After 43 years behind bars, suspect in deadly Ariz. hotel fire cuts release deal PHOENIX A man whose murder conviction in a 1970 Arizona hotel fire that killed 29 people was called into question has entered a plea, clearing the way for his freedom. The plea deal Tuesday marks a stunning reversal for an inmate who was just 16 years old when he was arrested in the fire. Louis Taylor has been behind bars ever since and will leave prison at the age of 59. Taylor has since spent more than four decades in prison, consistently maintaining his innocence after being sentenced to 28 consecutive life terms in the December 1970 fire at the Pioneer Hotel in Tucson. Taylor, who is black, contends he was wrongly convicted by an all-white jury after he says police failed to investigate other suspects. Arizona's Pioneer Hotel fire re-examined "60 Minutes" first looked into the case back in 2002, along with Court TV, and found evidence that the 16-year-old had been railroaded; a convenient suspect for police and prosecutors eager to resolve the city's worst disaster. Watch the full, updated report on the Pioneer Hotel fire by Steve Kroft for "60 Minutes" at left. As rescue teams fought their way up the stairwells after the fire was first reported, they encountered 16-year-old Louis Taylor on the third floor landing. Police officer Bill Briamonte put the boy to work. Bill Briamonte: "I said, 'Come with me. There's a fire in this building. Start banging on doors,' and I sent him to the left, and I went to the right. Attorney: Pioneer Hotel was a "fire trap" To many firemen, Louis Taylor was a hero that night. But the police weren't looking for a hero. While the fire was still smoldering, and before the fire department even had time to begin an investigation into the cause, the police department decided it had the answer: Louis Taylor. One officer who had been with the boy during the fire, went up to thank him a few hours later at police headquarters only to be told to stay away - that Taylor had set the fire. The officer, Klaus Bergman, said he was dumbfounded. Klaus Bergman: I don't know how in God's name somebody could declare a fire to be an arson, and arrest and book somebody for setting the fire before the fire is out. Louis Taylor had voluntarily gone to police headquarters as a witness, but after an all-night interrogation by eight different police officers without a lawyer or a guardian present, Taylor had gone from cooperative witness to prime suspect.