Gerald Lewis, who escaped the fire with his three-year-old son, was initially charged with arson, manslaughter, and six counts of first-degree murder, the last of which could have garnered a death sentence.
[1] After a large-scale recreation was staged in an abandoned house near the original site, it was proven that accelerant was not necessary to create long-believed classic signs of arson such as pour patterns.
"[3] In the early hours of October 16, 1990, a fire broke out at the residence located at 527 Lime Street in downtown Jacksonville, Florida.
[6] Lentini initially reviewed the chemical analysis conducted by a Florida Fire Marshal's chemist, and found his determination of gasoline to be incorrect.
Wanting to stage a faithful recreation, he gained permission to set fire to a condemned house next door to the one that had burned down.
Lentini would later state that he was changed by this discovery, "I had come within 24 hours of giving testimony that could well have sent an innocent person to Florida's electric chair.