By Bill Zeeble, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-928392.mp3
Dallas, TX – This week in Austin, a judge will consider whether Cameron Todd Willingham was wrongly convicted and executed for arson murder. Meanwhile, the State Forensic Science Commission is looking into the original fire investigation that many experts say was flawed. KERA's Bill Zeeble talked to one commission member who says many old arson cases should be re-examined.
The State Forensic Science Commission is expected to deliver its findings on the Willingham arson investigation next month. Friday, Tarrant County medical examiner Nizam Peerwani, told law students that arson investigation standards have vastly improved since the 1991 fire that killed Willingham's 3 young children.
Peerwani: The investigation is based on science that was not well clearly defined and that based on current standards, the conclusions were wrong.
Bill Zeeble: Does that mean there's a possibility that Mr. Willingham might have been not guilty?
Peerwani: I'm not going to give any prediction on that. But I can tell you this much, that the science is constantly evolving, getting better & more refined.
Peerwani says that means arson experts may discover their original conclusions were wrong and many Texas arson cases may need to be re-examined. He didn't say how far back in years those re-examinations should go.