Details Cast Doubt on TX Execution

New evidence has called into question the trial of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed by Texas in 2004 for allegedly setting his house on fire and murdering his three daughters. Willingham’s conviction was based on two pieces of evidence—arson investigators’ analysis and the testimony of a jailhouse informant. The arson evidence has since been discredited, and now the words of the informant are being called into question, as he may have been offered a reduced sentence in return for his testimony. The case is important to opponents of capital punishment because it may offer proof that an innocent man was killed by the government.