According to the Chicago Tribune, the Texas Forensic Science Commission has received a report from a nation­al­ly known fire sci­en­tist that casts doubt on the guilt of Cameron Todd Willingham (pic­tured) who was exe­cut­ed in Texas in February 2004. Craig Beyler of Hughes Associates con­duct­ed a review for the Commission of the evi­dence used to con­vict Willingham of mur­der by arson, which led to his death sen­tence. Beyler con­clud­ed the Texas fire inves­ti­ga­tors had no basis to rule that a dead­ly house fire that killed Willingham’s chil­dren was an arson. His report mir­rors what oth­er renowned experts have found over the past sev­er­al years and is one step in a more thor­ough review being con­duct­ed by the Science Commission. Experts for the Chicago Tribune and the Innocence Project in New York have sim­i­lar­ly con­clud­ed that the orig­i­nal inves­ti­ga­tors relied on out­dat­ed the­o­ries in call­ing the fire an arson.

Beyler’s report said the Texas inves­ti­ga­tors failed to con­sid­er oth­er poten­tial caus­es of the fire and con­tra­dict­ed reports from eye­wit­ness­es at the scene. The Forensic Science Commission will now seek a response from the state fire mar­shall and write its own report.

(S. Mills, ​“Cameron Todd Willingham case: Expert says fire for which father was exe­cut­ed was not arson,” Chicago Tribune, Aug. 25, 2009). See Innocence and Arbitrariness.

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