willingham escaped, his three children died. >> it is hard to imagine a greater tragedy. >> but willingham known as a troublemaker and accused of beating his wife, was accused of their death. unconcerned about his daughters inside, the trial was swift. >> the prosecutor said, at his trial, that there were two pillars of evidence in the case. one was the testimony of the arson investigators, who testified that this was an intentionally set fire. >> reporter: the corsicana fire department said they found accelerant leading from the girls bedroom to the back doosh doordoorand orefrigerator block the back door. >> johnny webb testified he was talking to todd willingham and that todd willingham had confessed to setting the fire. >> it took no time for jury to find him guilty of capital murder and willingham was sent to death row. >> the state of texas has executed an innocent man. i don't know what more evidence you could expect. >> it was 2010 when charlie baird, a former district judge, agreed to hear the case for willingham pos hoft posthumous hearing. recan takings of johnny web the jailhou

>> no. >> did you know who willingham was? >> he said a prosecutor offered him a secret deal, sovereigning his own sentence in exchange for his own lightning of sentence. >> i straight up told what he told me to do. >> do you believe that jackson told him to tell the lie on the stand? >> i believe it because it's not just confirmed by what webb said. it's corroborated by the other letters and correspondence that he had where he obviously had a very close relationship with judge jackson. >> reporter: funneling the exoneration hearing in 2010, baird concluded that willingham was denied a fair trial. but even as he was ruling, willingham's attorneys were enengaged in another hearing. >> he went to a higher court. >> he went to a higher court. >> he walked out and went to the higher court and filed paperwork over there and asked me to stop the hearing. >> the appeals court was blocks away. it agreed to temporarily halt the proceedings and ruled baird would have to be examined for bias on the death pement. >> ipenalty. >> we had af

cameron todd willingham was executed on feb 17 2004. hours after the photo. >> he protested his innocence to the last moment he was alive. >> what about the confession he supposedly gave to the gaol house informant who testified against him in court. >> everyone says i'm a snitch. i didn't snitch on nobody. i lied like john jackson told me to >>> that was johnny webb who says its story about willing-ham' gaol house confession confession. he had more to say. our exclusive interview when we come back. plus - decades, pollution, years of violation, and how the law caught up to a battery recycling plant. stay with us. purchase >>> welcome back to al jazeera america here is a look at the top stories. the red cross is calling the war in yemen a humanitarian crisis and are asking for a 24 hour ceasefire to allow the delivery of life-saving aid to civilians cut off by military air strikes. russia is asking for a pause to allow foreigners time to leave. i.s.i.l. has taken control of the yarmouk refugee camp outside of damascus. the camp is home

willingham professed his innocence throughout his trial and incarceration.e was executed in 2004, but today the state's evidence has been called into question. independent fire investigators now say the fire may have been accidental and the jailhouse informant says his testimony was a lie. coerced by a prosecutor who promised him a secret deal, never disclosed to the jury. the prosecutor john jackson is now under investigation by the texas bar association and the informant johnny webb spoke exclusively with al jazeera. >> you see everybody says i was a snitch. i didn't snitch on anybody. i lied like john jackson told me to. >> reporter: had you ever talked to willingham before? >> uh-uh. >> reporter: did you know who willingham was? you know, johnny, you lied under oath. you are a liar. why should we believe you are telling the truth now? >> you don't got to believe me. believe their words. they are right this. >> reporter: as evidence, he speaks to 20 years of correspondences between himself, jackson and jackson's surrogates in which a deal is implied. a re

>> no. >> did you know who willingham was?> the prosecution for the case, and what happened in the case may never be answered. >>> and its world autism awareness day. it's why so many people are wearing blue, and why so many buildings will be lit up in blue tonight. for the founders, it's ten years in the making. >> we had to take it out of the closet and talk about it. nobody was talking about it. >> you talked about it to the pope, didn't you? >> i sure did. it was a wonderful experience. >> suzanne and bob wright talk about the challenges and the help this they received from both republicans and democrats in washington. all of those stories coming up in three minutes. >> thank you. the future of the auto world has arrived right here in new york city. audi finished it's nine-day trek today. it started in san francisco and the car mostly drove itself for 3400 miles. it uses gps for traffic and brake on its own. it will be 10-15 years before self driving cars are ready for the rest of us. that is our report for this hour. i'm

i straight up lied like john jackson told me to. >> had you ever talked to willingham before? >> uh-uh. >> done who he was? you lied under oath, you are a liar. why should we believe you're telling the truth now. >> you don't got to believe me, believe their words they're right there. >> he points to 20 years of correspondence between himself jackson and jackson surrogates in which a deal is implied. also a recently discovered note in the d.a.'s file on webb says his sentence was to be lessened based on "cooperation in willingham." >> jackson now a retired district judge denies the allegations that he fabricated willingham's confession and denies that he coached webb to lion the stand. he also denies a deal between him and webb ever existed. jackson will face those charges leveled by the texas bar association laird no year in a jury trial. punishment goes from reprimand to disbarment. this is the latest chapter in a painful episode that took the lives of three young girls in this community and led to the execution of a man who may have been innocent with that. >> the new orlea

camron scott willingham and his daughters were home napping while their mother was out. then the unimaginable. a fire. willing hammham escaped. his daughters did not. willing hamwas arrested for the girls' deathed. neighbors said they saw him push his car from the flames apparently unconcerned about his daughters inside. the trial was swift. the arson investigators testified it was an intensely set fire. >>reporter: the texas fire marshal's office told the jury they found evidence of an accellerant at the home. willing hamclaimed the fire was accidental and that he had barely escaped and had no chance to return for his children. >> but it could have been one of the little kids >>> hi everyone. this is al jazeera america >>> texas execution >> i'm concerned about this case because of the bad science. >>reporter: did a prosecutor send an innocent father to his death? >>> running on empty. >> farming without water, that's a big trick. >>reporter: california's drastic steps to save water. the hardships farmers face after years of drought. >>> world autism awareness day. an u

it was mary willingham. i did not think a great deal about that except i figured bill friday was telling me, it must have some substance. i was already worried as so many of us were, about the indications without much proof that not all was well. i also as a sort of member of the faculty, would go from time to time to the meeting of the faculty council because, among other things, it is a way to find out or should be, what is the heart of the academic enterprise's thinking as well as the administration. and there i discovered one thing that was going on was, if your name was jeff smith and you got up and said, prophetic things about sports you might as well have been an immediate pariah because you were. and the one thing i can tell you about when jeff spoke was that people turned their heads not to listen but to somehow or other try by proving by not listening that what he was saying would go away. these were not partners at this particular moment except they were aiming for the same final end. jeff smith a

the it was mary willingham. i did not think a great deal about that at the time except i figured bill friday were telling me it must have some substance. but i was already worried that so many of us were about the indications without much proof. i also is a sort of member from the faculty would go from time to time to the meeting of the faculty council because among other things it's a way to find out what is at the heart of the academic enterprise is thinking as well as the administration. there i discovered one thing that was going on was if your name is jeff smith and you got up and said prophetic things about sports you might as well have been a media pariah because you were and the one thing i can tell you about what jeff spoke was people turn their heads not to listen but to somehow or other proving by not listening that what they were saying would go away. these were not partners at this particular moment except they were aiming for the same final thing. jeff smith and mary willingham and that is the kids

. >>> cameron todd willingham, convicted of killing his three young children. he was executed in 2004. but there are serious doubts about the evidence in the case. what the judge is saying and what his wife is asking. >>> it's one of the biggest threats to cal's limited drinking water. >> it's sad to say that there are serious cancer-causing chemicals in the ground water right now. >> documents what state regulators knew about chemical dumping and the surprise admission from the agency in charge of protecting california's water. >>> artist jacob lawrence brought hope to the struggles of migrating african-americans in the 1920s. how his work still influences today and the collection of new york's museum of modern art is putting on display. those are all coming up in 40 minutes. >> a story of survival off the north carolina coast. >> this was the moment louis jordan's long ordeal finally came to an end 200 miles off the coast of north carolina. for the first time in more than two months he was back on dry land. jordan set out from south carolina on a fishing trip

then at 9:00 eastern mary willingham and jay smith cheated, the scandal and athletes in future of big time sports. the author of the test. why our schools are obsessed with standardized testings but you don't have to be. >> this sunday on "q&a," senior editor for "the weekly standard," andrew ferguson on his writing career the gop presidential candidates for 2016, and what voters are looking for in a candidate. >> they want somebody who looks like he's stood up for them. i'm amazed now to the degree to which primary voters on both sides are motivated by resentment and, the sense of being put upon. and you know those people really don't understand us. and here's a guy who does understand us and he will stick it to them. that happens on both sides. hillary clinton will give her own version of that kind of thing. i don't think that was actually true 30 years ago. i mean, resentment always has been part of politics obviously but the degree to which it is almost exclusively the motivating factor in truly-committed republicans and democrats. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern and pacific on c-

at 9:00 eastern mary willingham, and kay smith. cheated. athletes in big time sports.a kaminez. why our schools are obsessed with standardized testing but you don't have to be. coming up tonight on booktv. >>> each night this week at 9:00 p.m. eastern conversations with a few new members of c,ngress. >> and as a result i try to stay disciplined in my message in a football sense i try to stay between the hash marks. i understand, i represent everyone in montana and that is one congressman. i represent not only the republican side. but i represent the democrat side. independent side, the tea party side. i represent everyone in montana. i think if we take that value set forward, congress represents america. truly articulate the values and needs and desires of your district. but the purposes to make america better. >> five newest members of congress talk about their careers and personal lives and share insight about how things work on capitol hill. join us for all of their conversations each night at 9:00 eastern on c-span. >> now a discussion about our aging society, work