A Texas state commission no longer allowed to investigate a case where death penalty opponents say a man may have been executed based on a faulty arson claim is recommending that all cases of prisoners locked up on arson convictions be reviewed.
The Texas Forensic Science Commission on Friday approved 17 recommendations for improving arson inquiries. The panel also is suggesting a review of murder convictions involving fires, starting with prisoners on death row.
At one time, the commission was investigating the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was put to death in 2004 for setting a 1991 fire that killed his three children.
Arson experts later determined the fire was of accidental or unknown causes, but the state attorney general eventually limited the scope of the commission's investigation.
