Bulletin: William Amor: Illinois; outdated science arson investigation; 60-year-old man imprisoned almost two decades of a 45-year prison term for the arson murder of his mother-in-law granted a court hearing to dispute the fire investigation evidence that helped to secure his conviction..."Attorneys for Amor say he is innocent and advances in arson investigation techniques and science undermine the conclusions investigators reached in the mid-1990s, including that Amor started the fire using a cigarette and a vodka-soaked newspaper. "It is simple: Fire investigation techniques used today, which disprove the finding of incendiary and arson in this case, were not (available at the time of Mr. Amor's trial," his attorneys contended in court filings." Moreover, the techniques that were used at trial in 1995 are no longer generally accepted."Police questioned Amor several times after the fire, and he confessed three weeks later. At trial, his attorneys argued that abusive, coercive questioning by Naperville police, who during one session served Amor with divorce papers filed by his wife, resulted in a false confession........The fire investigators in the 1990s initially deemed the cause of the fire to be undetermined but switched it to "incendiary" after Amor's confession that he dropped a lit cigarette on a vodka-soaked newspaper before leaving for the movies, Amor's attorneys argued." Reporter Clifford Ward; Chicago Tribune.

"A former Naperville resident, , has been granted a court hearing to dispute the fire investigation evidence that helped to secure his conviction. William Amor will return in June to the DuPage County courthouse where he was convicted of murder and arson in the death of Marianne Miceli, who died in a Sept. 10, 1995, fire at the Naperville condominium she shared with her daughter and Amor. Attorneys for Amor say he is innocent and advances in arson investigation techniques and science undermine the conclusions investigators reached in the mid-1990s, including that Amor started the fire using a cigarette and a vodka-soaked newspaper. "It is simple: Fire investigation techniques used today, which disprove the finding of incendiary and arson in this case, were not  (available at the time of Mr. Amor's trial," his attorneys contended in court filings." Moreover, the techniques that were used at trial in 1995 are no longer generally accepted. But a federal arson investigator, in a January report commissioned by DuPage County prosecutors, concluded the fire was set but thought it unlikely Amor did it. The ATF agent suggested investigators question Amor's ex-wife to get a more thorough picture of what happened on the night of the fire. Amor, who turns 60 this month, is serving a 45-year prison sentence at the Taylorville Correctional Center. He is scheduled to be paroled in March 2018, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records.........Police questioned Amor several times after the fire, and he confessed three weeks later. At trial, his attorneys argued that abusive, coercive questioning by Naperville police, who during one session served Amor with divorce papers filed by his wife, resulted in a false confession........The fire investigators in the 1990s initially deemed the cause of the fire to be undetermined but switched it to "incendiary" after Amor's confession that he dropped a lit cigarette on a vodka-soaked newspaper before leaving for the movies, Amor's attorneys argued. Conclusions about the fire's starting point have also been undermined by modern investigative advances, they said. "Evidence relied on by the state at trial has been flatly contradicted by modern science," Amor's attorneys wrote.........The case is due back in court Wednesday for a status hearing. The evidentiary hearing is scheduled for June 14."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/naperville-sun/ct-naperville-arson-met-20160513-story.html