Assemblyman Plans Bills to Mandate Life Sentences for Arsonists

Angered by the arson blazes 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-Placentia) said 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 an arsonist who sets a fire that kills someone.

The current sentences prescribed for arsonists, Johnson said in a memorandum to fellow legislators, are “an inadequate penalty for the individual or individuals who caused such widespread misery and devastation” by setting the wildfires that ravaged several Southern California communities.

More than two dozen fires caused an estimated $1 billion in damage throughout the region in late October and early November. State officials recently estimated the cost of fighting the fires at more than $100 million.

Johnson’s top aide said the assemblyman intends 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.”

In California, arson is the cause of 13% of all fires, 41% of the acres burned and 67% of the dollar damage from fires, state officials say.