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A Court of Law, Not a Court of Justice

By Michael Blankenship

It was an unusual hearing. The subject at the center of it all, Cameron Todd Willingham, was not present. After being convicted of murdering his three children in a 1991 house fire, he was executed in 2004. Members of Mr. Willingham?s family, working with lawyers who oppose the death penalty, had asked for the rare and controversial hearing, held here on Thursday, to investigate whether Mr. Willingham was wrongfully convicted. They argue that the proceeding, known as a court of inquiry, could restore Mr. Willingham?s reputation, a right guaranteed under Texas law, even to the dead. Read more.... The quote from Justice Holmes sums up the part of the problem for those facing a sentence of death. Politicians will continue to spout platitudes and rhetoric about how much review a particular case has received...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Justice Gambit on October 18, 2010 (boomark / email).