Texas Justice: Revisiting Cameron Todd Willingham’s Wrongful Execution - The Conclusion

2025-10-12

Episode 82 In this episode, we follow the fallout of the Cameron Todd Willingham case — a story that didn’t end at the execution chamber.When fire scientist Dr. Gerald Hurst sounded the alarm that the arson evidence used to convict Willingham was based on junk science, Texas had a choice: pause and reevaluate, or push forward and protect its image.It chose the latter.We’ll unpack how political pressure and flawed forensics collided, how the Texas Forensic Science Commission became a battleground for truth, and how one governor’s ambition may have buried account...

Episode 82

In this episode, we follow the fallout of the Cameron Todd Willingham case — a story that didn’t end at the execution chamber.
When fire scientist Dr. Gerald Hurst sounded the alarm that the arson evidence used to convict Willingham was based on junk science, Texas had a choice: pause and reevaluate, or push forward and protect its image.
It chose the latter.
We’ll unpack how political pressure and flawed forensics collided, how the Texas Forensic Science Commission became a battleground for truth, and how one governor’s ambition may have buried accountability for good.
We’ll also examine how the echoes of this case continue today — through the fight to apply the state’s Junk Science Law, and the ongoing battle to win a fair trial for Robert Roberson, another man condemned by discredited science.

Because justice isn’t just about verdicts — it’s about what we do after we know the truth.

Help Stop Robert Roberson's Execution!!! Click here to sign the petition!

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Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments:
Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Jenny Mercer and Laura Pisciotta, for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes.

Listener discretion is advised.

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated

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Because we've covered this case before, some sources are listed in the show notes from Episodes 2 and 3.

For a full list of sources, please see Episode 81. Additional sources used for this episode are listed below

Sources:

Possley, Maurice. “Jury Clears Prosecutor Who Sent Cameron Todd Willingham to Death Row.” The Marshall Project, May 11, 2017.
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/05/11/jury-clears-the-prosecutor-who-sent-cameron-todd-willingham-to-death-row
Wikipedia. “Gerald Hurst.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Hurst
Wikipedia. “Cameron Todd Willingham.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Todd_Willingham
Grann, David. “Trial By Fire.” The New Yorker, August 31, 2009.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/09/07/trial-by-fire
Innocence Project. “Prosecutor in Willingham Case Faces Misconduct Charges.” March 19, 2015.
https://innocenceproject.org/news/prosecutor-in-willingham-case-faces-misconduct-charges/