MythBusters Freed John Galvan

In Chicago in 1986, police accused a man named John Galvan and two others of setting a deadly fire, then obtained a confession saying a cigarette ignited gasoline. In 2007, while serving a life sentence, Galvan watched the MythBusters episode Hollywood on Trial that tested the claim and showed a cigarette cannot ignite gasoline under normal conditions. Lawyers used that science to challenge the confession and evidence, and in 2022 the court vacated the convictions and exonerated the men.

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