Louis Taylor wipes away tears during a news conference with the legal team from the Arizona Justice Project in downtown Phoenix. Taylor, 58, was released Tuesday after doubts about his conviction surfaced and he entered a no-contest plea in a deal with prosecutors. Taylor was 16 years old when he was arrested in the Pioneer Fire in Tucson in 1970. Taylor, who is black, was later convicted by an all-white jury and sentenced to life in prison. The case ended up back in court after a new defense team and others raised fresh questions about the evidence used to convict Taylor. Authorities still insist Taylor is guilty, but they acknowledged that gaining a conviction at a new trial would be dicey given that some evidence has been lost and witnesses have either moved or died.PHOENIX – Louis Taylor broke down in tears Wednesday as he described how he spent his first hours of freedom after more than 40 years in prison for a hotel fire that killed 29 people: an evening hike and some fast food.
He struggled to operate what he called an “Apple telephone” and said he was more familiar with 8-tracks than modern technology.
Taylor was released Tuesday after doubts about his conviction surfaced and he agreed to a deal with prosecutors that set him free. He pleaded no contest to each of the nearly 30 counts of murder against him in an agreement that allowed the judge to sentence him to time served.
While he has consistently maintained his innocence, Taylor said he took the deal because he wanted out now instead of remaining in prison for years more to seek vindication at a new trial.
“I had no choice,” he said at a news conference with his attorneys on Wednesday. “I wasn’t going to give them another minute, another hour, another decade.”