Almost 25 years ago, a Pennsylvania man was convicted of setting a fire that claimed the life of his 20-year-old mentally ill daughter. Last week, his conviction and life sentence were overturned based on advances in arson science.
The
Times Tribune
reported that a judge dismissed Han Tak Lee’s conviction and ordered that he be retried within four months or released. Lee’s dismissal follows the June recommendation from a federal magistrate judge to retry or release him. On Friday, Lee’s attorney filed a motion seeking he be released on bail, but no ruling has been issued yet.
Lee, who is 79 years old, has been serving a life sentence since he was convicted based largely on a fire marshal’s testimony that the fire patterns found at the scene indicated arson. At that time, it was believed that fire from arson burned hotter than other fires. In the years since, that theory, along with what were once considered tell-tale signs of arson, has been debunked based on a lack of credible science to support them.
The Legal Director of the
Pennsylvania Innocence Project
, Marissa Bluestine, told the
Times Tribune
that the ruling in Mr. Lee’s case is important as it supports the argument that a defendant’s due process rights were violated if the evidence used to convict the person is invalid.
The
Times Tribune
reports that according to the National Registry of Exonerations, there have been 11 people exonerated of arson since 1992.
Read the full article
.
News 08.13.14
Arson Conviction Overturned
Featured news
‘Tough-on-Crime’ Policies Are at Odds With the Presumption of Innocence
Dear Friend, We launch into 2023, with big, ambitious plans for the coming year, buoyed by last year’s successes — including six ...
News01.26.23
‘Tough-on-Crime’ Policies Are at Odds With the Presumption of Innocence
Ian Schweitzer Exonerated of Murder After 25 Years in Hawaii
New DNA evidence identifies one unknown male perpetrator, proving Mr. Schweitzer and his co-defendants’ innocence in 1991 murder and rape.
News01.24.23
Ian Schweitzer Exonerated of Murder After 25 Years in Hawaii
Loading...
Thanks for your comment
Thank you for visiting us. You can learn more about how we consider cases here. Please avoid sharing any personal information in the comments below and join us in making this a hate-speech free and safe space for everyone.