Tornado Alley (PROG)

[fuagf]

While reading that (the first part at least for the 2nd time, i'm thinking i wasn't able to finish it the first time) toward the end, after Hurst's contribution, i could only think .. gawd .. why didn't they have Hurst give refresher courses to ALL of the forensic people? .. can't call them experts .. anyway .. an excerpt from ..

Fire investigation

Louis C. Taylor was released in 2013 through a plea agreement after serving 42 years. Dave Mann of the Texas Observer became interested in the study of errors in fire investigation as a result of the cases of Ernest Ray Willis (who was exonerated after 17 years on death row) and Cameron Todd Willingham (who was executed after 12). He published a study that included a count of total fires in Texas versus the number of fires determined to be arson. Those results demonstrate a more than 60% drop in the number of fires determined to be arson between 1997 and 2007. After reviewing the data from Texas, Jack Nicas, a reporter for the Boston Globe performed the same exercise in Massachusetts, with even more startling results. Between 1984 and 2008, the percentage of fires determined to be arson in Massachusetts dropped from over 20% to less than 2%, despite a net increase in the total number of fires. Nationwide, from 1999 to 2011, the National Fire Protection Association reports a drop from around 15% to around 8% in the percentage of fires determined to be arson.

At least some of the downward trend can be accounted for by fire investigators taking a more cautious approach, and being more cognizant of the consequences of their determinations. This caution is probably not the result of old-school fire investigators changing their ways. NFPA 921 has now been a fact of life for 20 years, a time period over which many poorly trained investigators have had the opportunity to retire, and new fire investigators have always been aware of the need for more caution. As the great scientist Max Planck put it, “Science advances one funeral at a time.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_investigation#Qualification

so it's good to see SOME progress has been made to boost the integrity of fire investigation .. the Cameron Todd Willingham story was very hard to read .. at this bit ..

"The Innocence Project obtained, through the Freedom of Information Act, all the records from the governor’s office and the board pertaining to Hurst’s report. “The documents show that they received the report, but neither office has any record of anyone acknowledging it, taking note of its significance, responding to it, or calling any attention to it within the government,” Barry Scheck said. “The only reasonable conclusion is that the governor’s office and the Board of Pardons and Paroles ignored scientific evidence.”

LaFayette Collins, who was a member of the board at the time, told me of the process, “You don’t vote guilt or innocence. You don’t retry the trial. You just make sure everything is in order and there are no glaring errors.” He noted that although the rules allowed for a hearing to consider important new evidence, “in my time there had never been one called.” When I asked him why Hurst’s report didn’t constitute evidence of “glaring errors,” he said, “We get all kinds of reports, but we don’t have the mechanisms to vet them.” Alvin Shaw, another board member at the time, said that the case didn’t “ring a bell,” adding, angrily, “Why would I want to talk about it?” Hurst calls the board’s actions “unconscionable.”"

i almost reached "flashover" .. good on Hurst for all he has done on furthering the integrity of the scene .. your link ..
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=41255143

.. on Perry, well, maybe he has been here and again 100 times ..