This opinion begins: "Over 25 years ago, Joann Parks was convicted of murdering her three young children by setting a house fire that killed them." She files a state habeas petition essentially saying that she's innocent and that new fire investigation science casts huge doubt about her conviction.
The Court of Appeal denies her petition. It's a 57-page opinion. There's a ton of detail in there.
After reading the whole thing, I can't say that I've concluded that Ms. Parks is innocent. But I also can't say that I'm totally convinced she's guilty. It might well be that she's been in prison for a quarter century for a crime she didn't commit.
But, again, maybe she did. Super hard to tell. Super hard to tell even beyond a reasonable doubt.
If she's innocent -- and was convicted of murdering her three kids when they in fact were killed in an accidental fire -- what a nightmare.
