...You gotta have some dirt on "The Man"

And Gov. Rick Perry's opponents have unearthed enough to start a mudslide.

The most recent controversy surrounding the governor involves the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was accused of starting a fire that killed his three children. Why has this story been dragged up out of the ashes, and what does it have to do with Rick Perry? Apparently Perry blatantly ignored multiple reports that Willingham was actually innocent. The governor had the power to reverse an injustice and didn't do it.

The New Yorker recently published an article documenting the case from start to finish. Apparently, after the execution, multiple forensic investigators claimed that the original indicators of arson had since been "scientifically proven to be invalid."

The Texas Forensic Science Commission has been investigating the case since 2005. The head of the investigation was scheduled to present his findings after four years of research this September. Shockingly, Perry had four commissioners, including the head investigator, replaced before the findings could be presented.

In defense of his actions, Perry said, "This was a guy who murdered his three children ... This was a bad man," according to The Dallas Morning News. But the question is, does he have the authority to make such an assertion when scientific investigators have found otherwise? Multiple character reports tell us he was indeed a "bad man," but simply being unpleasant is not a crime punishable by death. It seems that Perry is more concerned about being right than exonerating an innocent man.

Republican opponent Debra Medina countered, "The question, Governor Perry, is NOT whether or not Cameron Todd Willingham was a 'bad' man. The question sir is whether or not justice was served? Was he guilty of the crime that resulted in his execution?" Her entire letter is definitely worth a read, and it might even make you wonder if she should replace Perry as our next governor.

Of course the Kay Bailey Hutchison campaign pounced on the opportunity, saying the governor is "giving liberals an argument to discredit the death penalty." This is another bullet in her vast arsenal of complaints against the incumbent, as evidenced by her new Web site Slick Rick Perry.

Perry certainly already has some character complaints lodged against him, but impeding justice would be the dirt that catapults his opponents to the top (especially as Hutchison is now leading by a few points, according to one poll). Lynn Woolley of The Dallas Morning News sums it up best: "Of course, if Willingham did not set the fire – that's huge. But if Rick Perry interfered with the Texas Forensic Science Commission's investigation into the case – that's monumental."