By Debbie Truong
A day after an East Shore man was freed from prison after serving nearly 36 years for a fatal fire in Susquehanna Township, the attorneys who helped secure James Hugney’s release heralded it as a triumph for justice.
“This is a great day for James Hugney, a great day for justice, and a great day for science,” said Justin McShane, of The McShane Firm, in a news release. “While no one can give him back the nearly 36 years of his life that he lost, at least Mr. Hugney has his freedom now.”
The science used to convict and sentence Hugney to life in prison for the 1978 fire that killed his 16-year-old son was “based on popularly held beliefs and myths of the time that modern science has totally refuted,” McShane, a lawyer and scientist, said in the release.
McShane filed a motion to set aside the decades-old conviction after three international fire scientists could not conclude the fire as an arson using modern fire science.
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