Brian Williams becomes the next reporter to almost, but not quite, hold Rick Perry to account for the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham. During the GOP debate Wednesday night, Williams asked without naming Willingham, or going at Perry armed with the science that undermined the prosecution's case. (A pity: this came on the heels of the moderators trying to get Perry in a spat with Jon Huntsman about who was "anti-science.") 
 
 Williams simply asked in general if Perry had ever struggled with the idea that someone who was killed via capital punishment was innocent. The weak sauce allowed Perry to wriggle off the hook: "No, sir. I've never struggled with that at all. The state of Texas has a very thoughtful, a very clear process in place of which -- when someone commits the most heinous of crimes against our citizens, they get a fair hearing, they go through an appellate process, they go up to the Supreme Court of the United States, if that's required. 
 
 "But in the state of Texas, if you come into our state and you kill one of our children, you kill a police officer, you're involved with another crime and you kill one of our citizens, you will face the ultimate justice in the state of Texas, and that is, you will be executed." 
 
 After 18 years of incarceration and countless protestations of innocence, Anthony Graves finally got a nod of approval from the one person who mattered Wednesday and at last returned home -- free from charges that he participated in the butchery of a family in Somerville he did not know and free of the possibility that he would have to answer for them with his life. The district attorney for Washington and Burleson counties, Bill Parham, gave Graves his release. The prosecutor filed a motion to dismiss charges that had sent Graves to Texas' death row for most of his adult life. Graves returned to his mother's home in Brenham no longer the "cold-blooded killer," so characterized by the prosecutor who first tried him, but as another exonerated inmate who even in the joy of redemption will face the daunting prospect of reassembling the pieces of a shattered life. "He's an innocent man," Parham said, noting that his office investigated the case for five months. "There is nothing that connects Anthony Graves to this crime. I did what I did because that's the right thing to do." 
 
 It's worth worrying about! 
 
 Williams plodded ahead with a sentimental follow-up, asking Perry to react to the fact that members of the audience applauded when hearing Perry has executed 234 individuals. Perry replied, "I think Americans understand justice. I think Americans are clearly, in the vast majority of -- of cases, supportive of capital punishment. When you have committed heinous crimes against our citizens -- and it's a state-by-state issue, but in the state of Texas, our citizens have made that decision, and they made it clear, and they don't want you to commit those crimes against our citizens. And if you do, you will face the ultimate justice. 
 
 But what if scientists say you sent a man to his death for having committed no crime at all? For everything you need to know about Perry and Willingham, click here. ||||| AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Innocence Project argued Friday that newly discovered documents undermine the credibility of a key witness against a Texas man executed for the deaths of his three children based in part on arson evidence that has since been deemed faulty. 
 
 FILE - In this Oct. 6, 2010, file photo, Scott Cobb, right, joins about 15 members of The Campaign to End the Death Penalty at a protest before a hearing about the Cameron Todd Willingham case outside... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice shows Cameron Todd Willingham who was executed in 2004 for setting fire to his Corsicana house, killing his 2-year-old daughter... (Associated Press) 
 
 The New York-based nonprofit said it has discovered a handwritten note that suggests a prosecutor gave a lesser charge to jailhouse informant Johnny Webb, who testified that Cameron Todd Willingham told Webb he killed his daughters in 1991. 
 
 That would contradict claims made at trial by Webb and prosecutor John Jackson that Webb did not receive consideration for his testimony. 
 
 "It's astonishing that 10 years after Todd Willingham was executed we are still uncovering evidence showing what a grave injustice this case represents," Barry Scheck, the Innocence Project's co-director, said in a statement. 
 
 Willingham's case has been scrutinized by advocates who argue the state may have executed a wrongfully convicted man. Fire science experts already have refuted much of the methodology used in his case. 
 
 In a new filing Friday with the state pardon board, The Innocence Project said Jackson worked to have Webb's charge reduced from an aggravated offense with a deadly weapon to a second-degree felony. Included in the filing is a handwritten note, found in files turned over by current prosecutors, that mentions a second-degree robbery offense "based on coop in Willingham." The note is not signed or dated. 
 
 Jackson, a former prosecutor in Navarro County, south of Dallas, who later became a state district judge, has maintained that Webb did not receive leniency. He told The Associated Press on Friday that he had not seen the note, but believed it was likely referring to efforts he made to get Webb out of prison after Willingham's trial due to threats on Webb's safety. 
 
 "The file may certainly reflect that we tried to get sentencing shortened, but it had nothing to do with any agreement relative to the Willingham trial," Jackson said. 
 
 Jackson said imprisoned members of the Aryan Brotherhood had threatened Webb due to his role in Willingham's conviction. 
 
 "We certainly had an interest in not seeing a primary witness in the case killed while he was in prison," he said. 
 
 Lowell Thompson, the current Navarro County district attorney, confirmed the note was in the files he allowed the Innocence Project to inspect, but did not take a position on whether it indicated anything about the case. 
 
 "I've seen it, but I'm not familiar with anything it might mean or it might not mean," Thompson said Friday. 
 
 Webb, who currently is being held in the Navarro County Jail on an unrelated aggravated assault case, could not be reached for comment. 
 
 A fire destroyed Willingham's home in 1991 and killed his three daughters. A state fire marshal who studied the scene testified at Willingham's 1992 trial that the fire was arson. 
 
 Scientists have since refuted much of the methodology used by arson investigators before 1992, including the techniques used by the fire marshal in the Willingham fire. Attorneys submitted new scientific findings to Gov. Rick Perry in 2004 and asked for time to reopen the case, but Perry allowed Willingham's execution to go forward that year. Willingham maintained his innocence until his death. 
 
 The Innocence Project has called for a posthumous pardon, but Perry has long declined to reconsider Willingham's guilt, calling him a "monster" who had killed his own children. 
 
 Lucy Nashed, a spokeswoman for Perry, said Friday that the governor's position has not changed. 
 
 "Todd Willingham was convicted and sentenced to death by a jury of his peers for murdering his three daughters, year-old twins and a two-year-old," Nashed said in an email. She added: "The governor agreed with the numerous state and federal courts that Willingham was guilty and the execution should proceed." ||||| The Innocence Project argued on Friday that newly discovered documents undermine the credibility of a key witness against a Texas man who was executed for the deaths of his three children, based in part on arson evidence that has since been deemed to be faulty. 
 
 The New York-based non-profit said it had discovered a handwritten note that suggests a prosecutor gave a lesser charge to a jailhouse informant, Johnny Webb, who testified that Cameron Todd Willingham told him he killed his daughters in 1991. That would contradict claims made at trial by Webb and prosecutor John Jackson that Webb did not receive consideration for his testimony. 
 
 “It’s astonishing that 10 years after Todd Willingham was executed we are still uncovering evidence showing what a grave injustice this case represents,�? Barry Scheck, the Innocence Project’s co-director, said in a statement. 
 
 Willingham’s case has been scrutinised by advocates who argue the state may have executed a wrongfully convicted man. Fire-science experts already have refuted much of the methodology used in his case. 
 
 In a new filing with the state pardon board, the Innocence Project said Jackson worked to have Webb’s charge reduced from an aggravated offense with a deadly weapon to a second-degree felony. Included in the filing is a handwritten note, found in files turned over by current prosecutors, that mentions a second-degree robbery offense “based on coop in Willingham�?. The note is not signed or dated. 
 
 Jackson, the former district attorney in Navarro County, south of Dallas, who later became a state district judge, has maintained that Webb did not receive leniency. He told the Associated Press on Friday he had not seen the note, but believed it was likely referring to efforts he made to get Webb out of prison after Willingham’s trial, due to threats on Webb’s safety. 
 
 “The file may certainly reflect that we tried to get sentencing shortened, but it had nothing to do with any agreement relative to the Willingham trial,�? Jackson said. 
 
 Jackson said imprisoned members of the Aryan Brotherhood had threatened Webb, due to his role in Willingham’s conviction. 
 
 “We certainly had an interest in not seeing a primary witness in the case killed while he was in prison,�? he said. 
 
 Lowell Thompson, the current Navarro County district attorney, confirmed the note was in the files he allowed the Innocence Project to inspect, but did not take a position on whether it indicated anything about the case. 
 
 “I’ve seen it, but I’m not familiar with anything it might mean or it might not mean,�? Thompson said on Friday. 
 
 Webb, who is being held in the Navarro County Jail on an unrelated aggravated assault case, could not be reached for comment. 
 
 A fire destroyed Willingham’s home in 1991 and killed his three daughters. A state fire marshal who studied the scene testified at Willingham’s 1992 trial that the fire was arson. 
 
 Scientists have since refuted much of the methodology used by arson investigators before 1992, including the techniques used by the fire marshal in the Willingham fire. Attorneys submitted new scientific findings to Governor Rick Perry in 2004 and asked for time to reopen the case, but Perry allowed Willingham’s execution to go forward that year. Willingham maintained his innocence until his death. 
 
 The Innocence Project has called for a posthumous pardon, but Perry has long declined to reconsider Willingham’s guilt, calling him a “monster�? who killed his own children. 
 
 Lucy Nashed, a spokeswoman for Perry, said on Friday that the governor’s position has not changed. 
 
 “Todd Willingham was convicted and sentenced to death by a jury of his peers for murdering his three daughters, year-old twins and a two-year-old,�? Nashed said in an email. “The governor agreed with the numerous state and federal courts that Willingham was guilty and the execution should proceed.�?
– One thing Rick Perry doesn't lose sleep over are the executions in his state. Asked last night if he ever worried that Texas has put an innocent man to death, he answered confidently: "No, sir. I've never struggled with that at all." He praised the state's "thoughtful, very clear process when someone commits the most heinous of crimes." If "you come into our state and you kill one of our children, you kill a police officer ... you will face the ultimate justice in the state of Texas, you will be executed." Members of the audience applauded when it was revealed that 234 prisoners have been put to death while Perry has been governor, notes the Huffington Post. The New Yorker in 2009 revealed very serious doubts by scientific experts about evidence against Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in 2004 on Perry's watch for a fire that killed Willingham's three daughters. A year after the execution the Texas Forensic Science Commission re-examined the case, and its investigator concluded that there was no reliable evidence that arson had been committed.