Some people can spend decades unfairly in detention until the most random chance gives them the key to prove their innocence. This is, for example, the case John Galvana man who, after 35 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit, was able to go free thanks to a second episode Mythbusters which he accidentally saw on prison television.
Basically, at one time he was accused of organizing a fire in which two people died. It was believed that it was group fight and since several neighbors testified against him, places for doubts about its authorship. Furthermore, as if that were not enough, both he and the other defendants signed a statement in which they pleaded perpetrators of a crime. They later claimed they did so under duress, but their claims were not credible.
But later Mythbusters showed that in fact Galvan could not have been involved in the murder.. Mostly because the way he claims to have caused the fire is almost impossible. Movie classics, yes, but not real life.
That’s how the murder happened
everything happened in 1986. Fire In Chicago This resulted in the death of two brothers and the injury of two others. The survivors blamed the neighbor, as her brother was killed by a street gang they were associated with. In addition, she herself assured that she would avenge the crime.
However, during interrogation, she pointed to three other neighbors. Among them was John Galvan, who at the time I was only 18 years old. That day, he was sleeping at his grandmother’s house, and he no longer had an alibi, so he was not trusted.
After interrogations, he and his companions in the end they admitted that they committed the murder by throwing a Molotov cocktail through the inside of the window. It seemed that everything was clear, and the three were put in jail, but later they retracted their words. Two of them, including Galvan, assured that they were coerced through physical violence and false promises let them go home if they confessed. The third, on the contrary, assured that he was too drunk for his statement to be taken into account. None of them were taken seriously, and for decades their lawyers failed to prove their innocence.
Mythbusters to the rescue
In 2007, John Galvan was watching TV on one of his many days in jail when something caught his eye. It was the head Mythbusters what originally broadcast in 2005. She could have gone unnoticed, if not for the fact that her presenters showed that it is almost impossible to light a puddle of gasoline with a cigarette, as is often seen in the movies.
They tried various options, such as spraying directly with gasoline or increase the temperature of the cigarette mimicking the natural cravings of a smoker. This was not achieved in any way.
If he was so shocked, it was because, during his false testimony, he explained that he set fire to the fuel spilled by the Molotov cocktail from a cigarette. That was the first thing that came to his mind; but it really seemed it didn’t make sense.
As soon as he could, the man contacted his lawyer, who coincidentally also saw the program. He started researching and found that an independent group of scientists investigated this very topic. They concluded that lighting gasoline with a cigarette was almost impossible because the gasoline has limited contact with the hottest and brightest part of the ash. According to X-ray thermography, this is a very localized part, so it’s not so simple.
Perhaps this experiment with the MythBusters alone would not have been enough to prove Galvan’s innocence. However, his lawyer had been gathering other evidence for some time, such as testimonies from other prisoners who claimed to have been subjected to physical coercion and lies by the same agents who had interrogated him.
With all this, it was possible rewrite defense strategy and finally, Galvan was acquitted of murder in July 2022. Many years passed in prison for a crime he did not commit. Now you will have to decide whether to take action on this matter. What is clear is that thanks to science, he has another chance to get out of the hell that began when he was only 18 years old. And thanks Mythbusterscertainly.
Source: Hiper Textual
