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Craig Beyler

Arson Expert: Perry's "Conflict" Hurts Panel's Credibility

Zachary Roth | October 16, 2009, 10:10AM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

A nationally known arson expert who had been scheduled to testify before a Texas panel probing an investigation that may have led to the death of an innocent man has slammed Governor Rick Perry's handling of the case.

In an email to an official for the Texas Forensic Science Commission, Craig Beyler called for the appointment of the panel members ousted by Perry last month, and the resignation of the new members that Perry appointed in their place. And he said that Perry, a Republican, should recuse himself from making appointments to the panel because -- having signed off on the execution despite a last minute bid from the convicted man's lawyer for a postponement -- the governor has a "conflict of interest."

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Topics: Cameron Todd Willingham, Craig Beyler, Death Penalty, Rick Perry, Sam Bassett, Texas Forensic Science Commission

Cameron Todd Willingham

Evidence Builds That Perry's Office Pressured Panel On Willingham Probe

Zachary Roth | October 14, 2009, 10:11AM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Things are looking worse and worse for Texas governor Rick Perry, accused of stifling a state panel's probe into that flawed arson investigation that may have led to the execution of an innocent man.

Sam Bassett, the former chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, has now told the Houston Chronicle that lawyers for Perry told him the case was inappropriate, and that the hiring of a nationally known fire expert was a "waste of state money."

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Topics: Cameron Todd Willingham, Craig Beyler, Death Penalty, Debra Medina, John Bradley, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Rick Perry, Sam Bassett, Texas, Texas Forensic Science Commission

Death Penalty

Texas Governor Stymieing Panel Probing Flawed Death Penalty Case?

Zachary Roth | October 2, 2009, 12:35PM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Even by the standards of Texas's enthusiasm for state-sanctioned killing, this is pretty shocking...

A Texas scientific panel has been looking into possible missteps in a criminal investigation of a 1991 arson case which led to the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham. A recent New Yorker story about the case laid out compelling evidence that Willingham may well have been wrongly put to death.