Trial by Fire

Trial by Fire

Todd Willingham was a man accused of a triple homicide at his home in Corsicana, Texas. This homicide left his three children Karmon, Kameron, and Amber Willingham dead in their home.
The main key element that was left out from the beginning of the story was how the fire was ignited. The story starts off by telling the reader how quickly the fire was spreading through the house, as well as the structure of the house. Defense lawyers are not obligated to believe that you are innocent unless they choose to base it on the evidence. My reaction to defense attorney David Martin’s comment to the reporter is that I agree with him all the way. The job of a defense attorney is not to believe its client but to promote justice for society as well as making sure their client receives a fair trial. An attorney can still defend his client being fully aware that his client is guilty.
Reason as to why I believe Willingham refused to plead guilty and take a life sentence was because he felt why plead guilty to a crime he didn’t commit even if it meant a lighter sentence. He felt he should defend his innocence until the very end. If Willingham would have pleaded guilty it would have shown that he really did commit the crime he is being accused of. The State provided numerous evidence that Willingham was guilty of homicide. The evidence that led to Willingham’s arrest was the inspection the fire department made which lead to the discovery of liquid accelerants in the fire.
What the author means when he says that Willingham “had trouble separating the mores in prison from those of the outside world “is that he could no longer tell the difference between the people from inside the jail and outside. Willingham had forgotten how to talk to people politely. Reason why he forgot how to talk politely to those not incarcerated was because he had adapted to the lingo and behavior of an inmate. He felt that when someone came to visit him he just wanted to...

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