuesday evening for the deaths of his three young children in a fire at their home two days before Christmas 12 years ago.

"The only statement I want to make is that I am an innocent man convicted of a crime I did not commit," Cameron Willingham said. "I have been persecuted for 12 years for something I did not do." Willingham, 36, said, "From God's dust I came, and to dust I will return, so the earth shall become my throne. I gotta go, Road Dog." He expressed love to someone named Gabby and then addressed his ex-wife, Stacy Kuykendall, who was watching about eight feet away through a window. He told her repeatedly in obscenity-laced language that he hoped she would "rot in hell," and he attempted to maneuver his hand, strapped at the wrist, into an obscene gesture.

His former wife showed no reaction to the outburst. She declined to speak to reporters. Willingham was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m., seven minutes after the lethal drugs began flowing through his veins.

Willingham had acknowledged he was a lousy husband but insisted he wasn't responsible for the blaze in Corsicana that killed his daughters — 2-year-old Amber and 1-year-old twins Karmon and Kameron. He was the seventh convicted killer executed in Texas this year and the third in seven days. The U.S. Supreme Court in November refused to review his case, and a late appeal Tuesday was rejected by the same court. Last week, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted 15-0 to deny a clemency request.

"I can't think of a more horrible case," said Pat Batchelor, who was district attorney in Navarro County when Willingham was the lone survivor of the blaze Dec. 23, 1991. "All you had to do was see the pictures of little babies." When firefighters arrived at the burning five-bedroom house on Corsicana's south side, Willingham was outside. At his trial, neighbors said he was outdoors even before flames engulfed the place and was concerned about his car getting scorched. Prosecutors contended he just wanted to get rid of the children.

Evidence at his trial showed an accelerant, believed to be charcoal lighter fluid, was used to ignite the floors and a front threshold to the house. A fire marshal testified the placement of the accelerant was designed to impede any rescue efforts by firefighters. Willingham suggested a lantern lamp dumped fluid when a shelf collapsed inside the house and caught fire or that his oldest daughter, who was "fascinated with everything," accidentally set off the blaze.

Man put to death for fire

He curses ex-wife, says he did not kill their children in blaze

Dallas Morning News

Associated Press - Tuesday, February 17, 2004

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Spewing profanities at his ex-wife standing a few feet away, a former auto mechanic was executed Tuesday evening for the deaths of his three young children in a fire at their home two days before Christmas 12 years ago.

"The only statement I want to make is that I am an innocent man convicted of a crime I did not commit," Cameron Willingham said. "I have been persecuted for 12 years for something I did not do." Mr. Willingham, 36, said, "From God's dust I came and to dust I will return, so the Earth shall become my throne. I gotta go, road dog." He expressed love to someone named Gabby and then addressed his ex-wife, Stacy Kuykendall, who was watching about 8 feet away through a window. He told her repeatedly in obscenity-laced language that he hoped she would "rot in hell" and attempted to maneuver his hand, strapped at the wrist, into an obscene gesture.

His former wife showed no reaction to the outburst. She declined to speak to reporters. Mr. Willingham was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m., seven minutes after the lethal dose began flowing through his veins.

He previously acknowledged he was a bad husband but insisted he wasn't responsible for the blaze in Corsicana that killed his daughters – 2-year-old Amber and 1-year-old twins Karmon and Kameron.

Man executed on disproved forensics

Fire that killed his 3 children could have been accidental

By Steve Mills and Maurice Possley | Chicago Tribune staff reporters

December 9, 2004

CORSICANA, Texas

The author of the report, Gerald Hurst, reviewed additional documents, trial testimony and an hourlong videotape of the aftermath of the fire scene at the Tribune's request last month. Three other fire investigators--private consultants John Lentini and John DeHaan and Louisiana fire chief Kendall Ryland--also examined the materials for the newspaper.

"There's nothing to suggest to any reasonable arson investigator that this was an arson fire," said Hurst, a Cambridge University-educated chemist who has investigated scores of fires in his career. "It was just a fire."

Ryland, chief of the Effie Fire Department and a former fire instructor at Louisiana State University, said that, in his workshop, he tried to re-create the conditions the original fire investigators described.

When he could not, he said, it "made me sick to think this guy was executed based on this investigation. ... They executed this guy and they've just got no idea--at least not scientifically--if he set the fire, or if the fire was even intentionally set."

Even Edward Cheever, one of the state deputy fire marshals who had assisted in the original investigation of the 1991 fire, acknowledged that Hurst's criticism was valid.

"At the time of the Corsicana fire, we were still testifying to things that aren't accurate today," he said. "They were true then, but they aren't now.

"Hurst," he added, "was pretty much right on. ... We know now not to make those same assumptions."

A Tribune investigation of forensic science this year found that many of the pillars of arson investigation that were commonly believed for many years have been disproved by rigorous scientific scrutiny.

Willingham was charged after fire investigators concluded an accelerant had been used to set three separate fires inside the wood-frame, one-story home. Their findings were based on what they described as more than 20 indicators of arson.

Among them: "crazed glass," the intricate, weblike cracks through glass. For years arson investigators believed it was a clear indication that an accelerant had been used to fuel a fire that became exceedingly hot. Now, analysts have established that it is created when hot glass is sprayed with water, as when the fire is put out. It was just such evidence that helped convict Willingham.

Just as Hurst and other consultants dismissed the "crazed glass," they also said other so-called indicators--floor burn patterns and the charring of wood under the aluminum threshold--were just as unreliable.

The experts said evidence indicated the fire had advanced to flashover, a phenomenon that occurs when a fire gets so hot that gas builds up and causes an explosion. After flashover, "it becomes impossible to visually identify accelerant patterns," Hurst reported.

He also said the original finding that charring of wood was due to an accelerant under the threshold "is clearly impossible. Liquid accelerants can no more burn under an aluminum threshold than grease can burn in a skillet, even with a loose-fitting lid."

Prosecutors, though, point to other evidence against Willingham presented at his trial: a jailhouse informant who claimed Willingham confessed to him and stands by his testimony, and witnesses who said Willingham did not try hard enough to save his children.

Kathy Walt, a spokeswoman for the Texas governor, said Perry carefully considered "all of the factors" in Willingham's case before deciding against a stay.

Navarro County Judge John Jackson, who as the first assistant district attorney prosecuted Willingham, said that while the experts' review raises some "issues," he has no doubt that Willingham was guilty.

"Does it give me pause? No it does not. I have no reservations."

But some of the jurors who convicted Willingham and sentenced him to death were troubled when shown or told of the new case review.

"Did anybody know about this prior to his execution?" Dorinda Brokofsky asked. "Now I will have to live with this for the rest of my life. Maybe this man was innocent."

A groundbreaking document in fire investigation, the National Fire Protection Association's NFPA 921, was published on Feb. 10, 1992, less than two months after the fatal fire at the Willingham house.

Filled with the new revelations about fire science, NFPA 921 was developed by 30 fire experts, including Lentini and DeHaan, and was written as a guideline for fire investigators. It is considered the standard on fire investigation and is a key reference text for the Texas fire marshal's office. Some investigators, however, have refused to acknowledge it, preferring to stick to the old ways.

The scientific advances played a role in the exoneration of another Texas Death Row inmate, Ernest Willis, earlier this year.

In Pecos County, in West Texas, District Atty. Ori White had to decide whether to retry Willis, who had been convicted of setting a fire that killed two women and had spent 17 years on Death Row. Willis had gotten a new trial on unrelated legal issues in the case.

Before making his decision, White asked Hurst to review the fire evidence. The prosecutor also asked Ryland to conduct an independent review.

Hurst concluded there was no evidence of arson, that the fire most likely was accidental. Ryland concurred. White then dropped the case against Willis and Willis walked free. It was the 12th time Hurst's work had led to dismissal of charges or an acquittal.

Said White: "I don't turn killers loose. If Willis was guilty, I'd be retrying him right now. And I'd use Hurst as my witness. He's a brilliant scientist. If he says it was an arson fire, then it was. If he says it wasn't, then it wasn't."

Hurst and Ryland said the two fires--the one that sent Willis to Death Row and the one that sent Willingham to his execution--were nearly identical.

Of the 944 men and women executed since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in the mid-1970s, only one--Willingham--has been put to death for a crime in which fire was the murder weapon.

The deadly fire

In 1991, two days before Christmas, Willingham's wife left the house in the morning to pay the water and electric bills. Stacy Willingham then went to a Salvation Army store to shop for Christmas gifts.

Cameron Todd Willingham, 23 at the time, told fire investigators he woke up as his wife was leaving shortly after 9 a.m., and heard their 1-year-old twins, Karmon and Kameron, crying. He gave them bottles, laid them on the floor, and put up a childproof gate at the door to their bedroom.

Two-year-old Amber was still asleep in the same room. Willingham said that he went back to his bedroom across the hall and fell back to sleep.

According to police reports and interviews with family members, the couple struggled. Stacy worked at a bar called Some Other Place, in nearby Mustang, while Todd, as everybody called him, was staying home with the girls after being laid off weeks earlier.

They lived on the south side of Corsicana, a town of some 24,000 people an hour south of Dallas. The Willingham family was two months behind on the rent and in arrears on their other bills, some of which they had stopped paying to save money for Christmas.

They didn't have a stove; they had managed with a two-burner hot plate, a microwave that, Willingham said, frequently "popped" while in use, and a countertop deep-fat fryer.

Todd and Stacy fought often, and he sometimes left home. He enjoyed drinking beer and throwing darts; in fact, those hobbies would be singled out as his motive for the crime.

Willingham also had been in trouble with the law. A 10th-grade dropout from Ardmore, Okla., he had sniffed glue and paint, and he had committed a string of crimes, including burglary, grand larceny and car theft.

Willingham told investigators that he was awakened about an hour after his wife left by Amber's cries of "Daddy, Daddy."

The house, he said, was so full of smoke that he could not see the doorway leading out of the bedroom. Crouching low, he went into the hall. He said he saw that there was not much smoke in the kitchen but "couldn't see anything but black" toward the front of the house.

With the electrical circuits popping, Willingham said he made his way to the girls' bedroom. He saw an orange glow on the ceiling, but little else because the smoke was so heavy. He said he stood up to step over the childproof gate, and his hair caught fire.

He crouched back down, he told investigators, and felt along the floor for the twins but could not find them. He said he called out for Amber and felt on top of her bed, but she was not there.

When debris began to fall from the ceiling, burning his shoulder, he said he fled through the hall and out the front door.

He tried to go back into the house, he said, but it was too hot. He saw neighbors and told them to call the Fire Department, screaming, "My babies is in there and I can't get them out."

Neighbor Mary Barbee told police she saw Willingham in the front yard and she ran to ask a neighbor to call for help because her telephone was disconnected.

Meanwhile, Willingham told investigators, he took a pool cue and knocked out two windows overlooking the front porch to try to get into the bedroom.

Barbee said that when she returned, Willingham was standing by a chain-link fence as heavy smoke billowed from the house. Just as she neared his yard, "large fire suddenly bellowed out from around the front of the house," she told investigators, then the windows blew out.

She said that was when Willingham rushed to his garage and pushed his car away from the fire scene.

At that moment, Burvin Smith arrived after hearing the fire call over a radio scanner. Smith told police that Willingham was yelling that his "babies were in the house" and "acting real hysterical."

He said he restrained Willingham from going onto the porch.

Willingham became a suspect almost immediately, when neighbors such as Barbee told investigators they didn't believe he tried hard enough to rescue his children.

Firefighters thought Willingham's burns would have been worse if he had searched for the girls as he said he did. Though he had been burned on his shoulder and back and his hair had been singed, they noted that his feet, which had been bare, were not burned on the bottom.

The day after the fire, police said, Willingham complained that he could not find a dartboard as he walked through the wreckage. Neighbors said they heard loud music coming from the truck of a friend who came to help salvage belongings.

Eleven days after the fire, a police chaplain who had responded to the blaze said he had grown suspicious that Willingham's emotions were not genuine.

"It seemed to me that Cameron was too distraught," said the chaplain, George Monaghan.

Fire investigators, meanwhile, were concluding that the fire had been purposely set.

On Jan. 8, 1992, two weeks after the fire, Willingham was charged with murder. Patrick Batchelor, then the district attorney, told reporters Willingham set the fire because he wanted more time for beer-drinking and dart throwing. The children got in the way.

Inmate, experts testify

Willingham went to trial in August 1992, eight months after the fire. Batchelor and first assistant John Jackson offered a deal--a life term in exchange for a guilty plea. But Willingham turned it down, insisting he was innocent.

Prosecutors presented as their first witness jail inmate Johnny E. Webb, a drug addict who said he took psychiatric medication for post-traumatic stress syndrome, the result of being raped behind bars.

Webb testified that Willingham, after repeatedly denying he had caused the fire, confessed to Webb one day as they spoke through a chuckhole in a steel door at the county jail.

Webb said Willingham told him he set the fire to cover up his wife's physical abuse of one of the girls. The girls, however, had no injuries other than those suffered in the fire.

"I don't know if that dude did that crime or not," Webb said in a prison interview. "I know what he told me."

The prosecution's case also relied on the neighbors who said Willingham could have done more to save his family and two fire investigators, assistant Corsicana fire chief Doug Fogg and deputy state fire marshal Manuel Vasquez, who testified that the fire was arson.

The Texas state fire marshal's office declined to comment for this article. Vasquez, who led the fire investigation, died in 1994.

Fogg, in an interview at his home in upstate New York, stood by his investigation.

"Fire talks to you. The structure talks to you," he said. "You call that years of experience. You don't just pick that knowledge up overnight."

He said he first eliminated accidental causes, including electrical malfunctions-- though his report noted possible shorts in two places in the house.

More than a dozen samples of debris from around the house were tested for accelerants, and one sample, at the front door, tested positive for a byproduct of charcoal lighter fluid. Fogg determined the fire was intentionally started near the front door. Vasquez testified that there were three points of origin.

Fogg then called the state fire marshal's office, which helps small departments investigate fires. Vasquez, who was assigned the investigation, concluded that the fire was arson as well.

At trial, both he and Fogg testified to assumptions about fire that no longer hold.

"The fire tells a story," Vasquez testified. "I am just the interpreter. I am looking at the fire, and I am interpreting the fire. That is what I know. That is what I do best. And the fire does not lie. It tells me the truth."

Vasquez testified that of the 1,200 to 1,500 fires he had investigated, nearly all had been arson, and he had never been wrong.

All four consultants said Vasquez made serious errors in his testimony. For example, when he said an accelerant must have been used to set the fire because wood could not burn hot enough to melt an aluminum threshold, he was wrong. It can.

"The fire investigators ruled the fire to be incendiary because it failed to live up to their expectations of what an accidental fire should look like," said Lentini, a former Georgia crime lab analyst who has testified for prosecutors and the defense in arson trials.

"They used rules of thumb that have since been shown to be false. There was no evidence to support a conclusion that the fire was intentionally set. Just an unsupported opinion."

The experts said that finding evidence of the charcoal lighter fluid was not as ominous as Fogg and Vasquez suggested. They noted that the firefighters found melted remains of a plastic container of lighter fluid on the front porch, and that it was possible firefighters' hoses propelled the fluid under the threshold as they extinguished the fire.

And all four experts were incredulous at two statements Vasquez made: that he had never been wrong in his many years of fire investigation, and that nearly every fire he had investigated he had determined was arson.

Figures from the Texas state fire marshal's office suggest that claim was an exaggeration. Since 1990, the percentage of fires declared incendiary has ranged from 41 percent in 1998 to 60 percent in 1991, when the Willingham fire occurred.

The experts who reviewed the case didn't put any stock in the claims that Willingham's behavior was damning. They say experience shows that there is no way to predict how people will react in a fire or to the grief of losing loved ones.

Prosecutors, though, often rely on such circumstantial evidence, especially when children die in a fire and a parent survives. "When you are building a case of arson on the attitude of the survivor, that's when things can go really wrong, particularly if the victims are children," said DeHaan, a consultant based in California who testifies for both prosecutors and defense lawyers.

Willingham did not testify in his defense. His lawyers feared that he would not handle aggressive cross-examination very well and would not present a good image for jurors.

"To me, he was not repentant," said Robert C. Dunn, one of Willingham's trial lawyers. "He had this attitude and air about him that he was wrongfully charged."

The jurors deliberated a little over an hour before finding Willingham guilty. In interviews, they said there was never a question.

Laura Marx said she would have found Willingham guilty even without the arson finding solely because he did not try to save his children.

Jurors deliberated only slightly longer in handing out the death penalty.

David Martin, the other trial attorney for Willingham, believed he was guilty. "That crime scene was so replete with evidence of arson," he said. "There was no other cause for the house catching on fire."

A final appeal

By January 2004, Willingham's appellate lawyer had all but given up hope. Willingham was scheduled to be executed on Feb. 17, and Walter Reaves knew that in Texas, stays are rarely granted.

Then Pat Cox, one of Willingham's cousins, called Reaves.

Cox, a retired nurse who lives in Ardmore, Okla., had seen Gerald Hurst on television and thought he could help save Willingham.

Hurst first went to court in 1972 as a prosecution witness in an Oklahoma bombing case. For the next 20 years, his work was primarily in civil lawsuits.

Ten years ago, a Texas lawyer asked for his advice on an arson case, and Hurst said he saw that "the level of expertise in criminal cases was far below what I was used to seeing in civil cases."

Cox appealed to Hurst and he reviewed Vasquez's report at no cost. He concluded it was riddled with "critical errors in interpreting the evidence." But, he added, the mistakes were not malicious; they simply reflected the state of fire science at the time.

He went on in the report to systematically dismiss all the indicators Fogg and Vasquez cited as proof of arson.

For example, Vasquez's claim that "brown rings" found on the concrete front porch were evidence of an accelerant was, Hurst wrote, "baseless speculation ... when the puddles of fire-hose water evaporate, they often leave brown material trapped in the surface."

Hurst ridiculed testimony that burn marks found under carpet tiles were proof of an accelerant. "A liquid accelerant will not burn underneath a tile on the floor any more than it will underneath an aluminum threshold," he wrote.

Vasquez testified that fire was started in three separate places, but Hurst said that because flashover had occurred, "all the burn areas were clearly contiguous. ... joined by obvious [heat] radiation."

According to Hurst's report, "most of the conclusions reached by the fire marshal would be considered invalid in light of current knowledge."

Four days before the scheduled execution, Reaves attached Hurst's report to a petition seeking relief from Texas' highest court, the Court of Criminal Appeals, and from the governor.

"I didn't see any way the court was going to deny us a hearing on it," Reaves said. "No one could in good conscience go forward with that evidence."

The response from local prosecutors included a two-paragraph affidavit from Ronnie Kuykendall, the brother of Willingham's former wife. He said that Stacy, who had divorced Willingham while he was on Death Row, had recently visited him, then gathered the family to say that he had confessed.

But she said in an interview that was untrue. At the time of the trial, she said she had believed in her husband's innocence, but over the years, after studying the evidence and the trial testimony, she became convinced he was guilty.

In their final meeting, however, he did not confess, she told the Tribune.

Prosecutors also said the Hurst report, even if true, did not amount to what the courts call newly discovered evidence. They said that Willingham's attorneys should have been able to present the argument years earlier.

The courts and Gov. Rick Perry declined to halt the execution.

'He knew it was too late'

On the day of Willingham's execution, his father and step-mother, Gene and Eugenia Willingham, spent four hours with him, then said their goodbyes.

"He didn't want us worrying over him," his father said. "He said he'd be OK."

Though their son had earlier found hope in Hurst's report, he was realistic.

"He knew it was too late," Eugenia Willingham said. "He said, `I'm going.'"

At 6 p.m., Willingham was brought to the death chamber at the prison at Huntsville. In a final statement, he avowed his innocence, said goodbye to friends and hurled expletives at his former wife, who had come to witness the execution.

That night, the Willinghams drove back home to Ardmore, Okla. Gene Willingham said he did not want to be in Texas anymore.

"Texas says they don't kill innocent people," he said. "But they sure killed an innocent person with him."

After the execution, Pat Cox, Willingham's cousin, said she got a call from a lawyer in the governor's office. He told Cox what she already knew: that Perry had refused to grant a stay.

Then, Cox said, "he gave everybody in the family his condolences."

Willingham v. State, 897 S.W.2d 351(Tex.Cr.App. 1995). (Direct Appeal)

Defendant was convicted of capital murder by murdering more than one person during same criminal transaction after jury trial in the 13th Judicial District Court, Navarro County, Kenneth A. Douglas, J. Defendant appealed, and the Court of Criminal Appeals, White, J., held that: (1) jury could find that defendant would commit criminal acts of violence that would constitute continuing threat to society; (2) trial court properly denied defendant's motion for change of venue; (3) trial court properly refused to admit evidence offered by defense to impeach testimony of witness for state; and (4) trial court properly refused to charge jury on effect of parole in punishment phase. Affirmed. Clinton, J., filed opinion concurring in the result in which Maloney, J., joined and Baird, J., joined in part.

WHITE, Judge.

Appellant Cameron Todd Willingham was convicted on August 21, 1992 of capital murder by murdering more than one person during the same criminal transaction. Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 19.03(a)(6)(A). Two special issues were submitted to the jury under Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 37.071 § 2(b)(1) and § 2(e) and following the jury's verdict of guilty, the trial court sentenced appellant to death. Direct appeal to this Court is automatic. Tex.Code Crim.Proc.Ann. art. 37.071 § 2(h). We will affirm.

Appellant brings four points of error for this Court to review. In point of error number one, appellant contends the trial court erred in refusing to grant his Motion for Change of Venue, in light of inflammatory statements made by the Navarro County District Attorney. Appellant asserts in his second point of error that the trial court erred in refusing to admit evidence offered by the defense to impeach the testimony of a witness for the State. In his third point of error, appellant maintains the trial court erred in its charge to the jury during the punishment phase of the trial by failing to instruct the jury on the effect of parole, as parole would qualify as a "mitigating circumstance" under the facts of this case.

Appellant contends, in point of error number four, that the evidence is insufficient to support the jury's answers to the special issues submitted in the punishment phase of the trial, particularly: (a) that the evidence is insufficient to support the finding that appellant is a continuing threat to society, and (b) that the evidence is insufficient to support a finding that mitigating circumstances would not warrant a life sentence. Appellant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction; therefore, the facts of the offense will be discussed only in reference to the error alleged in point of error number four.

Appellant contends in his fourth point of error that the evidence is insufficient to support the jury's answers to the special issues submitted in the punishment phase of the trial. Although appellant does not argue that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for capital murder, a review of the facts and other evidence underlying his conviction is necessary, as this is the information which the jury considered when answering the special issues in the punishment phase of the trial. James v. State, 772 S.W.2d 84, 88 (Tex.Cr.App.1989), 493 U.S. 885, 110 S.Ct. 225, 107 L.Ed.2d 178 (vacated and remanded on other issue); James v. State, 805 S.W.2d 415 (Tex.Cr.App.1990) (on remand); cert. denied, 501 U.S. 1259, 111 S.Ct. 2915, 115 L.Ed.2d 1078 (1991).

The evidence adduced at trial was that on December 23, 1991, appellant poured a combustible liquid on the floor throughout his home and intentionally set the house on fire, resulting in the death of his three children. Amber, age two, and twins Karmon and Kameron, age 1, died of acute carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of smoke inhalation, according to autopsy reports. Neighbors of appellant testified that as the house began smouldering, appellant was "crouched down" in the front yard, and despite the neighbors' pleas, refused to go into the house in any attempt to rescue the children.

An expert witness for the State testified that the floors, front threshold, and front concrete porch were burned, which only occurs when an accelerant has been used to purposely burn these areas. This witness further testified that this igniting of the floors and thresholds is typically employed to impede firemen in their rescue attempts.

The testimony at trial demonstrates that appellant neither showed remorse for his actions nor grieved the loss of his three children. Appellant's neighbors testified that when the fire "blew out" the windows, appellant "hollered about his car" and ran to move it away from the fire to avoid its being damaged. A fire fighter also testified that appellant was upset that his dart board was burned. One of appellant's neighbors testified that the morning following the house *355 fire, Christmas Eve, appellant and his wife were at the burned house going through the debris while playing music and laughing. At the punishment phase of trial, testimony was presented that appellant has a history of violence. He has been convicted of numerous felonies and misdemeanors, both as an adult and as a juvenile, and attempts at various forms of rehabilitation have proven unsuccessful.

Maria Tassie Malowney, an Assistant District Attorney for Carter County, Oklahoma, listed the felonies and misdemeanors with which appellant has been charged and/or convicted. She explained that the synopsis of the juvenile offenses cannot be released, but that appellant has been involved in criminal activity since he was fifteen or sixteen years of age. Malowney testified that the felonies of which appellant was convicted are as follows:

1) May 1986: Second Degree Burglary Punishment: probation, placed in a Nonviolent Intermediate Offender Act

2) April 1987: Grand Larceny Punishment: two years probation and 60 days in the county jail

Additionally, misdemeanors for which appellant was convicted are as follows:

1) April 1986: Carrying a Concealed Weapon and Public Intoxication Punishment: 4 days in the county jail and ordered to pay fine and costs

2) May 1986: Entering a Building with Unlawful Intent and Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor (supplying paint for sniffing to a twelve-year- old child) Punishment: ordered to pay restitution, 15 days in the county jail and six months probation, running concurrently

3) November 1986: Two counts of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor (supplying paint to a twelve-year-old child and an eleven-year-old child) Punishment: 60 days in the county jail

4) November 1988: Driving Under the Influence of Liquor and/or Drugs (substance was paint) Punishment: One year probation on the condition he check himself into an in-patient rehabilitation program for paint abuse.

5) February 1989: Shoplifting Punishment: Probation orders from April 1987 Grand Larceny conviction and November 1988 DUI conviction vacated, sent to a special boot camp program, then given a two year sentence with all but 74 days suspended on the condition he 1) complete a substance abuse treatment program, 2) attend at least one AA or NA meeting per week, and 3) take part in a urinalysis every week and a half.

The jury also heard evidence of appellant's character. Witnesses testified that appellant was verbally and physically abusive toward his family, and that at one time he beat his pregnant wife in an effort to cause a miscarriage. A friend of appellant's testified that appellant once bragged about brutally killing a dog. In fact, appellant openly admitted to a fellow inmate that he purposely started this fire to conceal evidence that the children had recently been abused.

Dr. James Grigson testified for the State at punishment. According to his testimony, appellant fits the profile of an extremely severe sociopath whose conduct becomes more violent over time, and who lacks a conscience as to his behavior. Grigson explained that a person with this degree of sociopathy commonly has no regard for other people's property or for other human beings. He expressed his opinion that an individual demonstrating this type of behavior can not be rehabilitated in any manner, and that such a person certainly poses a continuing threat to society.

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The judgment and sentence of the trial court are affirmed.

Willingham v. Johnson, (N.D.Tex. 2001). (Not Reported) (Habeas).

LINDSAY, J.

After making an independent review of the pleadings; files and records in this case; the Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendation of the United States Magistrate Judge, filed July 25, 2000; and Petitioner's Objections to Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendation of the United States Magistrate Judge ("Petitioner's Objections"), filed August 4, 2000; the court concludes that the findings and conclusions of the United States Magistrate Judge are correct, and they are therefore accepted as those of the court. Petitioner's Objections are overruled.

Petitioner made objections regarding the Magistrate Judge's findings that Petitioner did not have the right to represent himself on appeal; that no conflict of interest existed between Petitioner and his appellate counsel; that Petitioner's appellate counsel was effective, although he (counsel) chose not to raise as grounds for appeal that: 1) the trial court struck two venirewomen for cause, 2) the trial court limited Petitioner's voir dire questions, 3) the trial court allegedly failed to follow proper jury selection procedures, 4) the trial court admitted hearsay testimony, 5) a state expert was permitted to give opinion testimony, and 6) a defense witness was allegedly improperly impeached. Petitioner further objected to the Magistrate Judge's findings that evidence admitted during the punishment phase of Petitioner's trial did not violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, that Texas's appellate review of death penalty convictions is constitutional, and that Petitioner was not entitled to a jury instruction on parole.

Upon de novo review of the Magistrate Judge's findings and conclusions to which these objections pertain, it is fairly apparent that the objections regarding self-representation on appeal, the alleged conflict of interest, jury selection procedures, the expert's opinion testimony, the defense witness's impeachment, evidence admitted during the punishment phase of trial, Texas's death penalty appellate review, and the lack of a jury instruction on parole are without merit and should be overruled without further discussion.

The objections regarding whether Petitioner's appellate counsel was ineffective when he did not appeal the trial court's disqualification of the venirewomen, the limitations placed on Petitioner's voir dire questions, and the admission of hearsay testimony appear, at first blush, to have possible merit; however, a more detailed analysis reveals that they also lack merit.

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Petitioner has failed to make a substantial showing of the denial of a federal right. The state court adjudication on the merits neither resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States, nor resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding. Petitioner's petition for a writ of habeas corpus should be DENIED.