WHEATON, Ill. (AP) — A suburban Chicago judge has found a man who spent 22 years behind bars not guilty in his retrial on charges of arson and murder in his mother-in-law’s death.
A DuPage County judge announced the ruling Wednesday in 62-year-old William Amor’s case. Amor had been convicted in 1997 and was sentenced to 45 years in prison for the 1995 Naperville fire that killed Marianne Miceli. Amor was released last May after a judge vacated his convictions, ruling that advances in fire science proved the description Amor gave in his confession was impossible.
Amor called the ruling “the end of a nightmare” and said he is “looking forward to starting the next phase of my life as a free man.”
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said his office stands by its prosecution but respects the court’s decision.
