Last month, Taylor’s attorneys filed a motion to remove Conover, the county’s top prosecutor., and Jack Ching, a former county attorney general on the release of public records.

The motion included an affidavit from Nina Trasoff, a former TV news anchor and former member of the Tucson City Council. Trasov said in her affidavit that she was good friends with Conover and volunteered to edit news releases for her office.

Shortly after taking office as president in 2021, Conover told Trasoff that he planned to look into Taylor’s case and prove his innocence. He helped compile a news release about the acquittal that was to be issued, court records say.

“Early last week, after 17 months of intensive research, our team came to a perhaps predictable conclusion. And I will never act based on political or media pressure. “Last week, the Pima County Attorney’s Office concluded that it could no longer uphold the conviction of Lewis Taylor in the 1970 Pioneer Hotel fire… the wounds of injustice continue to bleed to this day, and we are guilty We are filing a motion to reverse the judgment.”

Court records show Trasoff said Conover was thrilled by the fact that the review showed that the fire was not arson and that Taylor was wrongfully convicted.

However, that news release was never released to the public.

Instead, months later, the county attorney’s office issued a news release stating that Conover had decided not to drop the criminal charges against Taylor. He said.

As they discussed the new decision, Trasoff said Conover told her he had decided not to go on board with the original news release.

Neither the name of the attorney nor the motive for the threats against Conover in the Pioneer Fire case were included in the court documents.

When asked about the allegations in court records on Wednesday, Conover released the following statement: In the performance of my duties as a prosecutor, I have demonstrated my willingness and ability to listen to a variety of feedback. But I also proved that I make decisions based on facts and the law. I carefully consider the views of my senior leadership team and interested community members, but the final decision is my own. ”

Taylor was convicted of causing a fire in downtown Tucson that killed 29 people and served 42 years in prison. In 2013, Taylor signed a deal with the office of former Pima County Attorney Barbara Lawall to have his conviction reversed., and released him from prison.

Taylor has pleaded not guilty. In 2015, The Star reported that Taylor sued Pima County and the city for violating due process and the right to a fair trial. However, Taylor was barred from seeking damages for his time in prison as part of a no-challenge petition he made.

Had Taylor been acquitted, he could have sought compensation for his wrongful conviction.

The controversy surrounding Conover in the Pioneer Fires is nothing new. Critics say her involvement in Taylor’s case poses a conflict of interest.

Before she resigned, Lawor’s office hired an outside attorney to represent the county in Taylor’s civil case. Conover said this was because he did research for Taylor’s parole hearing while in law school. The office also said that during campaigning for the 2020 county attorney’s election, Conover discussed her dismay about how the case was handled, Starr reported.

Conover has dismissed these claims.

Conover said the conclusion LaWall’s team had reached was wrong, saying, “Twenty years ago or later, Taylor’s representation, whether he was in law school or not, was also part of his representation. No,” he said.