The Houston Chronicle reports on the Houston Chronicle.
The Houston Chronicle and Hearst Newspapers LLC are suing Gov. Rick Perry in an effort to force the release of a clemency report Perry received before denying a stay of execution to Cameron Todd Willingham.
The report is a summary and status of the case against Willingham that was given to Perry at 11:30 a.m. on the day of Willingham's 2004 execution in the fire deaths of his three daughters. Anti-death penalty advocates say modern fire forensics show the blaze cannot be proven as arson.
We haven't talked much (any) about the case here, but for starters you can't do better than the Chicago Tribune's recent report on it, which has helped revive the long-lived story.
For political purposes, it could damage Perry, but he's dealing with a Republican primary in Texas, so any indictment of the death penalty is less likely to have traction.
In fact, Hutchison has used the case against Perry, but only as an argument that he's giving the death penalty a bad name.
“The only thing Rick Perry’s actions have accomplished is giving liberals an argument to discredit the death penalty.”
