According to the affidavits, Willingham's ex-wife had told Ronnie that Willingham confessed to her that he had set the fire. Cameron Todd Willingham (9 gennaio 1968 - 17 febbraio 2004) stato un uomo americano condannato e giustiziato per l'omicidio dei suoi tre figli per incendio doloso nella casa di famiglia a Corsicana, in Texas , il 23 dicembre 1991. [1], Willingham was charged with murder on January 8, 1992. Cameron Todd Willingham (January 9, 1968 February 17, 2004) was an American man who was convicted and executed for the murder of his three young children by arson at the family home in Corsicana, Texas, on December 23, 1991. Neighbors described this group as having an odd levity, which was seen to turn somber on the arrival of authorities. cemeteries found in Simpson, Marshall County, Oklahoma, USA will be saved to your photo volunteer list.. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.. In 1992, Willingham was convicted of arson-related triple homicide and was executed 12 years later by the death penalty after his three daughters were killed in a 1991 house fire. Willingham escaped the home with only minor burns. Rick Perry defends 2004 execution despite questions about evidence, calls convict 'a monster', "Perry's denial of stay could become campaign issue", "CNN's Anderson Cooper to Air Report on Cameron Willingham Tonight", "Is Texas Governor Rick Perry Trying to Cover Up Execution of Innocent Man on His Watch", "Stacy Kuykendall's statement about the 1991 fire", "Death penalty case: Ex-wife says convicted killer confessed", "Texas execution: Statements by Gov. As far back as 1969, scientific experts published findings that some of the very indicators of arson used in the Willingham case were unreliable and could be misinterpreted. When Willingham was arrested, he vigorously professed his innocence. By Maurice Possley, The Marshall Project. He said if I didnt have my girls I couldnt leave him and that I could never have Amber or the twins with anyone else but him. Webb later recanted his recantation. And they chose poorly, because Willingham is a guilty monster.". She said he would not have hurt the children. Here is whatMills and Possley wrote: The response from local prosecutors included a two-paragraph affidavit from Ronnie Kuykendall, the brother of Willinghams former wife. The couple's three children died in a fire Dec. 23, 1991, at the family's Corsicana, Texas, home. It didnt take this long. "He was polite, and he seemed to care," she said. That statement was false. In her most recent statement explaining why she had once defended Willingham, she said. [1], Willingham had the Texas Department of Criminal Justice number 999041. Bradley subsequently canceled the meeting amid accusations that Perry was interfering with the inquiry. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. She said, No. [29] Fire investigator Gerald L. Hurst reviewed the case documents, including the trial transcriptions and an hour-long videotape of the aftermath of the fire scene. stacy willingham married. Cameron Todd Willingham (January 9, 1968 - February 17, 2004) was an American man who was convicted and executed for the murder of his three young children by arson at the family home in Corsicana, Texas, on December 23, 1991. Movies. But tragically, their three young children were killed in the . Cameron Todd Willingham, who went by Todd, with his wife, Stacy. a husband returns home to find his wife dead on the living room floor; he tells first responders she committed suicide . SYNOPSIS. I think they were after somebody, she said. Cameron Todd Willingham : biography. Kuykendall has acknowledged that Willingham had asked to see her to help him in his bid for clemency. Willingham himself escaped the home with only minor burns. Questions persist surrounding Cameron Todd Willingham's conviction and death sentence, but according to Stacy Kuykendall, who knew him better than anyone, Cameron is a monster who was guilty as charged and deserved to die. The case was discussed again in a 2009 investigative report in The New Yorker. In 2004, Stacy Kuykendall told the Chicago Tribune that he never confessed, and she said the same to The New Yorker in 2009. Join Facebook to connect with Stacy Kuykendall Willinghamgirlslivesmattered and others you may know. His report was sent to authorities asking to postpone the execution. But Stacy Kuykendall knew Todd better than anyone, and she's convinced that he was a monster who was guilty as charged and deserved to die. Myth: Over time, she has alternated between claiming she believes her former husband is guilty and innocent. He said the night before the fire we got in to an argument and you had said it again that you were going to divorce me. "[12] According to Brandice, he refused, and moved his car away from the fire before returning to sit on a nearby lawn, "not once attempting to go inside to rescue his children." He said that Kuykendall, who had divorced Willingham while he was on Death Row, had recently visited him, then gathered the family to say that he had confessed. Killed in the fire were Willingham's three daughters: two-year-old Amber Louise Kuykendall and one-year-old twins Karmon Diane Willingham and Kameron Marie Willingham. "[43] A jury later heard and rejected the claim that Jackson had hid evidence, finding in favor of Jackson. . October 27, 2009, 12:00 AM, CDT. Before the trial, he even refused to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence. Stacy Kuykendall read a prepared statement to reporters outside the Travis County courthouse. Willinghams statements to law enforcement officials were remarkably consistent, even under intense interrogation, and remained consistent over the course of a decade. "[36], A four-person panel of the Texas Forensic Science Commission investigating evidence of arson presented in the case acknowledged on July 23, 2010, that state and local arson investigators used "flawed science" in determining that the blaze had been deliberately set. The science commission was set to hear testimony from Beyler last year. When the recusal motion was denied, Thompson appealed to the Third Court of Appeals and had the proceedings stayed. stacy willingham married. List of people executed in Texas, 20002009, List of people executed in the United States in 2004, List of wrongful convictions in the United States, "Trial by Fire: Did Texas execute an innocent man? The date is December 23, 1991, and 23-year-old Cameron Todd Willingham has fallen asleep while caring for his three young daughters, two-year-old Amber Louise Kuykendall and one-year-old twins . Descubre qu pasa hoy con Stacy Kuykendall, ex esposa de Cameron Willingham! This is because Willingham was anything but that; he regularly verbally abused and beat his wife, and in some of these instances, the police was called. Willingham maintained his innocence up until his death and spent years trying to appeal his conviction. Hes never hurt those kids, she said. We are evil when it comes to justice. Around two weeks before the execution, Kuykendall went to see Willingham. Facebook gives people the power to. The commission was never asked to determine whether Willingham was innocent, and was never going to reach a conclusion on his innocence. The science commission is still looking into whether investigators were negligent in ruling the fire was caused by arson. Death' says license won't be affected by allegations", "Execution Report: Cameron Willingham Page 1", "Jackson: Guest Commentary Willingham guilt never in doubt", "David Grann" The Prosecution Defends Itself", "A timeline of the Cameron Todd Willingham case", "Document USA (Texas): Further Information on Death penalty, Cameron Todd Willingham", "Inmate maintains innocence as execution approaches", "Man executed for fire that killed children", "Texas man executed for setting fire that killed his 3 young children", "Gerald Hurst | Death By Fire | FRONTLINE | PBS", "Dare Devils: Governor Rick Perry and the Texas Death Panel", "Texas Gov. In the fall of 2004, just months after Willinghams execution, the ChicagoTribune reporters Steve Mills and Maurice Possley visited Kuykendall at her house and asked her if Willingham had, in fact, confessed to her. [7] Webb later told David Grann, a reporter for The New Yorker that he might have been mistaken. Cameron Todd Willingham (January 9, 1968 February 17, 2004) was an American man who was convicted and executed for the murder of his three young children by arson at the family home in Corsicana, Texas, on December 23, 1991. . [8], During the penalty phase of the trial, a prosecutor said that Willingham's tattoo of a skull and serpent fit the profile of a sociopath. Within 5 kilometers of your location. If the judge clears Willingham, it will mark the first time an official in the nation's most active death penalty state has formally declared that someone was wrongly executed. On 23 December 1991, the Corsicana home of Cameron Willingham burned. [16], Consistent with typical Navarro County death penalty practice, Willingham was offered the opportunity to eliminate himself as a suspect by polygraph examination, which Willingham rejected, according to Jackson. 1. She told reporters thatWillingham set the fire that killed the girls "and watched while their tiny bodies burned.". February 27, 2023 For years, Stacy Kuykendall advocated for Cameron Todd Willingham, stating repeatedly that she believed he didn't deliberately start the house fire that killed their three daughters in 1991. The National Fire Protection Association had issued guidelines several months before Willinghams trial that directly contradicted the analysis the experts used (and testified about at the trial). In a legal brief responding to Hursts report, the prosecution argued that the execution should go ahead, and includedan affidavit from Willinghams former brother-in-law Ronnie Kuykendall. In recreations with rooms involved in intense fires, experts can safely stand by a door seconds before flashover, and Willingham could have stood close to the childrens room without being harmed. He suggested that, had this information been available at the time of trial, it would have provided grounds for Willingham's acquittal. Her statement directly contradicts numerous previous statements she has made: in interviews with police and fire investigators; in testimony during the trial; in letters to public officials and Willinghams lawyers; and in her comments to the press. When Willingham exited his bedroom, the hallway was not yet on fire; the fire was contained in the childrens bedroom. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It's very difficult to review this case, as there, The FBi has been murdering people for years since their, Clearly its hard for some people to understand that although, What is taking so long? The case was complicated by allegations that Texas Governor Rick Perry impeded the investigation by replacing three of the nine Forensic Commission members to change the Commission's findings; Perry denies the allegations.[4]. At a local bar, where a fundraiser was held for the Willingham family, he placed an order for a replacement set, stating that "money was not a problem now. Since Willingham's 2004 execution, significant controversy has arisen over the legitimacy of the guilty verdict and the interpretation of the evidence that was used to . Within 5 miles of your location. The State Fire Marshal's Office continues to stand behind the arson finding. [32][33], Journalists familiar with the case noted that Stacy Kuykendall's statement explicitly contradicted previous comments, legal testimony, and numerous published interviews before and after the execution. Cameron Todd Willingham during a 2004 death-row interview just before his execution.