Perry’s Obstruction of Justice: It Costs Lives. Will it Cost Texas Money?

Cameron Todd Willingham

When Rick Perry blocked a state investigation into the 2004 execution of  Cameron Todd Willingham, he subverted justice. He may cost Texas millions in federal dollars.

According to the Legislative Budget Board analysis of the 2005 bill creating the Texas Forensic Science Commission, a state must have an independent investigative process in place to look into “allegations of serious negligence or misconduct affecting the integrity of laboratories, facilities and other entities in the state that conduct forensic analyses used in criminal proceedings.” The LBB was quoting from federal law.

When the integrity of the independent agency is destroyed, what becomes of the federal funds to operate it? When Perry himself has committed “serious negligence or misconduct affecting the integrity” of investigations, what becomes of the federal money?

UPDATE:  Dallas Morning News editorial posted moments ago calls Perry’s action “malodorous” and says his firing of three forensics commissioners has “the stink of avoidance for political reasons.”

According to state budget documents, the Forensic Science Commission gets a paltry $250,000 a year in state funds.

A study of forensic accreditation efforts by the states had this to say about Texas:

It is interesting to note that while Texas House Bill 1068 did set up the oversight Commission, it did not provide a budget or any other method of funding.  The Department of Justice did grant Texas the Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grant in the sum of $729,000 (The Justice Project, 2006).  The problem is that in order to be eligible for this money, Texas must certify that “a government entity exists and an appropriate process is in place to conduct independent external investigations into allegations of serious negligence or misconduct by employees or contractors substantially affecting the integrity of forensic results” (The Justice Project, 2006, 1). The oversight   Commission in Texas would fit their outlined criteria and be eligible for the grant money if it were fully funded and operational.

Texas receives millions of dollars in federal Coverdell money. Has Perry jeopardized funding for criminal justice investigations in Texas by obstructing the work of the Texas Forensic Science Commission for political reasons?

A 2008 study by the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General (attached to the Innocence Project Report) found many instances of unqualified recipients of Coverdell money.

Listen, however,  to the overall optimism of the 2008 report:

Texas became a model for responsible forensic oversight when the
State Legislature created the Texas Forensic Science Commission
to specifically handle the Coverdell investigations requirement.
The Commission agreed in August 2008 to investigate the integrity
of arson evidence in two convictions that resulted in death sen-
tences—one of which was carried out. Cameron Todd Willingham
was executed in 2004 for allegedly murdering his three young
children by setting fire to his Texas home. Arson experts argued—
both before and after Willingham’s execution—that the fire was not intentionally set. In fact, the kind of arson analysis that was
used to convict Willingham had already been seriously questioned
by national scientific experts before Willingham’s trial. Another
man, Ernest Willis, was exonerated eight months after Willingham’s
execution because forensic experts challenged the arson analysis
used to convict him. The Innocence Project, which filed the allega-
tion, charges that the Texas Fire Marshal applied invalid scientific
standards in the cases or, at the very least, failed to act when those
standards changed. The Texas Forensic Science Commission,
which is completely independent of the Texas Fire Marshal or any
other agencies connected to the Willingham and Willis cases, has
confirmed that an independent expert will begin the investigation
in early 2009 and will report back to the Commission later this
year.

That optimism must be shattered today. Perry has certainly destroyed the integrity of the Texas Forensics Commission. He’s jeopardized future investigations. He’s sacrificed the truth to his political whims. He may have cost Texas money.

The 2005 law that created the Texas Forensic Science Commission gave the governor four appointments to the nine-member commission. The Lieutenant Governor gets three, the Attorney General two. You can read the bill here. In 2007, Perry reappointed three of his four; a fourth filled an opening created by resignation.

Two days before the commission’s hearing into the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, who experts say was innocent, Perry fired three of his four appointees: Austin attorney Sam Bassett, the commission’s chairman; forensic specialist Aliece Watts of Burleson;and, Fort Worth prosecutor Alan Levy.

Friday’s public hearing on the Willingham execution has been cancelled. Perry is playing politics with state’s authority to execute convicted criminals. Morally and politically, it doesn’t get any worse than that.