( CNN ) -- An advocate for the family of Cameron Todd Willingham , executed six years ago after a fire killed three of his daughters , is sharply questioning the objectivity of the head of the Texas commission looking into whether the man was rightly convicted . Stephen Saloom , the policy director of the nonprofit legal advocacy group the Innocence Project , brought up a comment attributed last week to John Bradley , chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission , during the public comments portion of that panel 's meeting Friday . According to the published report , Bradley said that anti-death penalty groups wanted to hold up Willingham -- convicted in 1992 after a jury determined he deliberately set the fire that killed his three girls -- as a `` poster boy '' for their cause . Bradley questioned that approach , calling Willingham `` a guilty monster . '' `` This is a very clear statement , 'Willingham is a guilty monster , ' that brings into question the reliability of your chairman , '' said Saloom . Bradley downplayed the criticism as `` New York lawyers '' making `` personal attacks , rather than legal arguments . '' Founded by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld , the Innocence Project is a New York-based nonprofit that pursues legal challenges and push policy reforms aimed at exonerating people wrongfully convicted of crimes and preventing future injustices . Death-penalty opponents have said an impartial review of Willingham 's case could lead to the unprecedented admission that the state executed an innocent man . Willingham 's daughters -- 2-year-old Amber and 1-year-old twins Karmon and Kameron -- died when their Corsicana , Texas , home went up in flames in 1991 . The state 's fire marshal , Manuel Vasquez , told jurors in Willingham 's trial that the fire was set intentionally and spread quickly due to an inflammable liquid . While a jury convicted Willingham of murder , three reviews of evidence by outside experts found the arson determination was based on outdated or faulty science . The first of those reports was sent to Gov . Rick Perry 's office and submitted to appeals courts before Willingham 's execution , while the other two came after his death . The last of those was ordered in 2008 by the Texas Forensic Sciences Commission , itself authorized in 2005 by an act of the Texas state legislature . In that report , Maryland-based fire science expert Craig Beyler concluded that the arson finding `` could not be sustained '' -- based on current-day investigative standards , as well as those in place in 1991 . But two days before the panel was set to hear from Beyler , Gov . Rick Perry shook up the commission with three appointments , including one to replace the panel 's chairman . Perry later called the move `` pretty normal protocol , '' since the departing members ' terms had expired . As governor , he had signed off on Willingham 's execution , and critics have accused him of trying to derail a review of that case . Perry has said he 's confident Willingham was guilty , while police in Corsicana say other evidence beyond the arson testimony supports the prosecution . The Forensic Science Commission 's movement on the investigation has slowed as the board 's new chairman , Bradley , urged a review of the panel 's operating rules . Bradley , who was appointed to his current job as Williamson County district attorney in 2001 ahead of his election one year later , said this summer that the Willingham probe `` absolutely '' will continue , though he would not say when . In July , the Forensic Science Commission found that arson investigators used flawed science in their probe of the Willingham matter , but were not negligent and did not commit misconduct . At Friday 's hearing , Saloom noted `` concerns '' about several moves that Bradley had made and questioned whether it was necessary to `` revisit everything '' that the commission had done prior to Bradley 's appointment . `` It 's pretty clear that the commission was going along pretty swimmingly until Gov . Perry ... appointed Bradley as the new commissioner , '' added Paul Cates in a phone interview with CNN . `` Since he has been part of the new commission , he 's tried to stop the commission from doing what we believe that it should be doing . '' Later in the hearing , several of the Forensic Commission 's members engaged in a heated exchange over the Willingham case and the panel 's role . Dr. Garry Adams , for instance , said `` it is important to maintain credibility '' given the intense media spotlight on the case , while fellow members Lance Evans and Dr. Sarah Kerrigan also questioned the validity of Willingham 's conviction . But Bradley said that much of the debate over Willingham 's case was being fanned by the media and other outside influences . He also noted that authorities , ranging from parole boards to the U.S. Supreme Court , had looked into the trial and conviction ahead of Willingham 's execution . `` We 're being used , and we should recognize that , '' Bradley said . On Thursday in Texas , District Court Judge Charlie Baird rebuffed a request by Navarro County District Attorney Lowell Thompson that he step aside as he opened a hearing into whether Willingham 's name should be cleared six years after his execution . Members of Willingham 's family pushed for the hearing , claiming that `` junk science '' led to a wrongful conviction and execution .
NEW : Texas board members in heated debate over whether man wrongfully executed . Jury acquitted Michael Todd Willingham after finding he set fire that killed his daughters . Legal advocate questions the objectivity of the Texas board 's chairman . Panel 's chairman calls criticism ` ` personal attacks '' and says , ` ` We 're being used ''