Texas man gets new trial amid arson finding doubts

March 27, 2013 at 1:36p.m.

DALLAS (AP) — A Texas man convicted of setting a fire that killed his two stepsons a quarter-century ago has been granted a new trial.

Ed Graf’s case is one of several being reviewed by a new state panel examining previous expert testimony about burn patterns and charring that today is considered suspect.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals today ordered Graf’s 1988 murder conviction set aside, pending a new trial.

Graf was convicted of locking his stepsons in a shed and setting it on fire in Hewitt, Texas, in 1986. Two fire investigators then said the fire was arson. Experts now say that investigation was flawed and the fire could have been accidental.

Prosecutors support Graf’s request for a new trial, but point to other evidence they say suggests he’s guilty.