Man sues over arson conviction after 24 years behind bars

CHICAGO (AP) - A man who was sentenced to prison for a fatal fire is alleging in a lawsuit that Chicago police officers falsified evidence that kept him locked up for nearly a quarter century before he was released from prison last year after prosecutors decided to dismiss the charges.

In the federal lawsuit that also names a former fire marshal and former Cook County prosecutor, Adam Gray, who was 14 at the time of the 1993 fire that left two people dead, contends authorities also coerced his false confession as well as false statements from witnesses.

Last year, Gray was released from prison after prosecutors announced that fire science advances raised too many questions about his conviction and dismissed the charges. His conviction was vacated and he was later exonerated.