Cameron Todd Willingham
Cameron Todd Willingham, 36, was the father of three young children who died in a house fire in December 1991. After the fire, he was overcome with grief, and firefighters and police had to restrain him from going back into the burning house to reach his daughters. The State of Texas executed him by lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit in Huntsville on February 17, 2004. The fire testimony used at his trial was later questioned by reviewers who said it did not show the fire was set deliberately, and a 2014 Marshall Project report alleged that a jailhouse witness's testimony came from an undisclosed deal with the prosecutor, John Jackson, who denies making any deal. The State Bar has filed misconduct accusations against Jackson over the case, and the family's Innocence Project grievance argued that the execution should not have gone forward.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. Objections to the execution: the family's Innocence Project grievance argues it should not have gone forward, and experts who later reviewed the case found no evidence the fire was arson; a jailhouse informant later said his testimony was false.
Reported by: Texas Department of Criminal Justice (the agency that held him); his family's Innocence Project grievance (family or their lawyers); Marshall Project report (reporters).