TX panel skips misconduct talk until after primary

[white cloud]

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN
The Associated Press
Friday, January 29, 2010; 7:03 PM

HARLINGEN, Texas -- A Texas panel investigating allegations of misconduct and negligence in forensic analyses that led to a 2004 execution will not discuss the case until after the March Republican primary.

Cameron Todd Willingham was executed for the deaths of his three daughters in a 1991 house fire. The Texas Forensic Science Commission received a report last summer that the investigation leading to his conviction was seriously flawed, meaning Willingham's death could be the state's first proven wrongful execution.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/29/AR2010012903927.html

[sonias]

1. How convenient - Bradley marching to Perry's orders quite nicely

Grits for Breakfast blog 1/30/10
Hectoring approach works for John Bradley at Forensic Science Commission, for now

If I were a Forensic Science Commissioner who'd gone to Harlingen for yesterday's meeting, I'd be pretty darn grumpy at my chairman today for:

* Usurping power from commissioners: Bradley refused to put "action items" on the agenda that were designated in the minutes from the last meeting.
* Hijacking the meeting agenda: The chairman arrived in Harlingen with a detailed set of "rules" that were never authorized by the commission and insisted they focus on them exclusively.
* Concealing key activities from commissioners: Most FSC members were never told the chair was drafting rules nor did they authorize him to do so. They were first informed of the rules' existence and given a draft the day before the meeting.


(snip)
It was a pretty brazen performance, but judging by minimalist MSM media coverage, the Williamson County DA clearly made a good bet that - by moving the meeting to the Rio Grande Valley on a Friday and waiting to produce the rules until the last minute - he would get away with such bold hectoring of the commission. It's not a great start to Bradley's relationship with his fellow commissioners, but he's obviously not there to make friends. He's there to delay the commission's work and to impede the Willingham investigation by hook or by crook. And he's succeeding.

Scott blasts Bradley for the Perry water boy that he is. How's that leash working out for you Bradley?

Sonia

[sonias]

2. The revolt of the scientists

Rick Casey Commentary

Houston Chronicle 1/31/10
The revolt of the scientists

HARLINGEN — Friday started badly for John Bradley, the Williamson County district attorney selected last fall by Gov. Rick Perry to ride herd over the troublesome scientists on the Texas Forensic Science Commission.

His first official act of the morning was to violate the state's open meetings law.

Then his day got worse.

This was the first meeting of the commission under Bradley, who was appointed last September. His first official act was to cancel a meeting three days later at which the commission was scheduled to receive a report from a nationally renowned arson expert hired by the commission in its first high-profile case.

The meeting had drawn national attention because the expert found that the arson investigation that helped lead to the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham for the murder of his children was badly flawed. It was especially controversial because Perry had rejected a request to delay Willingham's execution based on similar expert analysis.

Bradley unilaterally wrote the agenda for Friday's meeting to focus on new policies and procedures, omitting the Willingham report. He also unilaterally chose Harlingen (which is as close to Mexico City as to Fort Worth, where three of the nine uncompensated and busy commission members live), making wrong my snide prediction that he would hold the meeting in Presidio to discourage reporters.

:kick:

Sonia

[sonias]

3. Bradley violated Open Meetings Act at forensic hearing

Grits for Breakfast 2/1/10
Bradley violated Open Meetings Act at forensic hearing
A Houston Chronicle column by Rick Casey ("The revolt of the scientists," Jan. 31) details behind the scenes wrangling at the Forensic Science Commission meeting on Friday, in which Chairman John Bradley first ejected, then reluctantly allowed in, a documentary camera crew tracking the Willingham case. Here's a tasty excerpt:

(snip)
The session took place in a modest meeting room at a Marriott Courtyard Hotel. A few area reporters were seated around the walls, as well as a handful of protesters carrying signs. A camera crew from the national Innocence Project streamed the meeting live on the group's Web site.

But Bradley evicted an Austin-based documentary crew before the meeting started. One of its members called the attorney general's office in Austin, which sent a message to Barbara Dean, the assistant district attorney who has attended all of the commission's meetings, providing legal guidance since its inception.

An hour and a half into the meeting, Dean, seated behind Bradley, tapped him on the shoulder and quietly spoke into his ear. He announced a 10-minute break, and when the meeting resumed the film crew was in the room.

Ha Ha, ha ha - Bradley broke the law and got slapped quickly by the A.G.'s office. Wow it must be an election season.

Sonia

[sonias]

4. Forensic panel slow to embark on mission

AAS Editorial 2/2/10
Forensic panel slow to embark on mission

(snip)
We just didn't think it would take quite this long. And, as critics predicted when the delaying began, it looks like the commission's review of the Cameron Todd Willingham case will be delayed until after the primaries, a move that could help Gov. Rick Perry (who faces Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Debra Medina of Wharton in the GOP gubernatorial contest) if it turns out there indeed were problems with the Willingham case.

In fact, under the schedule set by the commission chaired by Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley, the Willingham case won't even come up prior to the April 13 runoff, if there is one.

Perry got himself waist-deep in the Willingham case when, in late September, two days before the commission was to consider the case, the governor replaced three panel members, including the chairman.

Bradley, a Perry ally, cancelled that scheduled meeting, at which the commission had planned to question an arson expert whose report concluded that witnesses who testified against Willingham were woefully short on fire science knowledge.

More than clear that John Bradley is Perry's lapdog. Keeping Perry safe is his #1 goal.

Sonia