Death Row Stories Season 5 Episode 4

Forensics by Fire

In August 1985, a quiet Philadelphia neighborhood is shattered by tragedy. A house goes up in flames, with two young boys trapped inside. Police and fire investigators suspect their father, Daniel Dougherty, intentionally set the fire, but they don’t have the evidence to arrest him — until fourteen years later, when Daniel’s ex-wife comes forward to say he confessed to her. In the years since he ended up on death row, Daniel’s case has gone to trial an astonishing three times. Daniel claims the fire science that put him away is deeply flawed — but his own dark past, and lingering mysteries about the fire itself, make this anything but an open and shut case.