Arson investigation in LA led to a man's wrongful conviction.

After spending 13 years in prison for an arson crime he says he did not commit, George Souliotes is seeking a new trial. He was convicted of setting a fire that killed a woman and her two children while they slept. Now, fire investigators say they don’t believe the fire was intentionally set.

For decades, fire investigators believed accelerant-propelled arsons left signs: melted steel, glass etched by tiny cracks, certain patterns and markings. But when the theories were finally tested, scientists learned the conditions also were found in accidental blazes.

The turning point for fire science came in 1992 with the publication of a seminal guide by the National Fire Protection Assn.

The report dispelled myths that had guided fire investigations for decades, but years passed before the report's conclusions were embraced. Even today there are investigators with little training who cling to the old beliefs, according to leading fire experts.

"There is still a pretty sizable rear guard who don't want to admit they were doing it wrong," said John Lentini, a fire scientist who was hired by Souliotes' defense. "It is understandable, because the worst thing you can do is send a person to prison for a crime they did not commit."

Fire scientists say that arson investigators misinterpreted the evidence at the scene, and a former FBI agent hired by Pantazis found Souliotes was truthful during a polygraph test when he denied setting the blaze.


Link:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/crime/la-me-arson-20100531,0,125247.story