A federal appeals court has given a Modesto man convicted of a triple-murder arson a chance not only to prove his innocence but to present evidence of alleged incompetent legal representation and jury misconduct.
George Souliotes, 70, received a life sentence after being convicted of setting a fire in 1997 that killed his tenants, Michelle Jones and her two children, Daniel Jr. and Amanda. The fire occurred at a time when Souliotes was in the process of evicting the Jones family.
Prosecutors contended that Souliotes was in debt and set the blaze to obtain insurance money. But Santa Clara University's Northern California Innocence Project maintained the conviction was based on inaccurate and outdated fire science and faulty eye witness testimony.
A trial judge had blocked Souliotes' appeal because his lawyers missed a legal deadline by five days. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals later resurrected the appeal, but limited the kind of evidence Souliotes could present. A new order has removed that limitation, although a judge must still determine the scope of the evidence that will be considered.
Prosecutors during two trials, one of which ended in a hung jury, argued the fire at the small Modesto house was set with a flammable liquid and that its residue was found on Souliotes' shoes. A scientist years later showed the substance on Souliotes' shoes did not match the fire residue.
During Souliotes' first trial, defense lawyers presented 14 witnesses. During the second trial that ended in conviction, they summoned only one witness, and he had previously testified for the prosecution.
Defense lawyers presented the appeals court with a report from a former FBI agent who conducted a polygraph and found that Souliotes, a Greek immigrant, was truthful when he denied any involvement in the blaze.
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--Maura Dolan
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