The Marshall Project, a newly formed nonprofit criminal justice journalism group, wrote a story published in the Washington Post today revealing new evidence of misconduct by a Texas prosecutor that may have led to the wrongful execution of Cameron Todd Willingham in 2004.
The Innocence Project, on behalf of Willingham’s surviving relatives, filed a grievance with the State Bar of Texas on July 25, arguing for punitive action against former Willingham prosecutor John Jackson after new evidence was revealed that strongly suggests the prosecutor knowingly falsified official records, withheld evidence from the defense, suborned perjury, and obstructed justice by coaxing a false testimony from a jailhouse informant, Johnny Webb.
In recent taped interviews, Webb gave his first detailed account of how he lied on the witness stand, falsely testifying that Willingham confessed to arson and the murders of Willingham’s three young daughters in 1991. Webb revealed that he falsely testified in exchange for Jackson’s efforts to reduce Webb’s prison sentence for a robbery conviction and other favorable treatment.
On December 23, 1991, a fire broke out in Willingham’s home in Corsicana, Texas. Although Willingham escaped, his three young daughters died of smoke inhalation. Less than a week later, fire officials concluded that the fire was arson, and on February 13, 1992, Willingham was indicted on charges of capital murder. In 2011, the Texas Forensic Science Commission issued a report concluding that the initial arson evidence that convicted Willingham was unreliable.
According to the grievance, prosecutor Jackson’s misconduct, “violated core principles of the legal profession, and did so with terrible consequences . . . the execution of an innocent man.”
Read the full story here.
