Cameron Todd Willingham
On December 23, 1991, a fire tore through a small home in Corsicana, Texas, claiming the lives of three young children. Their father, Cameron Todd Willingham, escaped the flames — but within weeks, investigators accused him of setting the fire intentionally. In 1992, Willingham was convicted of arson and capital murder and sentenced to death, based largely on burn patterns and fire “indicators” that investigators believed proved intent.Years later, fire science would evolve — and with it came a reckoning. Leading fire experts reviewed the same evidence and declared the original conclusions not just flawed, but scientifically impossible. Despite growing consensus that the fire was accidental, Texas moved forward with Willingham’s execution in 2004.This is the story of how outdated science, prosecutorial ambition, and systemic indifference converged to execute a man whose guilt remains deeply contested. It’s a case that reshaped the national conversation on forensic reliability — and forced a painful question: what happens when the truth comes out after the verdict?
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SOURCES:

• Possley, M. (2014, August 3). The Prosecutor and the Snitch. The Marshall Project. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2014/08/03/did-texas-execute-an-innocent-man-willingham
• Eaton, T. (2011, July 29). AG says Forensic Science Commission can’t consider Willingham case, others before 2005. Austin American-Statesman. Innocence Project Press Release, July 29, 2011. See Innocence and Studies.
• Beety, V. E. (2020, April 11). Changed Science Writs and State Habeas Relief. Houston Law Review, 57(3). https://houstonlawreview.org/article/12191-changed-science-writs-and-state-habeas-relief
• Innocence Project Staff. (2010, September 13). Cameron Todd Willingham’s wrongful execution gains new attention after Netflix’s Trial by Fire release. Innocence Project. https://innocenceproject.org/news/cameron-todd-willingham-wrongfully-convicted-and-executed-in-texas/
• Mills, S., & Possley, M. (n.d.). Texas man executed on disproved forensics. Chicago Tribune. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/stories/texas-man-executed-on-disproved-forensics
• Willingham v. State, 897 S.W.2d 351 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995). Retrieved from https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/court-of-criminal-appeals/1995/71544-4.html
• Incendiary: The Willingham Case. (2011). Documentary film directed by Joe Bailey Jr. and Steve Mims. Featuring Rick Perry and Barry Scheck.

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