Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the United States in 1976, people who protest its use have cried these immortal words in their fierce arguments. And, ultimately, their cries have been ignored. Police, prosecutors, federal judges and lawmakers all swear that the system will not allow an innocent person to be executed.
Well, we all know that’s a load of rubbish, isn’t it?
The system always has, and always will have, flaws. No system can ever be perfect. Human nature will always mean that so called ‘evidence’ is lied about, exaggerated, fabricated or just ignored completely in the hunt for justice. And where the death penalty is applied, this presents a deadly problem. What if we kill the wrong guy…?
In an earlier post, ‘The Innocence Appeal’, I have already given you indisputable proof that mistakes can and do happen. Remember, if you will, the case of Ron Williamson, who came within 5 days of execution at one point during his wrongful stint on death row in the infamous McAlester prison in Oklahoma. Outside of the US (and I apologize that most of my attention focuses on this country), think about a man called Kravchenko in Russia, who was executed in 1984 for a crime committed by another man, who by this point had killed at least 16 more times. Mistakes happen. Even the most adamant supporter can’t deny this when the facts are right in front of them. Right?
So why do we still take the chance?
Let’s step back for a second. Both of those cases are from the ‘80’s, when forensics was nowhere near the standard it is today. DNA testing was practically unheard of.
So today, in this age when TV shows like CSI make it look so very easy, it’s less likely we’ll make mistakes. You’d think, wouldn’t you? But that nasty little thing called Human Error still applies. Even if every responsible party tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth (and how often does that happen?), things can still take a wrong turn in the course of justice, and turn they do.
Thus was the case of Cameron Todd Willingham. He had been found guilty of starting the fire which killed his 3 daughters in his home in Corsicana, Texas, in 1991, and was subsequently executed on February 17th 2004. This case is very important to me because my group, along with activists all over the US, screamed from early on he was innocent, as has now been proven. Willingham was not guilty of the arson for which he was put to death for.
And, as we all know and hate, the death penalty means that this horrendous miscarriage of justice can never be put right.
The New Yorker magazine ran an in-depth article on the case on September 7th of this year, written by journalist David Grann. The article quoted 3 separate reports from fire experts. All the evidence that was used to support the arson case was flawed.
Willingham was put to death in February of 2004, but as early as January of that year a fire scientist had examined the evidence and written a report concluding that the investigation was based on the old favorite, ‘junk science’. He concluded Willingham was innocent a month before he was executed. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles didn’t even look at the report. The Governor, Rick Perry, later rejected the inmate’s application for clemency. The judge, the Board, and Governor had all been presented the report, but it did not change a damn thing. Even though everybody thought he was possibly, even probably, innocent, he was nonetheless executed.
Barry Scheck, the co-director of Innocence Project, had this to say about the matter:
“There can no longer be any doubt that an innocent person has been executed. The
question now turns to how we can stop it from happening again.”
I’d like to mention something very interesting I just realized. Aforementioned Barry Scheck also had a hand in the exonerations of innocent men Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz. It’s funny how things tie together like that sometimes. But back to the case at hand.
The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty has launched a campaign called Shouting from the Rooftops, aimed to inform the public that the existence of capital punishment can and does result in innocent citizens being put to death. The NCADP are calling on the public to get informed. If you’re reading this and understanding its message, I feel I have fulfilled some of that obligation. Now it’s your turn to get involved too. Spread the word. Shout Willingham’s name from the rooftops if that’s what it takes. Because the American justice system is, in my opinion, just as dangerous as the people it puts to death.
I realize this post has been a little exhaustive. But it’s a case I’m very passionate about because it’s the thing that many of us have been prophesying about for years. So I leave you now with two things, and I want you to think hard about the both of them. The first is the name Cameron Todd Willingham. Remember that name, because that man is dead, innocent, and nothing can ever change that.
The second thing is a number. 135 to be exact. As in the 135 American death row inmates who have been exonerated and freed since 1973. 135 who could possibly have been innocent and executed.
And if Cameron Todd Willingham was innocent when the state of Texas executed him, how many more have to die before we kill the death penalty for good?
