Hurst provided consultation or expert testimony in several high-profile arson cases, including that of executed Texas death row inmate Cameron Todd Willingham.
His work also led to the parole of convicted arsonist Sonia Cacy and the release of Ernest Ray Willis, who had spent 17 years on death row in Texas.
He worked about ten hours per week in the Atlas laboratory in Austin, Texas, and he spent much of the rest of his time as a consultant on civil court cases.
[2] Hurst made other scientific discoveries, including the mylar balloon and an improved version of Liquid Paper.
When he came up with the idea to use Mylar sheets to make balloons of different shapes, he protected that innovation as a trade secret rather than pursuing another patent.
[3] In 1996, he was contacted in reference to the arson case of Sonia Cacy, who had been found guilty and sentenced to 55 years in prison.
He worked on the case of Ernest Ray Willis, a Texas man sentenced to death in 1987 after a fire killed two women.
Hurst's report was faxed to the office of Texas governor Rick Perry on the day that Willingham was scheduled to die.