Tarrant County ME Appointed to State Forensic Commission

Peerwani has testified in several high-profile cases.

Gov. Rick Perry has appointed Tarrant County's medical examiner to the Texas Forensic Science Commission, a group shaken up this fall when Perry replaced several members.

Dr. Nizam Peerwani's term on the commission that oversees professional conduct in forensic labs in Texas will expire Sept. 1, 2011.

Perry replaced the head of the commission and two of its eight other board members Sept. 30. That was just days before the panel was to consider a report critical of an arson finding leading to the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham for the deaths of his three daughters.

Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said Peerwani replaces Randall Frost, the chief medical examiner for Bexar County, who resigned Oct. 30, three weeks after his appointment.

Peerwani is perhaps best known for his role in the Branch Davidian trial, when he testified about the deaths of David Koresh and his followers at the compound outside Waco.  

Peerwani also took the stand in the trial of Chante Mallard, the former nurse's aide who struck a homeless man and left him in her windshield to die. Peerwani testified that if Mallard had taken Gregory Biggs to the hospital he would have survived his injuries. Mallard is currently serving a 50-sentence and is eligible for parole in 2027.

Peerwani has also served as chief medical examiner for Denton and Parker counties since July 1979.

He is also known for his work in the international human rights community. He currently serves as an expert consultant for Physicians for Human Rights. He's worked in Rwanda, Bosnia, Indonesia, Cyprus, Afghanistan and Israel, finding evidence of genocide and human rights violations under the auspices of the United Nations Tribunal.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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