Rick calls Willingham a monster... and rightfully so...

R.G. Ratcliffe wrote a good written account of Rick's spirited defense of the Willingham execution (link). Excerpts follow...

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry defended his actions today in the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, calling Willingham a “monster” and a “bad man” who murdered his children.

Perry has been besieged by accusations that he has tried to block an investigation into the possibility that Willingham may have been a victim of bad forensic science that led to his conviction in the 1991 Corsicana arson deaths of his three children, and subsequently his 2004 execution.

Perry told reporters today he is convinced that Willingham was guilty of his crime.

“Willingham was a monster,” Perry said. “Here's a guy who murdered his three children, who tried to beat his wife into an abortion so he wouldn't have those kids. Person after person has stood up and testified to facts of this case that, quite frankly, you all are not covering.”

Perry said Willingham showed how bad he was on the day of his execution.

“This is a bad man. This is a guy who in the death chamber in his last breath spews an obscenity-laced (tirade) against his wife,” Perry said.

[SNIP]

But the governor also attacked the report that Craig Beyler produced for the commission that was a scathing review of the original arson investigation. Perry said even Willingham's criminal defense lawyer does not believe that report.

“He (the defense lawyer) will tell you that this man was a monster. He has come to clearly believe in his guilt,” Perry said. “He said that study that Mr. Beyler came forward with is nothing more than propaganda by the anti-death penalty people across this country.”

Perry added that Willingham had adequate criminal justice review before his execution.

“How many courts looked at this? There were nine federal courts that looked at this case. Nine federal courts. It was before the Supreme Court of the United States four times. Now surely you're not saying the Supreme Court of the United States fouled up four times?” Perry said.

“We have a system in this state that has followed the procedures and they found this man guilty at every step of the way. You have one piece of study that everyone is glomming onto and saying, ‘Ah-ha!.'”

This is what we have needed to hear from Rick for weeks now. Or at least hear it from his flacks... I have said it before and I will say it again... Rick and his peeps sometimes think these stories will go away and the facts will speak for themselves and the truth will win the day on its own...

That is not how any of this works... Rick himself is the best weapon on Rick's team. He needs to be out there defending himself when these things pop up. He is a rock star and has been around long enough to know what to say and how to say it.

The biased msm won't come to the right conclusion on their own... a little nudge can go a long way.

Those of us who like Rick have been sitting around without any direction or information on this issue other than the propaganda that Anderson Cooper and other activist reporters have been spewing...

Now it seems Rick and his peeps are fighting back, but a lot of damage has already been done that could have been mitigated. That being said, Rick's exasperated peeps tell me they have attempted to get their side of the story in the reporting and have just been ignored especially by the big national liberal media channels...