On September 30, Texas Governor Rick Perry replaced the chair­man and two mem­bers of a state com­mis­sion that is inves­ti­gat­ing whether inac­cu­rate evi­dence of arson was pre­sent­ed at the tri­al of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was exe­cut­ed in 2004. The state’s Forensic Science Commission was sched­uled to con­duct a pub­lic hear­ing in two days and receive tes­ti­mo­ny from Craig Beyler, a nation­al­ly known expert who called the Willingham inves­ti­ga­tion ​“slip­shod,” and con­clud­ed that ​“almost all of the evi­dence pre­sent­ed [w]as based on junk sci­ence.” Beyler’s report for the Commission con­clud­ed that ​“no cred­i­ble evi­dence exist­ed to believe that the fire, that killed three chil­dren, was caused by arson.”

Governor Perry denied Willingham’s request for a stay of exe­cu­tion five years ago that would have allowed the courts time to review new reports ques­tion­ing the fire inves­ti­ga­tion. Perry has con­tin­ued to dis­count foren­sic-expert Beyler’s con­clu­sions and to argue that there is evi­dence of Willingham’s guilt. The gov­er­nor said that the three com­mis­sion mem­bers were all at the end of their terms and dis­miss­ing them was ​“pret­ty stan­dard busi­ness as usu­al.” The Commission’s sched­uled hear­ing has now been cancelled.

(C. Hope, ​“Gov. Perry replaces head of agency inves­ti­gat­ing Texas arson find­ings,” Dallas Morning News, October 1, 2009.) See Innocence and Arbitrariness.

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