Fire! Jailhouse informants and Texas arson cases

Two recent high-profile news stories shined a spotlight on the use of incentivized jailhouse snitches to supplement flawed arson science in high-profile murder cases:

• Jeremy Stahl, Slate, "The Trials of Ed Graf"
• Maurice Possley and Maurice Chammah, The Marshall Project, "Jailhouse snitch claims secret deal in death case"

Grits has no time at the moment to comment at any length. But long-time readers know the intersection of informants and flawed arson science cuts across two of my long-time interests, so I may come back to these items as the vicissitudes of time and convenience permit. For now, I'll encourage everyone to read both stories and offer up in the comments any observations, arguments or suggestions which may consequently arise.