Posted on 05/03/2006 8:33:25 AM PDT by Crackingham
Four of the nation's top arson experts have concluded that the state of Texas executed a man in 2004 based on scientifically invalid evidence, and on Tuesday they called for an official reinvestigation of the case. In their report, the experts, assembled by the Innocence Project, a non-profit organization responsible for scores of exonerations, concluded that the conviction and 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham for the arson-murders of his three daughters were based on interpretations by fire investigators that have been scientifically disproved.
"The whole system has broken down," Barry Scheck, co-founder and director of the Innocence Project, said at a news conference at the state Capitol in Austin. "It's time to find out whether Texas has executed an innocent man."
The experts were asked to perform an independent review of the evidence after an investigation by the Tribune that showed Willingham had been found guilty on arson theories that have been repudiated by scientific advances. In fact, many of the theories were simply lore that had been handed down by generations of arson investigators who relied on what they were told.
The report's conclusions match the findings of the Tribune, published in December 2004. The newspaper began investigating the Willingham case following an October 2004 series, "Forensics Under the Microscope," which examined the use of forensics in the courtroom, including the continued use of disproved arson theories to obtain convictions.
In strong language harshly critical of the investigation of the 1991 fire in Corsicana, southeast of Dallas, the report said evidence examined in the Willingham case and "relied upon by fire investigators" was the type of evidence "routinely created by accidental fires."
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
" hellinahandcart wrote: I kinda have the opposite problem. :D
22,753 replies, and a mere 30 threads."
So, let's see - pulling out calculator... hum, hum, hum, aha, adding 22753 replies + 30 threads and dividing the sum by 30, aah, here it is:
Your ROTPS (Rate Of Thread Posting Statistic ;) is actually
0.0013 or .01% (one tenth of one percent)
Crackingham' s ROTPS is 0.906 or 91%, meaning nine times out of ten what he posts is a thread, not a reply.
You would have to post 20,392 UNIQUE threads to achieve Crack's phenomenal rate... so get "cracking", hellinahandcart!
PS: you cannot even reply to this, you don't have the time...;)
I've yet to see this poster make one comment.
Ain't that right, Crackie?!?
I am at a loss as to how bwteim acquired Crack's posting stats.
What are you talking about?!? The clowns proclaimed you are a mod, remember? Work your magic!
I'm seeing a heck of a lot of threads posted .. but very little comments
LOL --- hey, cut me some slack. I'm still in Mod 101, but looking to graduate next month.
Crackie's shy... a cyber wallflower.
onyx - the stats are relatively easy to compile. Enroll in a boring seminar in a sunny room, then grab a person's posting history page by page, get a good text editor, and then a spreadsheet or a data base.
Mo1 to your post below - I can only blame Coop ;) for his post #2....for starting this somewhat distracting analytic digression about our "personal" posting bot, Crackingham.
Actually, that was my fourth or fifth "inquiry" post of that sort on Crackie threads over the past few days. I've yet to receive a single response. (Shocking, I know! Do you think it was something I said?)
Thanks for your work.
I was hoping to learn something sneaky.
Perhaps Coop and I can work up your very own Custom Freeper Personality Profile based on your very unique ROTPS (Rate Of Thread Posting Statistic);)
LOL, thanks for the stats. I have been a Freeper for some time now, I have never quite seen a poster like Crack.
Oh, I so totally disagree with you on this point. And there is the annecdotal evidence of neighbors who witnessed Wilingham both during the fire and afterwards.
I call BS. "I know something happened that was really important, but I can't remember details. I know it was true because it was on T.V., and Dan Rather would never lie or spin to push an agenda." A search on "Texas innocent execution" just brings up the usual suspects of news spammers like Amnesty Intl. and DailyKos, with their usual blend of half-truth, one sided stories, and blatant lies.
No such man exists. You are confused.
Please name even one innocent person who has been wrongfully executed.
I don't share your belief in the purity of the folks over at the Innocence Project. They are "true believers", and fanatics are far more likely to shade evidence than a salaried prosecutor going for another notch on his gun. Other than a few prosecutors who got too emotionally involved in child molestation cases, I have rarely seen that sort of fanaticism in an ADA. They don't get paid enough or promoted rapidly enough to get that fanatical, and only the DA himself is elected.
The one thing that makes me highly suspicious of TIP's motives is that they always proclaim their lucky beneficiaries "innocent" . . . when usually all they have managed to do is obtain a habeas writ on a legal error, often that Poulan Weed-Eater of appellate jurisprudence, "ineffective assistance of counsel."
Thank you so much for your post. The Innocence Project is about as unbiased as Hildabeast is a Republican.
I did say anyone with half a brain.
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