An Ionia man who spent 26 years behind bars for murdering his wife and daughters in a house fire walked out of prison a free man Wednesday after prosecutors agreed he was convicted with faulty evidence and outdated science.
His first stop: a cemetery near Ionia to visit the graves of his wife and daughters. It was the first time he'd been there.
"It was a very emotional scene," said David Moran, a law professor and co-founder of the Innocence Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School, which fought for the release of 54-year-old David Lee Gavitt. Moran said 15-20 of Gavitt's family members also arrived to welcome him home.
Gavitt's conviction is among several nationwide that innocence projects have challenged with modern fire science.
Last week, James Kluppelberg was freed after Cook County prosecutors dropped their case against him. He had spent nearly 22 years in prison for setting a fire in Chicago that killed a mother and her five children.
Source: Detroit Free Press, June 7, 2012
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