The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied a request for a posthumous pardon for Cameron Todd Willingham, a man executed in 2004 after being convicted of setting his house on fire and killing his three young daughters.

Members of Mr. Willingham’s family and the Innocence Project in New York requested the pardon, noting that the arson science used to convict Mr. Willingham had long been questioned and presenting new evidence suggesting a secret deal between the prosecutor and a jailhouse informant. 

The board’s decision was unanimous. 

The letter from the board denying the request noted that the family could apply again after two years. 

Barry Scheck, the co-director of the Innocence Project, said the decision “illustrates that the clemency system is completely broken in Texas.” 

Source: The New York Times, April 3, 2014