An undated image of a courtroom gavel.
Adam Gray was 14 years old when he was arrested in March 1993 in connection to a fatal fire, but after his exoneration following 24 years in prison, he has been awarded $27 million by a federal jury for his wrongful incarceration.
Gray was convicted in connection to a fire that killed 74-year-old Margaret Mesa and 54-year-old Peter McGuinness. He was convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated arson, but was exonerated in 2017 after a series of events led prosecutors to conclude that his confession had been coerced, and that physical evidence from the scene did not link him to the fire.
Gray had been sentenced to life in prison without parole, but was freed in 2017 after prosecutors vacated his conviction.
He later filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in connection with the case.
According to the National Registry of Exonerations, a 14-year-old girl told police she had been threatened by Gray prior to the fire. Another individual told police they had seen a teen running away from the building, carrying a white bag. She identified Gray in a lineup, but did not mention she knew Gray.
A third individual reported they had sold Gray gasoline and a red gasoline jug prior to the fire.
In the early hours of March 25, 1993, a fire broke out near the rear steps of an apartment building on Chicago’s South Side, killing McGuinness and Mesa.
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Police located Gray after the fire, and interrogated him for seven hours before he confessed. He later recanted that confession, saying he yielded to police pressure, according to prosecutors.
The individual who said that Gray had purchased gasoline and a milk jug prior to the fire also recanted her identification, saying she was pressured by police. She said that police had told her she misidentified an individual in a lineup, and then allowed her identification to stand when she identified Gray.
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The witness who told police that Gray had threatened her also recanted, saying she was “coached” by police and prosecutors.
Other chemical evidence cited by prosecutors, including “alligator charring” and “high-boiling petroleum distillate,” was also dismissed after further study cast doubt on the former’s presence when a chemical accelerant is used, and the latter because of its regular presence in household chemicals, as well as the difficulty with which it ignites, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
Following the new testimony and evidence, prosecutors requested a new trial, but were turned down by a judge. In 2017, prosecutors and attorneys agreed to dismiss the case and vacate the conviction.
