Obtaining an exoneration for a wrongly convicted citizen without DNA evidence is very difficult, but it can be done. Today, David Lee Gavitt was released from the Carson City correctional facility in Michigan after having spent half his life there. [www.woodtv.com]

David was 26 when his world came apart at about 10:15 PM on March 9, 1985,when he became aware of a fire in his home. David broke out a window, and cut his arms severely, but was unable to save his wife and two daughters ages 3 and 11 months. When he was released from the hospital after treatment for his cuts and burns, he was arrested and charged with 3 counts of first degree murder. Nobody had a clue about motive, and when he was told the fire had been set, Mr. Gavitt wanted the police to catch whoever had set it.

Fire investigators saw what they believed to be “pour patterns” on the floor in the living room, and 2 of 17 samples came back positive for gasoline. Mr. Gavitt was convicted on April 18, 1986 and sentenced to life without parole.

I first learned of the case in May 2010 when Mike McKenzie, a dear friend and client from the Atlanta office of Cozen O’Connor told me that he had been asked to review the case. He asked me for some help in evaluating the chemical analysis, because, I told him, if there really was gasoline in the living room, there was every reason to believe that the fire had been intentionally set. I requested and sometime later received copies of the chromatograms that the Michigan State Police laboratory had used to identify the gasoline.

The quality of the chemistry was appalling. The chemist clearly did not know how to use the instrument, and even by 1985 standards, the chromatograms were an unresolved mess. At that point, I agreed to do a pro bono review the rest of the fire scene work.

I recruited Craig Balliet at Barker and Herbert Laboratories in New Haven Indiana to re-examine the chemistry, and he agreed to do it pro bono. By February 2011, I had completed a 63-page affidavit, Craig had completed his affidavit on the chemistry, and counsel for Mr. Gavitt had finished work on their motion for post-conviction relief based on new evidence.

The prosecutor, when presented with this evidence, sent the chemistry up to Dirk Hedgelin of Great Lakes Analytical, who concurred with my findings and those of Mr. Balliet about the chemistry. There was simply no evidence of gasoline. The prosecutor also had my review of the fire scene inspection evaluated by a respected federal agency, and the individual doing that work also concurred that there was no evidence of accelerants, or multiple points of origin, or any other evidence that supported an incendiary classification.

The prosecutor had all of this information by October of 2011. The last few months have been very frustrating, as the final outcome was known to all but delayed for reasons that are still not clear. Regardless of the delay, Mr. Gavitt’s attorneys want to thank the prosecutor, Ron Schaeffer, for doing the right thing. He had it in his power to drag the litigation on for years, but elected not to do so.

Mr. Gavitt was represented by David Moran, Bridget McCormack and Imran Sayed of the Michigan Innocence Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School. [www.law.umich.edu] Mr. McKenzie also served as one of Mr. Gavitt’s attorneys, and used his considerable experience in fire litigation to assist with the preparation of the briefs. Mike was able to attend today’s release.

Mr. Gavitt joins a small but growing group of individuals convicted of arson (and usually homicide) based on the discredited indicators that were once thought to be scientifically valid. This group includes:

Ray Girdler [www.phoenixnewtimes.com]

Louis DiNicola [openjurist.org]

Weldon Wayne Carr [truthinjustice.org]

Earnest Ray Willis [www.deathpenaltyinfo.org]

James Hebshie [www.newenglandinnocence.org]

James Kluppelberg [articles.chicagotribune.com]

Mr. Gavitt already has a job lined up. He has a supportive family, and may someday partially recover from this 26-year-long ordeal. The first place he went was to the cemetery where his wife and daughters are buried. Today was his first chance to grieve.

I am happy to have been instrumental in helping correct this injustice, and want to thank everyone who assisted, especially including the investigators requested by the state to review my work.

I have all of the supporting documentation used in this exoneration, and would be happy to make it available to anyone who wants to read it. Contact me offline at scientific.fire@yahoo.com

John Lentini, CFI, D-ABC
Fire Investigation Consultant
Florida Keys
[www.firescientist.com]