Film Analysis: Death By Fire
Reaction Essay "Death By Fire" 6/17/2013
I watched the PBS Frontline documentary "Death By Fire," directed and produced by Jessie Deeter and co-produced and written by Mike Wiser and Michael Kirk. Todd Willingham, the father of three little girls, was ultimately charged, tried, and convicted of murdering his daughters by means of arson. The date of the fire was December 23, 1991, and he was finally executed by lethal injection on Feb 17, 2004. The circumstances surrounding this case were and still are controversial to this day. Opponents on both sides continue to voice their opinions on whether or not the state of Texas executed a man for a crime that they could not prove was a crime. As a father of two daughters myself, …show more content…
The mere thought of losing a child is every parent's nightmare; each person may grieve differently. However, as a father myself, I could not imagine going out to a bar to play darts the night after my children were killed in a fire. This does not seem to be the actions of a man in mourning. Add with this multiple accounts of witnesses at the dart tournament recalling Todd making statements such as "money was not a problem" because he expected to receive money from charity following this tragedy. Moreover, his failure to even attempt to go into the burning house to save his girls is unthinkable to me. Had this been me, nothing could have kept me from trying to save my children, even if it meant giving my own life in my …show more content…
After the trial, he stated, "Of course I thought he was guilty." Although I do not think it is appropriate for an attorney to make a statement like this because it could be perceived his attorney did not fight for him as he should have based on his personal feelings, my feeling is that his attorney's statement reinforces his guilt. Martin was sure his client was guilty and would be found guilty, which is never a beneficial when a defendant is fighting for his life. The state did offer Willingham a chance to plea guilty and be spared the death penalty; however, he refused this despite his attorney's advice to accept
I watched the PBS Frontline documentary "Death By Fire," directed and produced by Jessie Deeter and co-produced and written by Mike Wiser and Michael Kirk. Todd Willingham, the father of three little girls, was ultimately charged, tried, and convicted of murdering his daughters by means of arson. The date of the fire was December 23, 1991, and he was finally executed by lethal injection on Feb 17, 2004. The circumstances surrounding this case were and still are controversial to this day. Opponents on both sides continue to voice their opinions on whether or not the state of Texas executed a man for a crime that they could not prove was a crime. As a father of two daughters myself, …show more content…
The mere thought of losing a child is every parent's nightmare; each person may grieve differently. However, as a father myself, I could not imagine going out to a bar to play darts the night after my children were killed in a fire. This does not seem to be the actions of a man in mourning. Add with this multiple accounts of witnesses at the dart tournament recalling Todd making statements such as "money was not a problem" because he expected to receive money from charity following this tragedy. Moreover, his failure to even attempt to go into the burning house to save his girls is unthinkable to me. Had this been me, nothing could have kept me from trying to save my children, even if it meant giving my own life in my …show more content…
After the trial, he stated, "Of course I thought he was guilty." Although I do not think it is appropriate for an attorney to make a statement like this because it could be perceived his attorney did not fight for him as he should have based on his personal feelings, my feeling is that his attorney's statement reinforces his guilt. Martin was sure his client was guilty and would be found guilty, which is never a beneficial when a defendant is fighting for his life. The state did offer Willingham a chance to plea guilty and be spared the death penalty; however, he refused this despite his attorney's advice to accept