Condemned Ohio man claims innocence in arson death

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A death row inmate convicted of starting a fire that killed his 3-year-old son says new arson science backs up his claim of innocence.

Michael Webb is trying to stop his execution, scheduled for next month. He's seeking mercy from the Ohio governor, saying a leading arson expert can prove the 1990 fire could have been set anywhere in the house, and not just near a closet or bathroom.

Webb's attorneys made their plea Tuesday morning to the Ohio Parole Board, which will make its recommendation to Gov. John Kasich, who has the final say, next week.

At the heart of the state's evidence against Webb was testimony from the Goshen Township Fire Chief Virgil Murphy that evidence from the fire on Nov. 21, 1990, showed it could only have been set near a bathroom or closet, based on where the majority of the fire damage was. Webb told investigators he was standing outside the bathroom.

Webb's attorneys submitted an analysis by Austin, Texas-based arson expert Gerald Hurst that said the fire chief relied on methods that 20 years of arson science have deemed unreliable.

Hurst said it's impossible to say in a fire where gasoline is spread through a house where the blaze began.

"Thus, we now know, to a scientific certainty, that it is impossible to determine in this case where the gasoline vapors ignited," Webb's attorneys said in their filings to the parole board.

The state says that all Hurst's analysis proves is the fire could have been set anywhere in the house, not that it eliminates the site near the bathroom as the origin.

Webb's attorneys concede this point, saying the report does not exonerate their client.

Webb's attorneys say police failed to follow up properly on reports that a boyfriend of one of the daughters might be responsible, and that he later boasted about responsibility for the fire and had a jacket that smelled of gasoline.

Prosecutors say the police investigation disproved the claim of a boast, and couldn't verify a witness' claim that the boyfriend's jacket smelled of gasoline. Webb's attorneys point out police never located the jacket.

Hurst's conclusions about the unreliability of previous arson investigations are backed up by a major shift in fire analysis that began in the early 1990s.

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Source: DeseretNews, January 24, 2012

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