A Hewitt man sentenced to life in prison for burning his two stepchildren alive was back in the courtroom Friday.
After 25 years, Ed Graf, and his defense attorney Walter Reaves are seeking a new trial with the help of Baylor University's Innocence Project.
They believe Graf's case should be reopened based on new expert testimonies who say the original investigators got it wrong.
After the hearing, Reaves said "The cause of the fire, in our opinion and I think the experts agree, [was that it] wasn't an intentionally set fire. That the evidence that was used to convict him was not valid and is no longer reliable and wouldn't be used today."
Both experts debunked the original findings and called into question the state's initial account of what happened. They say based on their findings, the cause of the fire was accidental.
But prosecutors say even without the fire science, it doesn't mean Graf would have been acquitted. They believe they had enough circumstantial evidence to convict him like Graf taking out two $50,000 life insurance policies just months before the fire.
Graf was originally convicted of setting fire to a shed in the back of his home with his two stepsons still inside.
The Innocence Project decided to take on the case back in 2008.
Graf will remain at Gatesville Prison but will appear in court on the 24th; that's when Judge George Allen could make a decision whether to recommend the case be retried.
