Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:
For years, Adam Gray held onto a fragile hope that the Cook County prosecutors might one day reconsider his conviction for setting a fire that claimed two lives in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood. That moment may finally be here, more than 20 years after he was sentenced to life without parole.
In recent court filings, prosecutors from State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez’s Conviction Integrity Unit have acknowledged that significant developments in fire science have cast doubt on the expert testimony that played a central role in Gray’s 1996 arson and double murder conviction. As a result, they have agreed to grant him a new trial.
Assistant State’s Attorney Celeste Stewart Stack wrote in the documents: “Gray’s original conviction is based, to an unknown degree, upon scientific testimony that is no longer valid or accepted by the relevant scientific community.â€
The shift in Gray’s case has been slow. Fire science had evolved significantly since the early 1990s, when the fire that led to Gray’s conviction occurred. However, many investigators were slow to adopt these new findings, relying instead on outdated methods passed down through experience rather than scientific evidence.
Today, those modern techniques are widely recognized, and legal teams across the country are re-examining old cases. Many convictions have been overturned as a result. One of the most well-known examples is the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in Texas in 2004 for setting a fire that killed his three daughters. A Tribune investigation later revealed that the conviction was based on flawed science, and a state forensic commission later confirmed the error. Willingham is now seen as the first person proven by science to have been wrongly executed, though his prosecutor still defends the original verdict.
In Gray’s case, the fire took place in March 1993 when he was just 14 years old. According to authorities, he was angry with a girl living in a two-flat at the 4100 block of South Albany Avenue after she rejected him. Police alleged that he poured an accelerant on the back porch of the second floor and the stairs. While the girl and her family escaped, Peter McGuiness, 54, and his sister Margaret Mesa, 74, died in the fire.
At trial, prosecutors focused on two key points: the evidence that the fire was intentionally set and Gray’s confession. Two fire investigators testified that they found alligator-like charring and deep burn patterns, which they claimed indicated the use of an accelerant. A milk jug found in the alley was believed to contain gasoline, and a gas station clerk said Gray had purchased fuel shortly before the fire.
Although Gray admitted to buying gasoline for the fire in his initial statement, he later recanted, claiming he had confessed under pressure from police. He maintained that he was at a friend’s house at the time of the fire.
Gray’s legal team gained momentum after consulting with leading fire scientists John Lentini and Gerald Hurst, who had previously examined the Willingham case. Hurst argued that the original investigation was flawed, noting that the so-called signs of arson—like alligator charring—were not reliable indicators. He also pointed out that the fire investigators had not properly ruled out accidental causes.
Lentini later analyzed the substance found in the milk jug and determined it was not gasoline but a petroleum distillate, commonly found in treated wood. He concluded that it was not an effective accelerant.
Last year, despite the new findings, prosecutors initially stood by Gray’s conviction, citing his confession as a key reason. But as more evidence came to light, the tide began to turn, and now, a new trial seems inevitable.
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