Although there was strong evidence, including two eyewitnesses, that he had committed the arson-murder for which he was convicted, on the eve of his scheduled execution nearly 20 years later a law enforcement official had gnawing doubts.
They've said the science to convict him on the arson portion of his case is flawed and I agree with that.
The tribunal did not convict on the first charge; 15 of the defendants were convicted on counts two and three.
A Guatemalan immigrant from Brooklyn was convicted on Tuesday of murder, arson and assault for starting a fire in a crowded tenement three years ago that killed five other Guatemalan immigrants in one of the deadliest New York City blazes in years.
(The defendant was convicted on other charges).
Thirty-one people were convicted on Wednesday of murder and sentenced to life in prison for their involvement in the violence and arson that killed 33 Muslims, mostly women and children, one evening in March of 2002.
Louis C. Taylor was facing arson charges 42 years ago, and he left court convicted on multiple felony murder counts for sparking a hotel fire that claimed 29 lives.
Among the victims 22 were convicted and 4 others were convicted on remand.
In 2012, a jury convicted the Hammonds of arson for setting fires on federal land in what witnesses testified was an attempt to cover up an illegal deer slaughter.
