Perry Petrified of the Truth

That's the only conclusion you can come to when you look at the evidence.

If you read Pharyngula, you already know that Texas very likely executed an innocent man.  And instead of trying to find out the truth in order to prevent future travesties, Gov. Perry's been doing everything he can to ensure the truth never comes out.

And I do mean everything:

It's starting to look more and more like Texas governor Rick Perry orchestrated an effort to thwart a state probe into an arson investigation that may have led to the execution of an innocent man.

Sam Bassett -- the former chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, who Perry declined to reappoint last month -- is now saying that Perry's aides tried to pressure him over the direction of the inquiry his panel was conducting into the steps that led to the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham for arson. Perry, as governor, signed off on the execution, despite clear evidence that the investigation was flawed.

Bassett told the Chicago Tribune over the weekend that he twice was summoned to meetings with Perry's top attorneys, who said explicitly that they were unhappy with the how the panel's probe was being conducted. At one meeting, Perry's lawyers questioned how much it was costing, and asked why the panel had hired a nationally known arson expert -- rather than a Texas fire scientist -- to look into the case. Bassett added that after that meeting, a staffer from the Texas general counsel's office started attending commission meetings.

Said Bassett to the Tribune:

I was surprised that they were involving themselves in the commission's decision-making. I did feel some pressure from them, yes. There's no question about that.

I used to be a death penalty advocate.  But it's cases like this, together with other grievous miscarriages of justice and the general horrific unfairness in its application, that turned me against it.  Too many innocent people, too many mentally ill or incompetent people, get annihilated by the state's zeal to kill in the name of justice.

Some people aren't fit to live in civilized society, true.  Just look at Gov. Perry and you see the truth of that.

I hope this brings him down.