The man who has been serving consecutive life sentences for the 1984 rooming house fire in Beverly has the opportunity for a new trial.
Last week, Essex County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Karp overturned James Carver’s convictions for second-degree murder and arson. In the decision , Karp wrote a new trial was necessary because advances in fire science and eyewitness testimony “cast real doubt on the justice of his convictions.”
The fire killed 15 people. During the trial in 1989, prosecutors claimed Carver acted out of jealousy when he discovered a tenant of the rooming house was dating his ex-girlfriend. An investigator said the fire started from a stack of gasoline-soaked newspapers aflame in the only exit of the building. Witnesses said they saw Carver by the newspapers before the blaze.
Carver, 60, has maintained innocence and appealed, claiming new evidence would prove that other people set the fire. He has multiple chronic conditions and has used a wheelchair since 2006. He sought medical parole in 2021 but was denied.
This year, the court heard testimony from fire science and memory experts.
Karp’s decision mentions the fire marshal failed to “adequately rule out an electrical source.” On eyewitness memory, he noted experts revealed “the risk of misidentification significantly increases each time a witness is exposed to a suspect or the suspect’s photograph.” His decision mentions one witness was shown Carver’s photo three times before identifying him in a lineup.
Attorney Charlotte Whitmore of the Boston College Innocence Program said over 25 students have worked on Carver’s case in the past nine years.
“A lot of the evidence that the prosecution used in the 1980s to attempt to prove that this fire was an arson are now outdated, you know, sort of myths that fire scientists no longer rely on,” said Whitmore.
She and attorneys Lisa Kavanaugh, director of the Innocence Program at Committee for Public Counsel Services drove to Old Colony — where Carver is currently housed at — on Christmas Eve to let him know of Karp’s decision.
“Charlotte and I each took one of his hands and told him, 'we’re here with really good news,'” said Kavanaugh. “His face sort of lit up and he was like, 'Really?’ Then we told him 'the judge allowed your motion for new trial.’ It was a very emotional moment. He started crying. He was really just completely overwhelmed.”.
Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker has 30 days to decide whether to retry the case. In a statement, he said his office has received the court’s decision allowing Carver’s motion for a new trial.
“This was the defendant’s fifth such motion,” Tucker wrote. “His four prior motions were denied. We are carefully reviewing the ruling and exploring options. We are also attempting to locate and notify the families of the fifteen victims who were killed in the fire.”
A CVS and memorial stand at the rooming house site. Amanda Mazzaglia of the Elliott Chambers Fire Memorial Foundation said the foundation has “always been about the victims and never served as an interest in the legalities of the crime,” but declined further comment.
Within the next few weeks the court will also likely hear “the issue of his release conditions,” said Kavanaugh, who said they’re working on a release plan for Carver, in hopes that can occur during the time the commonwealth decides whether the case can be tried.
