Great Balls of Fire!
CNN did another report last night on the Cameron Willingham case, this time with Willingham’s defense attorney, who always thought his client was guilty, so rest assured that Willingham received a vigorous defense. Also appearing was Steve Mills, the reporter from the Chicago Tribune who broke the story. Willingham’s trial lawyer David Martin is such a caricature of what people think of Texans that I was mortified watching it. Haven’t we been the posterior region of enough jokes this year, what with all the secession talk and Dancing With the Stars? And I’m not even a native Texan. So really, you guys should be extra-extra mortified.
Right from the start of the interview, you just know it’s going to be bad. For one, Martin is wearing a cowboy hat that’s about to fall off his head. And two, the guy’s drunk as a Honduran skunk.
Anderson Cooper: “David, you always believed that your client was guilty. Now after a half dozen experts have come forward to say there’s no way the fire was arson, you still say he was guilty. Why?”
Martin: “Uh, Anderson, excuse my informal attire, we’ve been out checking cows… uh… tell me your question again?”
Anderson: “About a half dozen fire experts around the country have looked at this case now, and say the evidence that was used… simply is not accurate…”
Martin: “Ohhhh, no, that’s not what I glean from these reports here…”
Then Martin goes on to say that he doesn’t believe the experts and that a lot of people lie. Meanwhile the Tribune reporter knowledgeably discusses the forensics and actual science of the case. Martin calls everything he says “absurd,” going on to say that he and his partner at the time bought carpet and lighter fluid and set it on fire and when it finished burning “it looked just exactly like the carpet did in Willingham’s house.” WELL THEIR LITTLE EIGHTH GRADE SCIENCE PROJECT IS PROOF ENOUGH FOR ME! What’d you bring to court as Exhibit A? A clay diorama?
Anderson: “There are six experts who have come forward saying that the evidence was faulty…”
Martin: “That is not what has happened at all. I’ve read this report [by arson expert Craig Beyler, who Martin later slurringly refers to as "Bleyler"], I’ve looked at all the evidence, not one single person that you cite has said, this is what caused the fire… I was in the house, I talked to the cops, I talked to the firemen, I looked at the pictures…”
Anderson: “David, I gotta tell you, you sound like the sheriff you once were and not a defense attorney.”
Well, Martin doesn’t care. He again tells the Tribune reporter that “this is ridiculous, this is absurd” before inviting “anybody in the audience” to go get some lighter fluid, pour it on the rug, and set fire to it. Just to see how right he is. That’s awesome. Let’s all try it on the count of three. Ready?
Tagged: cameron willingham, david martin, steve mills.
Mo Charlo says:
It just… Gets… Sadder.
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potted meat says:
Martin was last thought to be heading west in a giant silver balloon, but was found passed out in a box.
Upon being discovered, he commented that HE didn’t throw up, unlike another cable guest, who, like him, has the mind of a 6 year old.
/Cornyn must have helped him on his hat choice, showing him how to wear it as well.
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West Texas Hillbilly says:
Must be a Republican based on his off the hook, hip hop hat cock.
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MonkeyMan says:
Note to self: If indicted for a capital offense, and offered David Martin as a defense lawyer, save your hide and plead out.
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Rog says:
I think the issue is not whether Willingham was guilty or innocent, but rather did the prosecution present evidence that justified the death penalty. If that evidence was flawed, and it apparently was, then the prosecution was flawed.
Willingham could have still been sentenced to a long life in prison, without making up stuff.
Too bad Willingham’s attorney didn’t also represent Supreme Court Justice Medina.
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slick says:
I heard that Martin has claimed that CTW confessed to him — if this is correct, it would be a serious breech of the attorney-client relationship for him to reveal what was shared with him by CTW in the course of his representation. This also speaks to the pathetic system of indigent criminal defense we have in Texas, where defense lawyers have more loyalty to the judges that name them than to the client, the defendant. Offering a true, vigorous defense may mean that you are purged from the judge’s appointment list.
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Frisky Dingo Reply:
October 18th, 2009 at 11:49 am
Good point, slick. This guy seems to be the type to understand that his job entails holding poor people in their place so that the state can get a good crack at them – which pretty much describes indigent defense. I wonder if, at the end of the trial, the judge made Willingham thank this attorney for his work, and unexcused absence from his cow herd.
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treehugger says:
CNN did a report? On something real and important? You mean they actually broke into the latest Michael Jackson/silver ballon event to actually broadcast news? Thanks for being vigilant PL.
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dickbird says:
Not sure where this criticism of Martin is coming from – especially the references to being drunk. He sounded like Jim Hightower with a law degree to me.
You’re right. I have always thought that Jim Hightower was a loon and gave our state a bad reputation. Where are the Ross Perot’s, the Clayton Williams’s, the Kinky Friedman’s and the David Kucinich’s when you need them to show the rest of the world how we Texans really are?
Oh, Kucinich is not a Texan? We’ll I guess he should have been.
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Jed says:
i think you mean koresh?
jim hightower is one of the few remaining reasons to be a proud texan.
check that. at this point, there’s no excuse for being a proud texan. but hightower is one of the few good ones left.
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Jed says:
i just watched the video.
i had assumed the bit about cows was a PL joke.
i guess reality is sometimes funny enough.
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Austinmom Reply:
October 16th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
It may be reality, but I’m having difficulty seeing the humor.
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Anonymous Reply:
October 16th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
If you didn’t know it, Jed, there are more cows in Texas than anywhere in the U.S. and many are owned by Texas lawyers. Work your way out of that smoked filled haze, drive out past the city limit sign, open your eyes, and take a look around. Those critters you see, like the one printed on your milk carton, are cows.
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Jed Reply:
October 16th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
wow. having grown up in rural texas (by which i mean college station), i never noticed.
you must be very proud, anny. we’re first in something besides incarcerations, uninsured, and dropouts.
we have more steroid-stuffed and antibiotic-marinated livestock than anywhere! woo!
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Cow Droppings Reply:
October 17th, 2009 at 10:24 am
college station doesn’t produce commies. You must really be from Bryan.
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Anonymous Reply:
October 16th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
The reference to cows was a direct quote, bugnuts. How could PL have been “joking” about it?
P.S. Try and stay on subject. If you can’t, start your own blog about how you feel about organics and range fed beef. It has nothing to do with this thread.
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Don't Mess w/ Pink says:
I’m hoping if I squeeze my eyes closed tight enough, it will all just stop.
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Austinmom Reply:
October 16th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
I tried that yesterday – and yet – here we are again today…very sad.
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treehugger says:
Texas, where reality is a caricature and vice-versa. I love this crazy state.
/Yeeeeeehawwwwww.
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potted meat says:
ROG:
Th problem is, how could they say he’s guilty, without saying there was arson?
By what other means did he kill his family?
I’m not defending the sleeze, but see my point?
as to the Attorney: Disbar the sleeze. Oh, the State Bar is like the AMA: once you’re in, you’re in, unless you PO some higher up on a personal level, or they can’t take the heat frm the press.
And where was the press? I assume reprinting releases………
Stay with this PL. Let’s make the goodhair hair fall out.
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John Johnson says:
If you are indicted for a major crime in Texas, you had better have money. Otherwise, there is a good chance you are going to end up with a court appointed attorney like Mr. Miller. The fact he showed up for the interview with cowshit on his boots doesn’t bother me, but his thinking that setting a piece of carpet on fire with a lighter constitutes a professional forensic test blows my mind.
I think there is a very good possiblity that Willingham was guilty. Even if he was, we all need to insure that proper procedures were followed in his case, and that the testing methods used to convict him were conducted correctly. If it is proven that arson was not the cause of the blaze, it is too late to rectify the mistake, but it is not too late to insure that it doesn’t happen again.
This is the bottomline, and no one, especially our governor, should stand in the way of a thorough investigation. If he continues to throw up roadblocks, it just leads me to believe that he has something to hide.
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Melinda says:
This guy explains to the rest of the world why G.W. was our best and brightest. They didn’t realize he was the cream of the crop down here. The job of a defense attorney is to DEFEND his client. He thought he was guilty so he didn’t work at it very hard and sure enough, now the guy is dead because of a wrongful conviction. Pathetic that this happened and where was all the media attention BEFORE his execution? How many other people in Texas have been railroaded like this? God forgive us all for not caring more when it about a man’s life instead of a politician’s career.
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Anonymous says:
Making statements like “wrongful conviction” and “railroaded” don’t fit here Meliinda.
The guy might have been guilty as hell. The point of all the questioning and prodding is to determine if key evidence in his conviction was tainted by assumptions and invalid test procedures.
Having a bad defense attorney does not automatically turn a toad into a prince, nor turn a guilty defendent into an innocent one.
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Cow Droppings says:
all the talk about the reliability of the forensics — and let’s be honest here, the press hasn’t taken a real look at whether Beyler has an agenda, cherrypicking science to accomplish it — is meant to get at whether the guy did it right? I mean, at the end of the day, we want to know if arson is a likely explanation, and therefore meaning he did it beyond a reasonable doubt, right?
Well, if you are only interested in whether he did it, and not on a crusade to ban the death penalty, you can take comfort in the fact HE CONFESSED 9 DAYS PRIOR TO EXECUTION TO HIS EX-WIFE.
And oh, that thing IN THE TRIAL RECORD about the fridge backing the back door exit, do you think the 2-year old put it there? The guy did it, whether the forensics used at the time are questionable.
Now, onto Eileen’s heritage — yes, we realize Texas monthly relies on outsiders to advance its liberal agenda because it is hard to find real Texans who share your marxist-leninist view of the world.
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ellie Reply:
October 17th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
It’s hardly marxist-leninist if you’re allowed to post your cow poop, er Cow Droppings, er whatever-you-call-it in a somewhat liberal blog. Rethink this one, darlin. Otherwise, you look silly.
And, I take issue with your remark about Eileen’s heritage. All real Texans know that some are born here. The others arrived as soon as they could. Famous expression. Warm and welcoming. Just like Texans themselves.
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Cow Droppings Reply:
October 18th, 2009 at 10:43 am
I am surprised that a leftist would equate Marxist-leninism with oppression, and a refusal to tolerate open dissent. I figured you would just say a noble experiment went awry. But if you think communist-socialist thought equates to taking away people’s rights, I won’t argue with you.
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ellie Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 8:48 am
Cow poop, you don’t know me well enough to say the first thing about “what I would say” or “what I think.” Go cast your dispersions elsewhere. You lost this round. Get over it.
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Don't Mess w/ Pink Reply:
October 17th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Seriouly, cow. Goddamned liberal yes, but Marxist? I’ll assume that your labeling the esteemed writer of this blog a Marxist is hyperbole rather than ignorance as to the meaning of the term. Hysterical name-calling may be, partly at least, why the majority in this country no longer listen to the right. Ya’ll have been careless it’s coming back to haunt you.
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Cow Droppings Reply:
October 18th, 2009 at 10:44 am
liberals are just communists and socialists who don’t have the courage to admit what they are — still a little gun-shy about openly proclaiming it after the soviets gave it a bad name.
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Don't Mess w/ Pink Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
No, no Emily, you heard it wrong. I’m a columnist and a socialite.
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West Texas Hillbilly Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
I used to be a communionist but I saw the light, Thank God.
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Anonymous Reply:
October 18th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
CD:
Take your lies somewhere else please. Willingham’s wife has NEVER claimed that he confessed to her 9 days before his execution.
http://offthekuff.com/wp/?p=22849
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/07/090907fa_fact_grann/?currentPage=7
Since you’re such an expert on the trial record, you of course know that you left out the fact that there were two refrigerators in the kitchen and that was the reason one was blocking the door.
Isn’t it funny how, whenever someone questions the guilt of someone convicted, people of your stripe assume its some anti-death penalty “agenda”, when in fact the only agenda here is your pro-death penalty, defend-Perry-and-the-right-wing agenda, which is apparently important enough to you that you find it necessary to make up non-existent confessions and “cherry pick” “facts” from the trial record, which I’m sure you’ve spent considerable time poring over.
Your moniker is well earned and your comments should be weighed by all accordingly.
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Belle Reply:
October 20th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Folks, As entertaining as I find Cow Droppings’ droppings, by responding to them we give him/her what they are looking for when s/he makes such remarks on this blog and Burka’s. I suggest in the future to simply ignore Cow Droppings. It no fun if nobody wants to play.
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West Texas Hillbilly says:
I call poser.
a) only a poser apologizes for wearing a regular working outfit in order to call attention to what he is wearing. Look at me!
b) “checking on cows?” wtf? i don’t care if he was checking on his tomato plants or pulling ticks off his dog. it is irrelevant and was said to try to establish some bonafides as a gentleman cowboy.
A real Texan wouldn’t think his own outfit was unreasonable and would not need to talk about his cows. Total. Poser.
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West Texas Hillbilly says:
One more thing: Take your hat off indoors, poser. Where are your manners?
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potted meat says:
He wore that hat like he really enjoyed the pony ride at his birthday party earlier in the day.
CD: you are standing in it. Deep.
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Pinkles says:
I was wondering when someone was gonna address that dealio about the hat
shoulda been the very first tip-off
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Pinkles says:
absolutely love that KayBay wants to put it on us that Perry has himself knee deep in cover-up…it’s not the execution of a potential innocent she objects to, certainly not that he’s gutted those who could hold him accountable, it’s just that he’s getting the libs all het up about opposing the death penalty
ya just gotta love these two and all of their proxys… hats, hairspray and Mary Kay or not, they sure give the circus clowns a decent run for their money
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potted meat says:
~~~~~hats, hairspray and Mary Kay~~~~~
And that’s just Rick.
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Jimbo says:
CD, I have no interest in whether arson is a likely explanation. I am interested in whether it is beyond reasonable doubt that arson was the explanation. Likely is not enough to take a life.
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