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FRONTLINE: Death By Fire

Cameron Todd Willingham — convicted of the Dec. 23, 1991 capital murder of his three children in a fire — waits for guards to take him back to his cell on death row in Livingston, Texas, days before his execution on Feb. 17, 2004.
Courtesy of Scott Honea
Cameron Todd Willingham — convicted of the Dec. 23, 1991 capital murder of his three children in a fire — waits for guards to take him back to his cell on death row in Livingston, Texas, days before his execution on Feb. 17, 2004.

Airs Tuesday, October 25, 2011 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV

Did Texas execute an innocent man? Several controversial death penalty cases are currently under examination in Texas and in other states, but it’s the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham — convicted for the arson deaths of his three young children — that’s now at the center of the national debate.

With unique access to those closest to the case, FRONTLINE examines the Willingham conviction in light of new science that raises doubts about whether the fire at the center of the case was really arson at all.

The film, "Death By Fire," meticulously examines the evidence used to convict Willingham, provides an in-depth portrait of those most impacted by the case and explores the explosive implications of the execution of a possibly innocent man.

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Video Excerpt: FRONTLINE: Death By Fire
Video Excerpt: FRONTLINE: Death By Fire: New Arson Science