Death penalty critics were dealt a temporary defeat Tuesday when an Austin, Texas, appellate court stopped an inquiry into the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, a Corsicana, Texas, man who was executed in 2004.
Defense attorneys are trying to prove Willingham was innocent of the crime for which he was executed.
The ramifications of this hearing reverberate throughout the state including Wichita Falls and Wichita County Texas.
This is yet another chapter in the long-running war over whether or not Texas should continue to have a death penalty.
The Wichita County District Attorney's Office has successfully prosecuted several death penalty cases over the decades. Maureen Shelton, Interim District Attorney, currently heads the office. There has never been a finding that an innocent man from Wichita Falls or anywhere else in Texas has ever been executed.
Defense attorneys for Cameron Todd Willingham were hoping that state District Judge Charlie Baird, who sits in Travis County, Texas, would make a finding that their client was innocent of the charges for which he was convicted in Corsicana, Texas.
This week the Third Court of Appeals ruled that Judge Baird had abused his discretion in holding the court of inquiry. Navarro County District Attorney R. Lowell Thompson, whose office prosecuted Willingham, accused Baird of bias and asked him to recuse himself from the case.
Chief Justice Woodie Johnson wrote for the Third Court of Appeals that "Judge Baird abused his discretion by failing to either recuse himself or refer the motion to the presiding judge of the administrative judicial district."
Further complicating matters in this unusual hearing is the fact Judge Baird is retiring at the end of 2010 to enter private practice.
The case could ultimately be decided by Judge Baird's successor in the 299th District Court.
Willingham was convicted by a Navarro County jury in 1992 for killing his three young daughters by setting fire to his Corsicana house. Willingham maintained his innocence as he was injected with the lethal dose of drugs on the gurney in Huntsville, Texas.
Innocence Project Founder Barry Scheck, who represents Willingham's family in their attempts to have him declared the first innocent man to be executed, said he was disappointed in the delay of the inquiry.
During the hearing that lasted several hours, Judge Baird heard from fire experts who attacked the original arson investigation.
Gerald Hurst, a chemist from Austin, testified, "There is not a single item of evidence at that fire scene that would even suggest this was arson."
Arson experts who testified at Willingham's jury trial had testified the evidence indicated the fire was deliberately set. None of those experts have changed their opinions since the jury recommended the death penalty for Willingham.
David Duke, Wichita County Sheriff, is one of the most experienced arson investigators in Texas. If this hearing is continued with a new judge in 2011, the court might do well to hear testimony from Sheriff Duke as an arson expert.
Although the tragic death of the three girls occurred in Navarro County, Sheriff Duke has valuable experience in investigating arson cases. He has worked with the Wichita County District Attorney's office on many such cases.
Regardless of the ultimate outcome of the Willingham court of inquiry, this case will probably go down in the history books as the long-lasting debate over the death penalty continues.
One lady in Wichita Falls said, "I believe strongly in the death penalty. Especially in particularly brutal murders."
A Wichita Falls man said, "I believe the death penalty is a strong deterrent to murderers. I think if a guy knows he's facing the death penalty he might hesitate before he kills someone."
One Wichita Falls mother named Christina said she defintely believed in the death penalty for those who murder children.
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