Burned

Starred review from October 29, 2018
Pulitzer Prize–winner Humes (Mean Justice) provides a searing look at the limits of forensics in this unsettling reexamination of the case of Jo Ann Parks, convicted in 1993 for intentionally starting a fire in her Southern California apartment in order to kill her three young children. Parks’s conviction was largely the product of testimony by a fire investigation expert who used since-discredited methodology. Humes, relying on the dogged efforts of attorney Raquel Cohen, of the California Innocence Project, convincingly demonstrates the fallacies underlying almost all traditional thinking about what evidence is relevant to a conclusion of arson. He provides a vivid picture of the reality of criminal investigations—cases are “assembled not with brilliant detective work and Perry Mason courtroom moments, but one little brick at a time, built of shifting memories, shifting stories, shifting theories, shifting details.” Humes’s measured goal is not to advocate for Parks’s innocence but to raise questions about “whether there was ever sufficient evidence to convict her,” and open-minded readers will join in his skepticism. An instant true-crime classic that reads like a thriller, this joins the ranks of recent works also throwing into question the belief that crime scene investigators can infallibly arrive at the right answer. Agent: Susan Ginsburg, Writers House.

November 1, 2018
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Humes (Door to Door: The Magnificent, Maddening, Mysterious World of Transportation, 2016, etc.) once again exposes a flawed American criminal justice system, this time with a new twist.The twist involves a woman convicted of starting a fire that killed three young children in her family home. Jo Ann Parks remains in a California prison after 28 years, not yet exonerated even though the author mounts a strong case for her innocence. Humes builds on this single case to indict law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, jurors, and others involved in the process of convicting innocent men and women. Wrongful convictions for arson are especially egregious: If a fire starts accidentally instead of being intentionally set, no crime even occurred. The author clearly explains how traditionally trained arson investigators rely on "fire science," which is not necessarily reliably scientific. However, in the Parks case and others, investigators often fall back on past training even if it has been discredited. In a number of asides, Humes documents instances of "junk science" accepted as evidence: bite marks, footprints, hair analysis, and the formerly "foolproof" analysis of fingerprints. Regarding the Parks case, the author eloquently explains how nonarson factors such as Parks' unusual demeanor after the deaths of her children and her low social status influenced those involved in her conviction. The heroes of the book are the lawyers and law students affiliated with the California Innocence Project who agreed to study Parks' claim of innocence. Their efforts to persuade prosecutors and judges that the arson conviction should be overturned initially led to hope, followed by crushing disappointment. Parks and her now-deceased husband are not sympathetic characters in real life, adding an amount of tension to a slight twinge of doubt that readers will experience while taking in the author's copious evidence of innocence.A useful addition to the popular literature on forensic science.

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November 15, 2018
Jo Ann Parks was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole for the deaths of her three children, who perished in a suspicious house fire in 1989 while Parks escaped the blaze unharmed. The arson investigation found what appeared to be an incendiary device in the form of exposed wires and documented multiple origin points, indicating foul play. Humes (Door to Door?, 2016), a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter, traces the evolution of forensic fire investigation and found that such supposed criminal evidence is accepted based on legal precedents but often without scientific merit. The narrative heats up as Humes further uncovers the inherently flawed, self-regulating process in which forensic labs are under the jurisdiction of law enforcement. Subsequently, cognitive bias often creeps into the investigation, resulting in the incarceration, and occasionally execution, of innocent people. In this riveting overview of forensic science, Humes goes on to note that similar longstanding evidence, including fingerprints and bite-mark analysis, are of equally dubious merit, relying more on opinion than science. Hume's fascinating account is perfect for the many readers interested in crime-scene investigation.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

Starred review from January 1, 2019

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Humes (Garbology) presents the gripping story of Joann Parks, a young mother accused of intentionally setting the fire that claimed the lives of her three young children. Written in narrative format, Humes's work explores the conflicting accounts presented by witnesses on the night of the blaze, the subsequent investigation, and eventual conviction of Parks, which comes into question more than 20 years into her sentence. Although the fire was initially thought to have been caused by faulty wiring, investigators cite evidence that Parks had tampered with the wires, leading to her life sentence without parole. Considering new advances in forensic science, the California Innocence Project has taken on Parks's case in the hopes that overturning this VERDICT may lead to a reexamination of other cases involving wrongful convictions. VERDICT This sobering, enlightening read is true crime at its best, with just the right blend of justice and intrigue that will leave readers searching for truth in the criminal justice system. Fans of the genre can expect to be drawn into this story.--Mattie Cook, Flat River Community Lib., MI

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Humes (Garbology) presents the gripping story of Joann Parks, a young mother accused of intentionally setting the fire that claimed the lives of her three young children. Written in narrative format, Humes's work explores the conflicting accounts presented by witnesses on the night of the blaze, the subsequent investigation, and eventual conviction of Parks, which comes into question more than 20 years into her sentence. Although the fire was initially thought to have been caused by faulty wiring, investigators cite evidence that Parks had tampered with the wires, leading to her life sentence without parole. Considering new advances in forensic science, the California Innocence Project has taken on Parks's case in the hopes that overturning this VERDICT may lead to a reexamination of other cases involving wrongful convictions. VERDICT This sobering, enlightening read is true crime at its best, with just the right blend of justice and intrigue that will leave readers searching for truth in the criminal justice system. Fans of the genre can expect to be drawn into this story.--Mattie Cook, Flat River Community Lib., MI