Todd Willingham's Short Story 'Death By Fire'

Death by fire This story takes place in Corsicana, Texas, where a house fire killed three young children and their father Todd Willingham a twenty-three year old man, accused of setting the fire and killing the children. Initially, there was a lot of evidence against Todd, but later after the execution, fire scientist found no evidence that the fire was arson. At the center of the national death penalty debate in 2010 was a controversial case of Cameron Todd Willingham, the arson-murder of his three little girls, but was he innocent or did the state of Texas put a man on death penalty with no evidence. The story has a tragic end when Todd Willingham is executed while trying to prove his innocence.
Based on Diane barbee, one neighbor of Todd’s said that in an early Monday morning while she was watching ‘the price is right’, another neighbor walked in her house and told her, Todd’s house is on fire, after which she immediately ran outside and called the ambulance for help. She also reported that before the fire, Todd was a very mean guy and he abused his wife Staci on daily basis. During the fire barbee said that while everyone was in panic, Todd’s behavior was …show more content…
She consulted with many fire scientists to prove Todd’s innocence. Gerald Hurst, a fire scientist found no arson evidence. In his report, he said that the fire at Todd’s house started by an electric wire default and accelerated by flashover, an instance of a fire spreading very quickly. Hurst believed that the fire was accidental and Todd did not burn because the fire had no liquid accelerants. He said “It wasn’t arson”, but it’s always easier to find someone guilty than to find proof of innocent. Hurst report was filed by Willingham’s attorney four days before the February 17, 2004