Louis Taylor
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Louis C. Taylor was convicted of 28 counts of first-degree murder.
Taylor was accused of setting fire to the Pioneer International Hotel on the northeast corner of Stone Ave. and Pennington St. in downtown Tucson, Arizona on December 21, 1970. Twenty-nine people died, including one woman who died months later from injuries sustained in the fire. Taylor, 16, whose juvenile-court record included theft, was accused of setting the fire (or fires) as a diversion so he could steal from guests' rooms. No one saw him set the fire, but a hotel employee saw him in a stairwell looking up at the flames and mentioned him to police. Other witnesses said he was one of that night's heroes, helping to evacuate the hotel.
The chief arson investigator found no obvious evidence of arson-—no residue of flammable liquid or burned matchsticks. Instead, he asserted from burn patterns that two fires were started at least 60 feet apart on the fourth floor hallway. Modern experts now dispute the arson finding, and even one of the original investigators, Marshall Smyth, said that he and another fire investigator were like members of "a black magic society" who in those days relied on untested assumptions about what indicated arson. "I came to this opinion some time ago that neither one of us had any business identifying that fire as arson."
Taylor, after decades of imprisonment, recalled that over the years others -- including his former trial judge -- advised him to seek a reduced sentence. But one condition was that he admit guilt and show remorse. Taylor said, "I told them I'd rather die in prison." In 2003, the case was featured on a 60 Minutes episode.
