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He was eventually transported to the hospital for treatment, in handcuffs."[13]. As he recalled it, their conversation with Kuykendall centered directly on the question of Willinghams alleged confession. Cameron Todd Willingham, shown with his then-wife, Stacy Kuykendall, and their daughters, was executed in 2004. Webb claimed that Willingham confessed that he set the fire to hide an injury or death of one of the girls, which was caused by his wife. Michelle Lyons worked as a newspaper reporter and a Texas state employee at the jail and said Willingham was swearing and yelling at his wife, Stacy Kuykendall, even as . Our kids were spoiled rotten.. The Fire That Started & Ended It All. Cameron Todd Willingham (9 gennaio 1968 - 17 febbraio 2004) stato un uomo americano condannato e giustiziato per l'omicidio dei suoi tre figli per incendio doloso nella casa di famiglia a Corsicana, in Texas , il 23 dicembre 1991. Many of those hearsay witnesses statements evolved and hardened once they knew Willingham was a suspect in the case. I was 21, just lost all my children and now everyone expected me to believe that their father did this. Other witnesses at Willinghams trial provided contradictory statements about Willinghams behavior after the fire, but those statements were not evidence that a crime had taken place. In the fall of 2004, just months after Willinghams execution, the ChicagoTribune reporters Steve Mills and Maurice Possley visited Kuykendall at her house and asked her if Willingham had, in fact, confessed to her. He admitted that he exaggerated having gone inside the babies room (he said he wanted to sound brave and feared that people would think he was a coward for not going into the burning room). That was until she spoke to . Hes never hurt those kids, she said. "[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. If the judge clears Willingham, it will mark the first time an official in the nation's most active death penalty state has formally declared that someone was wrongly executed. Baird has twice sat on courts considering Willingham's appeal and once won an award from the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Willingham was accused of arson . Within 5 miles of your location. Wilinghams last words reinstated his innocence, but given Kuykendalls last public words about him, it seems that wherever she is, she still doesnt believe him. Myth: 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. [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]. In fact, on the same day that her brother claimed she had told him Willingham confessed in that meeting, a local media outlet ran an interview with Stacy Kuykendall where she said Willingham maintained his innocence during the meeting (even though she thought he was guilty). CBS News Texas: Free 24/7 News 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? This was taken as evidence that the accelerant was poured by Willingham as he left the house. ", "Analysis of the Fire Investigation Methods and Procedures Used in the Criminal Arson Cases Against Ernest Ray Willis and Cameron Todd Willingham", "Shake-up in Texas execution probe draws criticism, questions", "Evidence of Concealed Jailhouse Deal Raises Questions About a Texas Execution", "Effect of "Dr. Death" and his testimony lingers", "Texas appeals court halts execution of man who did not kill anyone", "Groups Expel Psychiatrist Known for Murder Cases; Witness nicknamed 'Dr. According to Brandice Barbee, "All I could see was smoke. When I recently spoke to Tina Church, a private investigator who worked on Willinghams behalf, she told me that she had spoken to Kuykendall right after their meeting in prison. According to an August 2009 investigative report by an expert hired by the Texas Forensic Science Commission, the original claims of arson were doubtful. His wrists and hands were blackened with smoke. Yesterday, Willingham's former wife, Stacy Kuykendall, released a statement to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram saying that he secretly confessed to killing their three daughters, who . "[16] There were two refrigerators in the Willingham house. Testimony from fire investigators was the primary evidence against Willingham. After the fire, the police investigation determined that the fire had been started using some form of a liquid accelerant. Daily Sun) CORSICANA . The Innocence Project is affiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. He burnt them. Myth: There was no item of evidence that indicated arson." Once more, she never mentioned that they had fought the night before the fire or that she had threatened to divorce him, and she said that she was convinced he was innocent. His testimony has been criticized as contentious for several reasons. Dallas, TX - Outside an Austin court room today, the ex-wife of convicted, executed killer Cameron Todd Willingham tearfully reiterated her former husband's guilt. According to the affidavits, Willingham's ex-wife had told Ronnie that Willingham confessed to her that he had set the fire. March 9, 2015. "My ex-husband murdered my daughters, and just before he was executed, he told me he did it," Kuykendall said. Webb later recanted his recantation. "[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. 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. Gary Green stabbed his wife, Lovetta Armstead, Alexander Watson was arrested after an armed robbery turned into a murder. Yesterday, Willinghams former wife, Stacy Kuykendall,released a statement to the Fort WorthStar-Telegram saying that he secretly confessed to killing their three daughters, who died in a fire on December 23, 1991. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. They said somebody had poured a combustible accelerant on the floor throughout the house. It was a heartbreaking, heartless death sentence. Aftermath of the fire [Texas State Fire Marshal's Office] On December 23, 1991, fire gutted the home where Cameron Todd Willingham, then 23, lived with his wife, Stacy Kuykendall, and the couple's three daughters: two-year-old Amber Kuykendall and one . The case was discussed again in a 2009 investigative report in The New Yorker. He was a guy who murdered his three children, who tried to beat his wife into an abortion so that he wouldn't have those kids. [1] This coverage suggested that the arson evidence was misinterpreted. In 2004, Stacy Kuykendall told the Chicago Tribune that he never confessed, and she said the same to The New Yorker in 2009. Willingham himself escaped the home with only minor burns. Thank you for visiting us. . cemeteries found in Simpson, Marshall County, Oklahoma, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list.. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.. By The New Yorker. American justice (in many cases) is flawed. [24], This left only the chemical testing for accelerant. Oct. 14, 2010. Jackson stated that Willingham's comment was an indicator of guilt. 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. In January 2004, the forensic evidence in the case was looked at by an established fire . [1] Grigson had served as an expert witness for the prosecution in murder trials across the state of Texas. Authorities had to restrain Willingham from going back into the house. I did ask her if she stood by her statements to theTribune and to theDaily Sun. Willingham's Stepmother Responds. Myth: In the following days, Willingham returned to the house with some family and friends. Cameron was executed by lethal injection on February 17, 2004. "He admitted he did it and told me why," she said. of Criminal Justice . Commissioners last month rejected Bradley's efforts to close the case and conclude that fire investigators did not commit professional misconduct. They urged him to go inside and rescue his children, but he refused. Mothers love their children and always will, no matter what happens in their lives I understand why she does not want to face the facts of what he did to our girls.. Mar 11, 2015 at 10:07 am. Cameron Todd Willingham lying in his cell in 1994. [3] Both were sharply critical of Beyler. The faulty forensic analysis and lack of other evidence doesnt matter because Willingham was a bad man and a sociopath, so he was guilty. Willingham escaped the home with only minor burns. Stacy Kuykendall, Self: Evil Lives Here. Willingham publicly maintained he was innocent until he was put to death in 2004. "[6], Prosecutor John Jackson noted that Webb was considered unreliable, but he later supported an early release from prison for Webb. His wife Stacey was out Christmas shopping at the time. Navarro County District Attorney R. Lowell Thompson is seeking Baird's removal. Is anyone feeling that the mom has strong narcissistic vibes, I worked on both cases. Willingham's case gained attention in December 2004, when Maurice Possley and Steve Mills of the Chicago Tribune published on poor investigative tactics. That statement was false. Before the trial, he even refused to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence. Me and Stacys been together for four years, but off and on we get into a fight and split up for a while and I think those babies is what brought us so close together, Willingham had said, per The New Yorker. [9][10] The APA said that Grigson had violated the organization's ethics code by, "arriving at a psychiatric diagnosis without first having examined the individuals in question, and for indicating, while testifying in court as an expert witness, that he could predict with 100 per cent certainty that the individuals would engage in future violent acts. Since Willingham's 2004 execution, significant controversy has arisen over the legitimacy of the guilty verdict and the interpretation of the evidence that was used to convict him of arson and murder. Why is it turned into a competition between lawyers. Therefore, I believe that there is no way he could have possibly committed this crime. However, her letter didn't work and within a year shed filed for divorce. [1], Eyewitnesses described Willingham as having "singed hair on his chest, eyelids, and head and had a two-inch burn injury on his right shoulder, but the prosecution highlighted the absence of any evidence of smoke inhalation. [1], Jackson contradicted Willingham's account by claiming blood gas analysis at Navarro Regional Hospital shortly after the fire revealed that Willingham had not inhaled any smoke. 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. Willingham maintained his innocence up until his death and spent years trying to appeal his conviction. Killed in the fire were Willingham's three daughters: two-year-old Amber Louise Kuykendall and one-year-old twins Karmon Diane Willingham and Kameron Marie Willingham. Her statement is curious. She provided a statement to the Fort Worth . State district Judge Charlie Baird scheduled an unusual court of inquiry hearing Wednesday after the Innocence Project filed a petition asking him to "restore the reputation" of Willingham and declare he was wrongly convicted. The case will resume Oct. 14. The neighbors said he seemed more concerned about damage to his property, such as his car than the welfare of his children. . A spokeswoman for Governor Perry said he had weighed the "totality of the issues that led to (Willingham's) conviction." Kuykendall played a major role in Willinghams life and fate, but in the movie version she is quite prominent. He said that a picture of a fist punching through a skull signified violence and death. Her statement directly contradicts numerous previous statements she has made: in interviews with police and fire investigators; in testimony during the trial; in letters to public officials and Willinghams lawyers; and in her comments to the press. That was until she spoke to him shortly before his execution. On 23 December 1991, the Corsicana home of Cameron Willingham burned. At the time of the trial, she said she had believed in her husbands innocence, but over the years, after studying the evidence and the trial testimony, she became convinced he was guilty. "He was polite, and he seemed to care," she said. (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.). He said if I didnt have my girls I couldnt leave him and that I could never have Amber or the twins with anyone else but him. [35] For example, earlier in 2009, Kuykendall supported her 2004 contradiction of her brother's affidavit (saying that there had been no confession) and had previously always maintained that things had been amicable between her and Willingham before the fire. 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? [1], Willingham had the Texas Department of Criminal Justice number 999041. [44], Incendiary: The Willingham Case, a 2011 documentary film covering the case and its aftermath, won the Louis Black Award at the South by Southwest Film Festival. Cameron Todd Willingham, who went by Todd, with his wife, Stacy. A psychologist was asked to interpret Willingham's Iron Maiden poster. Cameron Todd Willingham's Real Last Words. The defense did not present a fire expert because the one hired by Willingham's attorney also said the fire was caused by arson. Born Today Most Popular Celebs Most Popular Celebs Celebrity News. 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. It was the centerpiece of the case, as it is in other arson cases. Write by: . Cameron Todd Willingham's Ex-Wife Stacy Kuykendall Says Texas Shouldn't Pardon Him [EXCLUSIVE] | HuffPost . . Evidence of such a deal would have eliminated Webb's testimony. Craig Beyler, hired by the Forensic Science Commission, said of one of the analysts: None of these determinations have any basis in modern fire science, and of the second analysts findings: There is no basis for this notion in modern fire science. He found that the investigators did not comport with the standard of care for fire investigation at the time, and that a finding of arson could not be sustained., In a report filed with the Forensic Science Commission in 2006, five leading experts said each and every one of the indicators relied on [to determine that the fire was arson] have since been scientifically proven to be invalid., Gerald Hurst, whose report was sent to the governor before Willinghams execution, has said, Theres nothing to suggest to any reasonable arson investigator that this was an arson fireIt was just a fire.. As the fire took hold, Willingham was driven out through the front door of his house, where he crouched down near the entrance. Family's Effort to Clear Name Frames Debate on Executions. [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. [16] In a 2009 article discussing the reasons why Willingham was found guilty, Jackson recalled witness statements establishing that Willingham was overheard whispering to his deceased older daughter at the funeral home, "You're not the one who was supposed to die." The spokeswoman added he was aware of a "claim of a reinterpretation of (the) arson testimony. "[30], The Texas Forensic Science Commission was scheduled to discuss the report by Beyler at a meeting on October 2, 2009, but two days before the meeting, Texas Governor Rick Perry replaced the chair of the commission (Sam Bassett) and two other members (Alan Levy and Aliece Watts). Something doesnt, No , the murder happened in Ohio . If Stacy will advise, I will be happy to make correction. [25], Hurst's report was sent to governor Rick Perry's office, as well as the Board of Pardons and Paroles along with Willingham's appeal for clemency. On Sunday, Stacy Kuykendall the ex-wife of Cameron Todd Willingham gave her first public statement in years. Beyler said key testimony from a fire marshal at Willingham's trial was "hardly consistent with a scientific mind-set and is more characteristic of mystics or psychics."[1][2]. The couple's three children died in a fire Dec. 23, 1991, at the family's Corsicana, Texas, home. According to a tape recording of the conversation, Kuykendall made it clear that she still believed that Willingham was innocent and that he had no motive to hurt their children. 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. By Maurice Possley, The Marshall Project. February 27, 2023 On December 23, 1991, a fire destroyed the family home of Cameron Todd Willingham in Corsicana, Texas. Willingham later said that he removed the car out of concern that it could explode and worsen the house fire. Myth: as Tracy Kuykendall (l.) comforts his sister Stacy Kuykendall, the ex-wife of Cameron Todd Willingham. 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.Since Willingham's 2004 execution, significant controversy has arisen over the legitimacy of the guilty verdict and the interpretation of the evidence that was used to . [1], In 2009, John Jackson, the prosecutor at the trial, stated that burns suffered by Willingham were "so superficial as to suggest that the same were self-inflicted in an attempt to divert suspicion from himself. 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. Dal momento che Willingham's Nell'esecuzione del 2004 , sono sorte importanti polemiche sulla legittimit del verdetto di colpevolezza e sull'interpretazione . About Willingham's ex-wife, Stacy Kuykendall, even John Jackson (who prosecuted Willingham and . 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. Prior to his death, he was expelled by the American Psychiatric Association and the Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians for unethical conduct. She told reporters thatWillingham set the fire that killed the girls "and watched while their tiny bodies burned.". The commission was never asked to determine whether Willingham was innocent, and was never going to reach a conclusion on his innocence. According to a tape recording of the conversation, Kuykendall made it clear that she still believed that Willingham was innocent and that he had no motive to hurt their children. "[43] A jury later heard and rejected the claim that Jackson had hid evidence, finding in favor of Jackson. He wanted her help in his appeal for clemency and also to say goodbye. Prosecutors are fighting that effort, which is being led by the Innocence Project, a New York legal center. The new chair, John Bradley, canceled the meeting, sparking accusations that Perry was interfering with the investigation[4] and using it for his own political advantage. Church recalls, I point-blank asked Kuykendall, Did he confess his guilt? And she said, No.. He spoke about the contradictions between Kuykendalls public statements and her brothers affidavit. [33] In 2010, she declared, "Todd murdered Amber, Karmon, and Kameron. He added that Willingham's Led Zeppelin poster of a fallen angel was "many times" an indicator of "cultive-type" activities. 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. Throughout the process, Stacy Kuykendall, Willingham's former wife and the mother of the three victims, has maintained that he was guilty of the murders. 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. 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. There has been serious doubt expressed over the validity of Willinghams conviction. His wife Stacey was out Christmas shopping at the time. Stacy Kuykendall, Willingham's then-wife and the mother of his three daughters, was not home at the time of the fire, as she was out shopping. Stacy Kuykendall, Willingham's then-wife and the mother of his three daughters, was not home at the time of the fire . He said that Willingham confessed to burning her twice with a piece of "wadded up" paper in an effort to make it appear as though the children were "playing with fire. I told him yes I did say that. Scientific experts have conducted experiments with identical fires and Willinghams burns are normal for this type of fire. Any one can make a story seem real. Emily Meade as Stacey in "Trial By Fire.". stacy willingham married. Descubre qu pasa hoy con Stacy Kuykendall, ex esposa de Cameron Willingham! He said that he woke up to her cry of Daddy, Daddy. Willingham said he woke up and saw smoke hovering a few feet above him, then jumped up from the bed where Ambers body would later be found, put on his pants and ran to the kids room where all he could see was fire. 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. January 9, 1968 - February 16, 2004 . Cameron Todd Willingham Just when it seemed Gov. 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.