While Willingham always insisted he was innocent, later evidence suggested he was wrongly convicted and executed. [1], Willingham had the Texas Department of Criminal Justice number 999041. [1], At Willingham's trial, Webb offered an explanation for the individual, distinguishable burns found on Amber's forehead and arm. Willingham was executed in 2004. 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. Willingham's statement and eyewitness accounts had detailed rescue attempts. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Her statement is curious. It was an unusual hearing . However, Cameron maintained his innocence to his dying breath, and later evidence also suggested that he could have been wrongly executed. If he had pleaded guilty, he would most likely have been sentenced to life in prison. [1], Psychiatrist James Grigson, known by the moniker "Dr. Death" for his repeated testimony as an expert witness in which he recommended the death penalty, said that a man of Willingham's criminal history was an "extremely severe sociopath" and was incurable. "What they are interested in is finding the poster boy for the abolition of the death penalty," Bradley said. 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, 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'. As he recalled it, their conversation with Kuykendall centered directly on the question of Willinghams alleged confession. [citation needed] Willingham was executed by lethal injection on February 17, 2004, at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville. Family's Effort to Clear Name Frames Debate on Executions. I miss them so much., While Kuykendall was in Willinghams corner and also persistent about his innocence for years, she changed her stance shortly before his execution.I read that Todds stepmom and cousin are asking the governor for a pardon. Vasquez asked her if he ever abused the children. The case will resume Oct. 14. His wife Stacey was out Christmas shopping at the time. Prosecutors are fighting that effort, which is being led by the Innocence Project, a New York legal center. According to their sworn statements, both Brandice Barbee and Diane Barbee urged Willingham to return to the house to rescue his children. 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. While Willingham . In 1999, she spoke to Elizabeth Gilbert, a teacher and playwright from Houston who had begun to investigate Willinghams case. Its hard for me to make heads or tails of anything she said or didnt say., Your email address will not be published. By David Grann. In the statement, Willingham's ex-wife, Stacy Kuykendall, was quoted as telling family members that Willingham said "that he had set the fire because he knew she was going to leave him." The account came from Kuykendall's brother, Ronnie Kuykendall, in a statement to an investigator for the district attorney's office in 2004. Myth: The science commission was set to hear testimony from Beyler last year. Cameron Todd Willingham. The date is December 23, 1991, and 23-year-old Cameron Todd Willingham has fallen asleep while caring for his three young daughters, two-year-old Amber Louise Kuykendall and one-year-old twins . On Sunday, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported, "Stacy Kuykendall's statement about the 1991 fire." Stacy Kuykendall, the ex-wife of Cameron Todd Willingham, offers her first detailed account of the 1991 fire that claimed the lives of her three daughters and led to Willingham's execution in 2004. of Criminal Justice . S9 E1: Some say Cameron Todd Willingham was wrongfully convicted, and the court put an innocent man to death. 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. On December 23, 1991, a fire destroyed the family home of Cameron Todd Willingham in Corsicana, Texas. [1][19], At trial, the fire investigator Vasquez testified there were three points of origin for the fire, which indicated that the fire was "intentionally set by human hands. Bradley subsequently canceled the meeting amid accusations that Perry was interfering with the inquiry. That was until she spoke to . [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. 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. 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. 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. Cameron Todd Willingham during a 2004 death-row interview just before his execution. Mar 11, 2015 at 10:07 am. Willingham's three children -- 2-year-old Amber Kuykendall and 1-year-old twins Karmon and Kameron Willingham, died of smoke inhalation. In August 2009, eighteen years after the fire and five years after Willingham's execution, a report conducted by Dr. Craig Beyler, hired by the Texas Forensic Science Commission to review the case, found that "a finding of arson could not be sustained." Baird in the meantime will likely either recuse himself or refer the case to another judge for a decision on recusal. 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. [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. This is because Willingham was anything but that; he regularly verbally abused and beat his wife, and in some of these instances, the police was called. As the fire took hold, Willingham was driven out through the front door of his house, where he crouched down near the entrance. 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. If Stacy will advise, I will be happy to make correction. Today's episode is the story of Toni Jo Henry who had a horrible childhood, fought drug addiction, found true love and then was involved in a murder. It is also tasked with determining what corrective action, if any, is needed to ensure that forensic analysis in cases like this is reliable. Neighbors later told the police how they had seen Willingham crouching on the lawn outside his house as the building went up in smoke. Webb later asked, "The statute of limitations has run out on perjury, hasn't it? 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. I dont blame Todds stepmom for fighting for her son, she continued to The Huffington Post in 2012. [18] During his trial in August 1992, he was offered a life term in exchange for a guilty plea, which he turned down, insisting he was innocent. Recalling her visit to Willingham in prison shortly before his execution on February 17, 2004, Kuykendall told theStar-Telegram: He asked if I remembered what I had told him that I was going to do after the first of the year [in 1992]. A later study into the causes of the fire stated that it might not have been arson. But Stacy Kuykendall knew Todd better than anyone, and she's convinced that he was a monster who was guilty as charged and deserved to die. The couple's three children died in a fire Dec. 23, 1991, at the family's Corsicana, Texas, home. 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. Hes never hurt those kids, she said. "And they want to make Willingham that poster boy. [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. 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. She said, firmly, that Willingham had never done so. Press "Enter" or click on the arrow to show results. On February 8, 2004the very day that Ronnie Kuykendall claimed his sister had told him that Willingham had confessedthe CorsicanaDaily Sun publishedan interview with Stacy Kuykendall. Kuykendall has acknowledged that Willingham had asked to see her to help him in his bid for clemency. Church recalls, I point-blank asked Kuykendall, Did he confess his guilt? And she said, No.. 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. 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. 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? [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. According to Brandice Barbee, "All I could see was smoke. 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. A judge has postponed a hearing in Austin until next week in the case of a Texas man executed for setting fire to his home and killing his three daughters. In the case, Willingham refused an offer to plead guilty in return for a life sentence. Facebook gives people the power to. In recreations with rooms involved in intense fires, experts can safely stand by a door seconds before flashover, and Willingham could have stood close to the childrens room without being harmed. 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. 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. She provided a statement to the Fort Worth . He was a mean person to me, but something like that, no., Willingham had written to Kuykendall, asking her to come visit. 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. [3] Both were sharply critical of Beyler. On Sunday, Stacy Kuykendall the ex-wife of Cameron Todd Willingham gave her first public statement in years. . He suggested that, had this information been available at the time of trial, it would have provided grounds for Willingham's acquittal. I said that I was going to divorce you. Prueba de fuego est disponible en Netflix! 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. The case was discussed again in a 2009 investigative report in The New Yorker. At the time, Todd said hed been napping but had just managed to escape the flames before he was severely injured. On Jan. 8, the night before Willingham's 24th birthday, he was arrested by a SWAT team. 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. Hes just not. She also said the prosecution was motivated to find anyone to blame. "I spent years not knowing, but Todd gave me that. Stacy Kuykendall, Self: Evil Lives Here. Kuykendall and Willingham had a tumultuous past and both had come from troubled backgrounds. an affidavit from Willinghams former brother-in-law, Trailer for Trial by Fire film about Todd Willingham, World Premiere of Trial by Fire about Todd Willingham at Telluride Film Festival August 31, 2018, Trial Starts to Determine if Todd Willinghams Prosecutor Hid Evidence. [6], The prosecutor also said that Willingham was a serial wife abuser, both physically and emotionally. 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. The film, based on the 2009 New Yorker article also title Trial By Fire, chronicles events around late Texas native Cameron Todd Willingham. When Willingham was arrested, he vigorously professed his innocence. The 2011 documentary Incendiary: The Willingham Case also explored the case. 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. Si quieres saber en qu se convierte Stacy Kuykendall hoy, Sigue leyendo! One of the most fascinating yet heartbreaking events in Americas legal system history is brought to the big screen with Trial By Fire. He added that Willingham's Led Zeppelin poster of a fallen angel was "many times" an indicator of "cultive-type" activities. The Huntsville Unit where the executions take place . How Did Cameron Todd Willingham Die? 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. [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. In January 2004, the forensic evidence in the case was looked at by an established fire . His then-wife, Stacy Kuykendall, was, too, convinced of his innocence until ultimately believing he was guilty. Last Sunday, in a statement to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Cameron Todd Willingham's former wife, Stacy Kuykendall . Some say Cameron Todd Willingham was wrongfully convicted, and the court put an innocent man to death. He always said he heard his daughter crying, woke up, tried to get his children but couldnt, and exited the house. Descubre qu pasa hoy con Stacy Kuykendall, ex esposa de Cameron Willingham! . But tragically, their three young children were killed in the . Then, after he had been sentenced to death and executed, other people began to say Cameron Todd Willingham was wrongfully convicted and that the court put an innocent man to death. [37], In 2010, the Innocence Project filed a lawsuit against the State of Texas, seeking a judgment of "official oppression. Stacy Kuykendall said she believed for over a decade her husband, Cameron Todd Willingham, didn't deliberately start the house fire that killed their three daughters. Todd told me that it was stupid but it was like an obsession. Willingham explained that he moved his car because he was afraid fuel in the car would cause the fire to get much worse. 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. 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.. He told me that he believed I was going to but he couldnt let that happen. After Todd was arrested and told his family that he didnt do this, I had to believe that he was telling us the truth. On one fact, Willingham changed his story. 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. . On December 23, 1991, a fire enveloped the home of Todd and Stacey in Corsicana, Texas. Photo: Flashlight Films/Kobal/Shutterstock. [41] On March 3, 2015, the Texas State Bar filed a disciplinary action, Commission for Lawyer Discipline v. Jackson, against Jackson for failing to disclose information on his deal with Webb. [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." [citation needed], In addition to the arson evidence presented at the trial, a jailhouse informant named Johnny Webb testified at that time. Cameron Todd Willingham, who went by Todd, with his wife, Stacy. "[12], The prosecution claimed that Willingham may have been motivated by a desire to rid himself of unwanted children. However, he insisted that he would not admit to a crime he claimed he didnt commit, so he was sentenced to die by lethal injection. The police then began to suspect that Willingham was a murderer. She never mentioned that she intended to divorce Willingham, whom she had married three months earlier. The spokeswoman added he was aware of a "claim of a reinterpretation of (the) arson testimony. Stacy Kuykendall, Willingham's then-wife and the mother of his three daughters, was not home at the time of the fire . Within 5 kilometers of your location. Is anyone feeling that the mom has strong narcissistic vibes, I worked on both cases. They married a few months before the fire and were a significant part of each others lives. . 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. He spoke about the contradictions between Kuykendalls public statements and her brothers affidavit. Born Today Most Popular Celebs Most Popular Celebs Celebrity News. "[7], In June 2009, the State of Texas ordered a re-examination of the case. Jailhouse informants are viewed with skepticism in the justice system, so much so that some jurisdictions have restrictions against their use. 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. Hurst speculated that it was likely that water sprayed by firefighters had spread the lighter fluid from the melted container. In that article, Kuykendall made it clear that she did not believe Willinghams version of events. "[6], Prosecutor John Jackson noted that Webb was considered unreliable, but he later supported an early release from prison for Webb. . [16], But journalist David Grann reported that "there is evidence that Willingham hit his wife, even when she was pregnant, but there were no police reports or medical evidence indicating that Willingham had tried to abort or kill his children." "[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. There were far too many legal errors and turning a blind eye to the truth. Authorities had to restrain Willingham from going back into the house. [42] According to the complaint, "During a pretrial hearing on July 24, 1992, [Jackson] told the trial court that he had no evidence favorable to Willingham. Kuykendall told prosecutors that he had never abused the children. 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. Cameron Todd Willingham Just when it seemed Gov. Willingham escaped the home with only minor burns. Tessa Thompson Talks Going To Couples Therapy With Michael B. Jordan, Everything I Know About Romantic Love, I Learned From Bollywood Movies, Christina Milian Loves Making Rom-Coms & We Cant Get Enough of Them, These Romantic Movies Are Guaranteed To Make You Cry, The Greatest Romantic Comedies That Youll Watch On Repeat. He wrote, "Willingham's wife insisted during the trial and under interrogation that Willingham had not physically abused the children. All Rights Reserved. He told me he was sorry and that he hoped that I could forgive him one day. [24], This left only the chemical testing for accelerant. 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. Stacy Kuykendall said she believed for over a decade her husband, Cameron Todd Willingham, didn't deliberately start the house fire that killed their three daughters. 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. The neighbors said he seemed more concerned about damage to his property, such as his car than the welfare of his children. wife, Stacy. He was executed on February 17, 2004, aged 36. The Dallas Morning News reports that a twin brother of Stacy Kuykendall, who is Willingham's former wife, says Willingham reminded Stacy Kuykendall, not long before his execution, of an earlier . Willingham was accused of arson . 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. The order comes at the end of a day of testimony. (Thompson later received an award from the Texas District and County Attorneys Association for this motion and appeal. A jury in Corsicana, south of Dallas, convicted Willingham of capital murder in 1992. His testimony has been criticized as contentious for several reasons. 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. I did ask her if she stood by her statements to theTribune and to theDaily Sun. They dont care if the person is indeed telling the truth. 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. "It didn't have [anything] to do with the fire," Fogg said. It seems unlikely that, moments after asking for this favor, he suddenly confessed to the murder of her children. David Grann: Stacy Speaks: News Desk : The New Yorker. Also, the prosecution relied heavily on the testimony of convict Johnny Webb, who testified that Willingham had confessed to him. "My ex-husband murdered my daughters, and just before he was executed, he told me he did it," Kuykendall said. "[12] At trial, Willingham's conduct at the scene was described as oscillating between collected and hysterical at times screaming for assistance and at other times calmly pushing his car back from the flames that were engulfing his house. Webb later sent Jackson a "Motion to Recant Testimony," which declared, "Mr. Willingham is innocent of all charges."