A Delay for Willingham Court of Inquiry
Navarro County prosecutor R. Lowell Thompson's request that Judge Charlie Baird recuse himself from the Cameron Todd Willingham court of inquiry hearing wasn't decided today.
Baird, who was set to decide on a request to convene a court of inquiry to investigate whether the Corsicana man was wrongfully convicted, said today that he would hear arguments for and against his recusal on Oct. 14. If Baird recuses himself, an administrative judge would appoint another judge to take over the case. If Baird declines to recuse himself, Thompson could appeal that decision to an administrative law judge, who would ...
Comments (2)
Kent Scheidegger
"A court of inquiry has the authority to exonerate Willingham...."
Can you cite your authority for that statement?
Courts of inquiry are governed by Chapter 52 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Article 52.08 states what the court can do at the conclusion of the hearing: "If it appear from a Court of Inquiry or any testimony adduced therein, that an offense has been committed, the Judge shall issue a warrant for the arrest of the offender as if complaint had been made and filed."
That's it. There is nothing in the statute about overturning past convictions.
Just because Judge Baird did it once before does not make it the proper procedure under Texas law. As Mr. Thompson says, "it's important to do it the right way."
The right way to exonerate a deceased person who was actually innocent is a posthumous pardon. The court of inquiry is not the right way.
But none of this applies to Willingham, who was not innocent, as he admitted to the mother of the victims.
Morgan Smith
Hi Kent--
Judge Baird used Article 1, Section 13 of the Constitution (which provides that “All courts shall be open, and every person for an injury done him, in his lands, goods, person or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law”) to exonerate Cole in a court of inquiry. I assume that is the same authority he would use in the Willingham case. Whether that is the proper procedure, as Thompson and others have pointed out, is up for argument.
Morgan