It was a Sunday morning. Light winds were blowing from the West, while the 68 degree air continued to cool. The date was October 29, 2006. The place … Cabazon, California.

What started off as your typical California morning quickly turned into hell on Earth as the countryside erupted in flames. In 24 hours, flames higher than 70 feet tall and hotter than 1,300 degrees were fanned by the Santa Ana winds, destroying over 60 square miles and 50 buildings. In all, over $9 Million in damage was inflicted by the blaze, but there were greater losses that can not be measured in dollars.

Firefighters from all over the region descended on the inferno, aiding in the quick containment and eventually extinguishing the blaze. While 50 buildings were destroyed, many more were spared. Brave men and women picked their battles against the fire, at times being successful while other times not. In one instance, the fire gained in strength and overwhelmed the firefighters. Five men were trapped while defending a newly constructed home and eventually perished.

An investigation into the fire revealed that an arsonist set the blaze. Within a few days, the Sheriff’s Department arrested Raymond Lee Oyler, charging him with a dozen counts of arson. This week, the jury that heard the case came back and recommended that Oyler be awarded the death sentence for his actions. To my knowledge, this is the first time an arsonist responsible for a wild fire has been punished to this level, bringing us to the question of the day.

I should start off this section by stating that I do believe there are times where the death penalty is warranted. In cases of premeditated first-degree murder, where the individual is in full control of their faculties and of sound mind, the murderer should be eligible for capital punishment, even if it is their first offense. With that said, I am not sure that Oyler should be subjected to death.

Doing some research on California capital punishment, I found the following in the states penal code:

190.2. (a) The penalty for a defendant who is found guilty of murder in the first degree is death or imprisonment in the state prison for life without the possibility of parole if one or more of the following special circumstances has been found under Section 190.4 to be true:

(9) The victim was a firefighter, as defined in Section 245.1, who, while engaged in the course of the performance of his or her duties, was intentionally killed, and the defendant knew, or reasonably should have known, that the victim was a firefighter engaged in the performance of his or her duties.

He bolded section is what bothers me. Did Oyler set out to intentionally kill anyone, especially firefighters? In my research online, I did not find anything citing Oyler’s intentions. Say for the sake of the argument that he did not, and that the deaths were an unexpected side effect of his actions. Do you think you would award him the death penalty?

While reading about the case today, I couldn’t help but think back to last year when a case of street racing killed 8 bystanders. People gathered along side the highway to watch a race when a car plowed through the crowd. Street racing is known to be a dangerous sport as well as an illegal activity. Drivers sometimes lose control of their cars and hit other vehicles or property on the side of the road, and unfortunately sometimes people. Even though the driver knew that hitting someone at that speed would be lethal, would it be considered first-degree murder even though the driver did not intend to kill?

While the two cases are vastly different, they do share a similar premise. A person engaging in an illegal act that results in people dying. When murder isn’t premeditated, should the death penalty still be an option? I have a feeling that Oyler’s appeal will be based upon this argument, and it should be something that the courts should consider overruling. Otherwise, this case my may serve as precedent for the future where the criminal act is even less cut and dry as this one.

Related articles:
Yahoo News – “Calif. man gets death sentence in 5 arson murders”
MSNBC – “Death sentence in 5 Calif. arson murders”
WJLA TV – “Death sentence in arson murders of 5 firefighters”
CBS News - “Maryland Drag Race Crash Kills 8 Fans”

Bookmark and Share

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!