Was Tod Willingham Guilty Or Innocent

511 Words3 Pages

A Burning World Tod Willingham was convicted of arson Dec 23rd 1991 in Corsicana, Texas. There were many signs that he could have done it, but there were more signs that prove his innocence. Arson wasn’t the only thing he was convicted for, he was convicted for the murder of his 3 daughters as well. In this essay, the evidence will show that Tod Willingham was innocent and didn’t deserve the death penalty or even prison. The first bit of evidence that convicted Tod Willingham of arson was the fire allegations. They were unjustified and used outdated information to prosecute Tod. A study was done by professional arsonist John Letini and Dr. Hurst showing how the fire department’s report was false. “That in and of itself is enough to toss a case out for arson.”-John Letini. The arsonists have studied the different ways a house can catch on fire and have concluded that the house fire was a flashover and not a case of arson. Generally, people who study topics for years have a better understanding than the people doing it. Due to the main allegation being the report made by the fire department, this evidence rebutling the fire department should have by more than enough evidence to throw this case …show more content…

Johnny Webb was Tod’s jailmate and told the jury that Tod confessed to his crimes. This evidence was very shady because of his statement,”I don’t remember, you know what I’m saying. Something to put pressure on somebody to do something to get me out.” Johnny was a notorious liar and other evidence was found that after he gave his testimony, his sentence was shortened. Almost always, a prisoner will do anything to get their sentence shortened. Why would a man known for lying not lie in court just to get his sentence shortened. Another one of the main allegations based on lies, how would they allow this to happen? How was this case even formed if all of the evidence

Open Document