Tougher Sentences for Arsonists Sought : Legislation: Assemblyman Ross Johnson says mandatory life terms, death penalties are warranted.

Angered by the arsons that recently scorched the Southland, an Orange County assemblyman has drafted legislation that would boost the sentence for firebugs to life in prison.

Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-Fullerton) said the current penalties, which range from three to eight years in prison for arsonists, are grossly inadequate.

Under his bill, which Johnson intends to introduce when the Legislature reconvenes next month, an arsonist who sets a fire that claims two or more dwellings would spend life in prison without the possibility of parole. In addition, Johnson has a second bill that would raise the penalty to death or life without parole for arsons that claim a human life.

The current sentences prescribed for arsonists, Johnson said in a memorandum to fellow lawmakers, are “an inadequate penalty for the individual or individuals who caused such widespread misery and devastation” by setting the wildfires that damaged or destroyed more than 400 homes in Laguna Beach and ravaged other Southland communities.

More than two dozen fires caused an estimated $1 billion in damage throughout the region in late October and early November, with the coastal communities of Malibu and Laguna Beach hardest hit. The cost of fighting the fires was recently estimated by state officials at more than $100 million.

Johnson was not available for comment Thursday, but his top aide said the assemblyman intended to fight hard for the bill.

“For someone to spend eight years in prison after causing $1 billion damage and ruining countless lives doesn’t seem fair,” said Suzie Swatt, Johnson’s chief of staff. “Clearly, the penalties do not match the crime.”

Swatt said the bill’s chances should be good, given the wide television coverage of the fires and the broad public outrage over the role that arson played. In addition, the arson bill and other tough-on-crime measures will be boosted because 1994 is an election year.

So far, the measure has attracted 20 co-authors in the Assembly and 10 in the Senate, a respectable showing given that the Legislature is out of session.