Han Tak Lee, 79, was released Friday after spending 24 years behind bars in a Pennsylvania prison for a wrongful arson-murder conviction. A federal judge ruled this month that the conviction was based on faulty fire science and ultimately overturned Lee’s wrongful conviction.
In 1989, Lee’s 20-year-old daughter was killed in a fire in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Lee was convicted of arson-murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Lee’s wrongful conviction was largely based on the prior belief among forensic investigators that unusually hot and intense fires indicated the use of an accelerant and the presence of deep charring, shiny blistering of wood, or tiny fractures in windows confirmed arson. Current forensic research has debunked this theory of arson.
Maintaining his innocence since the time of his arrest, Lee’s request for an independent examination of evidence to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was granted in 2012. The review was finished in June by a magistrate judge, who concluded “much of what was presented to Lee’s jury as science is now conceded to be a little more than superstition.”
Lee’s case is among several arson cases in the United States that are questioned because of outdated beliefs about how arson can be detected, including NCIP exoneree George Souliotes, who was wrongfully convicted of arson and triple murder in 2000 partially due to faulty fire science.
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Learn more about common causes of faulty fire science here.
Read more about Souliotes’ case here.