So maybe there might be some degree of accountability for executing an innocent man? The Washington Post is reporting:
In a major turn in one of the country’s most-noted death penalty cases, the State Bar of Texas has filed a formal accusation of misconduct against the county prosecutor who convicted Cameron Todd Willingham, a Texas man executed in 2004 for the arson murder of his three young daughters.
Following a preliminary inquiry that began last summer, the bar this month filed a disciplinary petition in Navarro County District Court accusing the former prosecutor, John H. Jackson, of obstruction of justice, making false statements and concealing evidence favorable to Willingham’s defense.
That Todd Willingham was innocent when executed is
beyond scientific reproach; unfortunately being science (just as the evidence for climate change is science), this did not prevent then
Texas Governor Rick Perry from allowing his execution from going forward:
Willingham was executed on Feb. 17, 2004, after Gov. Rick Perry refused to grant a stay requested by Willingham’s lawyers on the basis of a report by an independent arson expert who concluded there was no evidence the fire was intentionally set. Perry later called Willingham “a monster.”
Dr. Gerald Hurst whose scientific excellence led the the exoneration of one death row inmate in Texas,
Ernest Willis, and who very recently passed away, was unable to save Todd Willingham despite the overwhelming evidence that he provided proving Todd's innocence.
Nothing will bring back Cameron Todd Willingham, but if there is a modicum of justice in the world John Jackson will be disbarred, and if justice truly exists he will end up spending the rest of his life in prison contemplating his role in killing an innocent man. And in addition, the world will recognize the Rick Perry was complicit in the execution of an innocent man and view him with the contempt that he has so carefully earned.