THE PLANK OCTOBER 8, 2009
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For any interested in witnessing the willfully slipshod and malevolent manner in which the state of Texas applies the death penalty, "Nightline" has done a follow-up segment to David Grann's New Yorker piece on the wrongful execution of Cameron Todd Willingham. The segment (in two clips, below) contains a variety of outrageous revelations, but perhaps none more shocking than this exchange between correspondent Terry Moran and John Jackson, the prosecutor in the case, who has since become a Texas judge:
Moran: They say the conclusions reached by these [arson] investigators are not warranted by modern fire science and are based on primitive old wives' tales and folklore.
Jackson: That's not to say that they're not correct, though.
Moran: You sent a man to death on that.
Jackson: I'm comfortable with that.
For any who haven't yet read Grann's heartbreaking piece, you can find it here, and an update describing Governor Rick Perry's evident attempt to squelch an investigation of the execution here.
(via Ta-Nehisi Coates)
2 comments
The depths of that tragedy overwhelm the anger one feels at the pea-brained, primitive prosecutor, feckless defense attorney or callous, ignorant fire investigators. One wonders whether these four innocents died for an end greater than the abolition of capital punishment or the putting of a few forgettable faces on this country's public/private Kafka-esque collective. Or whether it too will pass into the ether and down the memory hole along with the dignity and shame that safeguard compassionate societies from such horrors. RIP Todd Willingham, Amber Kuykendall, Karmon Willingham and Kameron Willingham, the only innocents in this whole god forsaken mess.
- I Majorajam
October 8, 2009 at 6:42pm
Im from Texas and I dont believe in science. You got a problem with that you commie fag?
- jnordlander
October 28, 2009 at 10:39pm