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[1], Willingham had the Texas Department of Criminal Justice number 999041. https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.investigationdiscovery.com%2Ftv-shows%2Fevil-lives-here%2Ffull-episodes%2Fwhat-if-he-was-innocent%3Ffbclid%3. Or try to make you believe them just because a movie made THEM look bad. In 1999, she spoke to Elizabeth Gilbert, a teacher and playwright from Houston who had begun to investigate Willinghams case. He did not. Mills, who is still at theTribune, confirms Possleys account. She said that during her visit with Willingham in prison, he maintained that the fire was accidental and that their daughter Amber had likely caused it: Willingham laid out the same theory to Kuykendall that he suggested during the Daily Sun interviewthat Amber had accidentally set the fire. The case of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in Texas in 2004 and whom I wrote about for The New Yorker last month, has taken another strange twist. Note to Stacy and Family: Many accounts refer to Amber as having lastname of Kuykendall and Willingham. Dylan Eason and Isaiah Churchwell were convicted of murdering Cynthia William "Patrick" Alexander remains in prison for murder. He suggested that, had this information been available at the time of trial, it would have provided grounds for Willingham's acquittal. Around two weeks before the execution, Kuykendall went to see Willingham. Born Today Most Popular Celebs Most Popular Celebs Celebrity News. [45], David Grann's investigative article in The New Yorker titled "Trial by Fire" (collected in The Devil and Sherlock Holmes) was adapted into the 2018 film Trial by Fire directed by Edward Zwick[46] starring Laura Dern and Jack O'Connell as Willingham.[47]. The Big Little Lies actress, 52, plays Elizabeth Gilbert in Trial by Fire, the real-life ordinary citizen who took on the case of Cameron Todd Willingham as he sat on death row. Their daughters, 2-year-old Amber and her two younger identical twin sisters, 1-year-old Karmon and Kameron, all died from carbon monoxide poisoning and smoke inhalation. Kuykendall claims in the . Todd said he'd been napping but had just managed to escape the flames before he was severely injured. Write by: . Kuykendall played a major role in Willinghams life and fate, but in the movie version she is quite prominent. He said that Kuykendall, who had divorced Willingham while he was on Death Row, had recently visited him, then gathered the family to say that he had confessed. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Myth: [31], In October 2009, the city of Corsicana released two affidavits that included statements from Ronnie Kuykendall, the former brother-in-law of Willingham, originally made in 2004. [16] However, those not associated with the case paint a different picture of Willingham. document.getElementById( "ak_js" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Chronicle sues Perry over clemency report, Freed death row inmate calls on Perry to halt executions | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com Houston Chronicle. [12] All twenty of the indications listed by Vasquez of an accelerant being used were rebutted by Hurst,[1] who concluded there was "no evidence of arson" the same conclusion reached by other fire investigators. Also, the prosecution relied heavily on the testimony of convict Johnny Webb, who testified that Willingham had confessed to him. The defense did not present a fire expert because the one hired by Willingham's attorney also said the fire was caused by arson. But the investigators' conclusions have been strongly challenged by several fire experts. In 1992, Willingham was convicted of arson-related triple homicide and was executed 12 years later by the death penalty after his three daughters were killed in a 1991 house fire. Stacy Kuykendall read a prepared statement to reporters outside the Travis County courthouse. Stacy Kuykendall, Willingham's then-wife and the mother of his three daughters, was not home at the time of the fire . They didnt care who. She said, I dont think he did it. She said that she and Willingham had not had a disagreement for two weeks. Cameron Todd Willingham. February 27, 2023 endeavor air pilot contract No Comments . Dal momento che Willingham's Nell'esecuzione del 2004 , sono sorte importanti polemiche sulla legittimit del verdetto di colpevolezza e sull'interpretazione . He told me he was sorry and that he hoped that I could forgive him one day. According to the affidavit, he said that Stacy Kuykendall had told him and other family members that Willingham had confessed to her during her prison visit. 982 Followers, 33 Following, 49 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Stacy Kuykendall Willinghamgirlslivesmattered (@willinghamgirlslivesmattered) In the following days, Willingham returned to the house with some family and friends. "He was polite, and he seemed to care," she said. Testimony from fire investigators was the primary evidence against Willingham. They married a few months before the fire and were a significant part of each others lives. For years, Stacy Kuykendall advocated for Cameron Todd Willingham, stating repeatedly that she believed he didn't deliberately start the house fire that killed their three daughters in 1991. Gary Green stabbed his wife, Lovetta Armstead, Alexander Watson was arrested after an armed robbery turned into a murder. She told reporters thatWillingham set the fire that killed the girls "and watched while their tiny bodies burned.". The prosecutor, John Jackson, and the City of Corsicana have both released formal responses to the Beyler Report on the investigation of the fire that killed Willingham's three children at the behest of the Texas Forensic Science Commission. Their daughters killed in the 1991 fire were two and one (twins), and Willingham escaped. This evidence included a finding of char patterns in the floor in the shape of "puddles," a finding of multiple starting points of the fire, and a finding that the fire had burned "fast and hot," all considered to indicate a fire that had been ignited with the help of a liquid accelerant. On Sunday, Stacy Kuykendall the ex-wife of Cameron Todd Willingham gave her first public statement in years. Jimmie Hensley, a police detective, and Douglas Fogg, the assistant fire chief who both investigated the fire told Grann that they had never believed that the refrigerator was part of the arson plot. After the fire, police and fire investigators interrogated Kuykendall. At the time, Todd said hed been napping but had just managed to escape the flames before he was severely injured. "[17] The testimony at trial of Johnny Webb, a jailhouse informant, suggested that Willingham had set the fire in order to cover up an injury or death of one of the children due to his wife's actions. Stacy Kuykendall Willinghamgirlslivesmattered is on Facebook. Reports from arson experts who reviewed the case have been exaggerated; the experts dont really say the fire was not arson. While its now clear that the forensic analysis was wrong, we couldnt have known that with the science at the time. Willingham didnt try to save his children (his wounds were superficial, he stood outside while the house burned, he moved his car, etc). Some say Cameron Todd Willingham was wrongfully convicted, and the court put an innocent man to death. In January 2004, the forensic evidence in the case was looked at by an established fire . October 30, 2009. On Jan. 8, the night before Willingham's 24th birthday, he was arrested by a SWAT team. They dont care if the person is indeed telling the truth. That was until she spoke to . He added that Willingham's Led Zeppelin poster of a fallen angel was "many times" an indicator of "cultive-type" activities. During the penalty phase of the trial, she testified under oath. Prosecutors charged that Willingham set the fire and killed the children in an attempt to cover up the abuse of the children and wife. About Willinghams ex-wife, Stacy Kuykendall, even John Jackson (who prosecuted Willingham and steadfastly believes he was guilty) says: Shes given very different stories about what happened on this particular day right up to the date of his executionIts hard for me to make heads or tails of anything she said or didnt say.. Bradley was appointed to the science commission post by Gov. She noted that he had an inadequate defense, saying of one of his lawyers, Hes not a good lawyer. Not long after their encounter, a leading fire investigator, Dr. Gerald Hurst, completed his review of the original investigation and concluded, as other leading fire investigators would in the years to come, that there was no scientific basis to determine that Willingham had set the fire, and that the original fire investigators had based their theories on discredited methods. Since her ex-husbands execution, Stacy Kuykendall has remained completely under the radar. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Willingham a writ of habeas corpus a month before his execution. Here is whatMills and Possley wrote: The response from local prosecutors included a two-paragraph affidavit from Ronnie Kuykendall, the brother of Willinghams former wife. He was executed on February 17, 2004, aged 36. Mills told me, We accurately reported our encounter with her in 2004.. The undeniable facts of the Cameron Todd Willingham case are these: On Dec. 23, 1991, 2-year-old Amber Louise Kuykendall, and 1-year-old twins Karmon Diane Willingham and Kameron Marie Willingham died in a mid-morning house fire at 1213 W. 11th Ave. in Corsicana. Bradley subsequently canceled the meeting amid accusations that Perry was interfering with the inquiry. I dont blame Todds stepmom for fighting for her son, she continued to The Huffington Post in 2012. Rick Perry in what many viewed as a political move to bury new evidence that cast doubt on Willingham's guilt. Authorities had to restrain Willingham from going back into the house. The front porch was the only place where an accelerant was verified by laboratory tests, and a photograph taken of the house before the fire showed that a charcoal grill was there. Cameron Todd Willingham, 36, was executed by lethal injection on 17 February 2004 in Huntsville, Texas for the murder of his three children. That was until she spoke to him shortly before his execution. Jailhouse informants are viewed with skepticism in the justice system, so much so that some jurisdictions have restrictions against their use. "[36], A four-person panel of the Texas Forensic Science Commission investigating evidence of arson presented in the case acknowledged on July 23, 2010, that state and local arson investigators used "flawed science" in determining that the blaze had been deliberately set. [1] This coverage suggested that the arson evidence was misinterpreted. 36-year-old Willingham flicked a middle finger at his wife, Stacy Kuykendall, as he was strapped down to the gurney for his execution in 2004. Stacy Kuykendall is known for Evil Lives Here (2016). SYNOPSIS. In 1992, Willingham was convicted of arson-related triple homicide and was executed 12 years later by the death penalty after his three daughters were killed in a 1991 house fire. But she never mentioned a confession. "[7], In June 2009, the State of Texas ordered a re-examination of the case. LEFT: A photo after the 1991 fire at the Corsicana, Tex., home of Willingham and his wife, Stacy, killed . (For example, she now claims the couple fought the night before the fire, but she clearly said the opposite in various official statements over the years.). Stacey Kuykendall divorced her husband not long after the deaths of her children, and she professed that Willingham had been abusive towards her, but not the children. Evidence of such a deal would have eliminated Webb's testimony. The case of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in Texas in 2004 and whom I wrote about for The New Yorker last month, has taken another strange twist . [5] However, there was no evidence of child abuse. Cameron Todd Willingham (January 9, 1968 - February 17, 2004) was an American man who was convicted and executed for the murder of his three young children by arson at the family home in Corsicana, Texas, on December 23, 1991. Todd told me that it was stupid but it was like an obsession. Each time, she said that she and Todd had not fought the night before the blaze, and that they had gone to Kmart to pick up photographs of the family to get ready for their Christmas celebration. We asked her, Did he confess in that conversation? She said, No. On December 23, 1991, a fire destroyed the family home of Cameron Todd Willingham in Corsicana, Texas. She never mentioned that she intended to divorce Willingham, whom she had married three months earlier. Willingham said that he never encountered Amber in those initial moments and theorized that Amber had left the kids room via a hall that led both to the front door and to another entrance to his bedroom and thats how he missed her. Willingham, 36, gave his ex-wife, Stacy Kuykendall, the middle finger with his right hand as it was strapped to the gurney that evening in February 2004. [1], Willingham was charged with murder on January 8, 1992. Within 5 kilometers of your location. But tragically, their three young children were killed in the blaze. "[17], Commenting on the condition of the house, Jackson added, "any escape or rescue route from the burning house was blocked by a refrigerator, which had been pushed against the back door, requiring any person attempting an escape to run through the conflagration at the front of the house. Corsicana -- The Associated Press is reporting that Stacy Kuykendall, former wife of Cameron Todd Willingham, will hold a press conference today before an Austin judge is scheduled to begin a hearing on whether or not Cameron Willingham was wrongly executed for the deaths of his three daughters in a 1991 fire ruled as arson. It was an unusual hearing . In his letter, Willingham insisted that he was innocent: I hope that after I am gone that some day, some how the truth will be known and my name cleared.. Help us advocate for the innocent by sharing the latest news from the Innocence Project. I remember when he was executed. KERA's Bill Zeeble reports the . Yet Kuykendall continued to give the same version of events long after the fire and after she and Willingham were divorced. In the case, Willingham refused an offer to plead guilty in return for a life sentence. It also found insufficient evidence to prove that state Deputy Fire Marshal Manuel Vasquez and Corsicana Assistant Fire Chief Douglas Fogg were negligent or guilty of misconduct in their arson work. CBS News Texas: Free 24/7 News Although Kuykendall, who was eventually convinced of her ex-husbands guilt, turned down many of his last requests, she was there for his execution by lethal injection. "Our kids were spoiled rotten," she said, insisting he would never harm their children,[1] but according to Kuykendall, she herself was abused by him. Here are five crucial facts about the case. Why is it turned into a competition between lawyers. Myth: Cameron Todd Willingham, of Texas, was the husband of Stacy Willingham and the loving father of three young girls.There is a reason why I did not include the word 'loving' in front of the word 'husband'. List of people executed in Texas, 20002009, List of people executed in the United States in 2004, List of wrongful convictions in the United States, "Trial by Fire: Did Texas execute an innocent man? Many of those hearsay witnesses statements evolved and hardened once they knew Willingham was a suspect in the case. Uno de los eventos ms fascinantes pero desgarradores en la historia del sistema de justicia estadounidense se lleva a la pantalla grande con Prueba de fuego. It didnt take this long. Willinghams statements to law enforcement officials were remarkably consistent, even under intense interrogation, and remained consistent over the course of a decade. Willingham's Stepmother Responds. She reversed herself shortly before his 2004 execution, declaring that she now considered him guilty for murdering their 2-year-old daughter and her 1-year . Nine nationally renowned, independent experts have reviewed the case in the last five years and found that the forensic analysis was wrong. The arson finding that led to his 1992 conviction has been disputed by numerous fire experts. In 2009, an investigative report by Grann[1] drew upon analysis by arson investigation experts and advances in fire science since the 1992 investigation; he suggested that the evidence for arson was unconvincing. His testimony has since been deemed unreliable as he lied in court about the prosecution offering him a reduced sentence to testify. John Bradley, the top prosecutor in Williamson County who also chairs the Texas Forensic Science Commission, said he believes the effort to have Willingham declared innocent is not about justice -- or even the guilt or innocence of Willingham. He said the night before the fire we got in to an argument and you had said it again that you were going to divorce me. Myth: She had this exchange with a police detective and the deputy state fire marshal, Manuel Vasquez: VASQUEZ: Did you and your husband have any disagreements on the night after Kmart? Craig Beyler, the chairman of the International Association of Fire Safety Science, wrote in a report last year that investigators didn't follow standards in place at the time and did not have enough evidence to make an arson finding. Even without evidence that the fire was arson, Willingham would have been convicted because there was substantial other evidence. He spoke about the contradictions between Kuykendalls public statements and her brothers affidavit. Yesterday, Possley, who is now an investigative researcher for the Northern California Innocence Project, at Santa Clara University School of Law, told me that he had no doubt that what he and Mills reported is accurate. [33] In 2010, she declared, "Todd murdered Amber, Karmon, and Kameron. [32][33], Journalists familiar with the case noted that Stacy Kuykendall's statement explicitly contradicted previous comments, legal testimony, and numerous published interviews before and after the execution. "[1] Bebe Bridges, a former judge who was often on the "opposite side" of Willingham in the legal system, and who had sent him to jail for stealing, said that she could not imagine him killing his children. According to The New Yorker article, Willingham had been unfaithful, drank heavily, and would physically assaulted his partner, even while she was pregnant. In a legal brief responding to Hursts report, the prosecution argued that the execution should go ahead, and includedan affidavit from Willinghams former brother-in-law Ronnie Kuykendall. Questions persist surrounding Cameron Todd Willingham's conviction and death sentence, but according to Stacy Kuykendall, who knew him better than anyone, Cameron is a monster who was guilty as charged and deserved to die. In a rebuttal, Grann wrote, "If the arson investigators had concluded that there was no scientific evidence that a crime had occurred as the top fire investigators in the country have now determined Willingham's words at the funeral would surely be viewed as a sign that he was tormented by the fact that he had survived without saving his children. Death' says license won't be affected by allegations", "Execution Report: Cameron Willingham Page 1", "Jackson: Guest Commentary Willingham guilt never in doubt", "David Grann" The Prosecution Defends Itself", "A timeline of the Cameron Todd Willingham case", "Document USA (Texas): Further Information on Death penalty, Cameron Todd Willingham", "Inmate maintains innocence as execution approaches", "Man executed for fire that killed children", "Texas man executed for setting fire that killed his 3 young children", "Gerald Hurst | Death By Fire | FRONTLINE | PBS", "Dare Devils: Governor Rick Perry and the Texas Death Panel", "Texas Gov. The 2011 documentary Incendiary: The Willingham Case also explored the case. Hurst speculated that it was likely that water sprayed by firefighters had spread the lighter fluid from the melted container. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Willingham himself escaped the home with only minor burns. Two prosecution experts who testified that Willingham was a sociopath had never met him; one was expelled from his professional association three years later for unethical behavior. Hurst individually discredited each piece of arson evidence, using publicly supported experiments backed by his re-creation of the elements in question, the most notable being the Lime Street fire, which created the unique 3-point burn patterns flashover. Attorneys for Willingham's family are seeking his exoneration. Cameron Todd Willingham, shown with his then-wife, Stacy Kuykendall, and their daughters, was executed in 2004. "[1], Webb and Jackson consistently denied that Webb was offered a sentence reduction in return for his testimony against Willingham. As far back as 1969, scientific experts published findings that some of the very indicators of arson used in the Willingham case were unreliable and could be misinterpreted. While Willingham always insisted he was innocent, later evidence suggested he was wrongly convicted and executed. The Fire That Started & Ended It All. His testimony has been criticized as contentious for several reasons. [1], At Willingham's trial, Webb offered an explanation for the individual, distinguishable burns found on Amber's forehead and arm. Rick Perry defends 2004 execution despite questions about evidence, calls convict 'a monster', "Perry's denial of stay could become campaign issue", "CNN's Anderson Cooper to Air Report on Cameron Willingham Tonight", "Is Texas Governor Rick Perry Trying to Cover Up Execution of Innocent Man on His Watch", "Stacy Kuykendall's statement about the 1991 fire", "Death penalty case: Ex-wife says convicted killer confessed", "Texas execution: Statements by Gov. Willingham was accused of arson . The family of Cameron Todd Willingham has asked a judge to posthumously clear his name, arguing that he was put to death based on "junk science." . Please avoid sharing any personal information in the comments below and join us in making this a hate-speech free and safe space for everyone. Kuykendall has acknowledged that Willingham had asked to see her to help him in his bid for clemency. A WOMAN who has seen nearly 300 prisoners die at Huntsville State Prison in Texas said she still remembers the final words of Cameron Willingham, who killed his three daughters. Even if the analysts didnt know it was wrong at the time, they surely should have known it in the years following and should have brought it to the attention of courts and prosecutors long before the 11th-hour efforts that preceded Willinghams execution. She also previously campaigned for his release and wrote to the governor of Texas, I know him in ways that no one else does when it comes to our children. All concluded that the original investigators relied on outdated theories and folklore to justify the determination of arson. Stacy Kuykendall, Self: Evil Lives Here. Also, Stacy Kuykendall now claims that he confessed in the same conversation that he asked her to help with his clemency bid.