Man to be freed from prison after 24-year-old arson conviction overturned in daughter's death
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A former New York City businessman who has spent 24 years in prison after being convicted of setting a fire that killed his mentally ill daughter is scheduled to walk out of a maximum-security prison in Pennsylvania a free man.
A federal judge threw out Han Tak Lee's state conviction and sentence of life without parole earlier this month, ruling it was based on now-debunked arson science.
The 79-year-old Lee is scheduled to be released from a state prison in central Pennsylvania early Friday and then appear at a federal court hearing to determine the conditions of his release. Several dozen friends, family members and supporters are expected to greet him there.
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Authorities haven't said whether they'll seek to prosecute Lee again, but acknowledge it would be very difficult, given the passage of time.