Did We Execute An Innocent Man?

Kevin Williamson defends Perry's criminal justice record:

Ari Kohen slams Williamson:

Williamson’s implicit argument (if one can call this an argument) makes no sense. Listen to the clip: he claims it’s certainly possibly that innocent people are being executed (even likely) but this doesn’t bother him in the least. But beyond the callousness of what he says and how he says it, and beyond the fact that he doesn’t care in the least about investigative reporting on the Willingham case, it’s important to note that he believes that executing people is precisely what the government ought to be doing; it’s “right at the top of the list.” He’s not too worried about it because he has yet to see a single systemic problem with the death penalty. My guess is that he has never looked at a single death penalty in any detail beyond the minimal news coverage of some execution or other. Otherwise, I just can’t imagine how he can make this claim.

Earlier discussion of the New Yorker article Fernholz mentions here and here.