Viewpoint: Hiding the facts (Daily Texan re: Gov Perry & the Willingham case) [View All]

[struggle4progress]

By Jillian Sheridan
The Daily Texan Editorial Board
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Published: Thursday, October 15, 2009
Updated: Thursday, October 15, 2009

... Incredibly, Perry tells reporters to “go look at the facts,” while he does everything he can to obscure them.

Last week, the Houston Chronicle reported that Perry’s office received a report criticizing the evidence in the case approximately one and a half hours before the execution. The report, authored by Dr. Gerald Hurst, accused investigators of making “major errors” and likened their investigation techniques to an “old wives tale,” according to the Houston Chronicle. At that time, Hurst, an arson expert with a doctorate in chemistry from Cambridge University, had already gained reknown for his role in successfully exonerating prisoners who had been convicted based on faulty arson science.

Perry chose not to issue a stay of execution in response to Hurst’s report and now is stopping media from finding out why. His office is telling the media that documents related to Perry’s review and his staff’s discussion of the Willingham case are not public, according to the Houston Chronicle. This stance is odd, considering that summaries of gubernatorial reviews of execution cases have been considered public records in Texas in the past ...

... the more tricks Perry uses to prevent anyone from examining the facts of the case, the more suspicious we become that there is something sinister to be discovered.

http://www.dailytexanonline.com/opinion/viewpoint-hiding-the-facts-1.1999047