Opinion ID: 852652
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Arson Endangering Human Life

Text: The State first points to subsection (a)(2), which defines arson as a Class B felony if it involves circumstances which endanger human life. The State argues that this language makes the resulting endangerment an element of the crime, and thus, each endangered human life constitutes a separate crime. We agree that endangerment is an element of the crime, but endangerment of multiple persons without more, entails no additional consequences beyond endangerment of a single person. The legislature chose to use the phrase endanger human life and not endanger a person. Human life is endangered whether a single person or a group of people are endangered. In view of the well established principle that criminal statutes are to be construed strictly, we think that simply as a matter of syntax subsection (a)(2) makes endangerment of one life or many lives only one arson. Existing authority holds that one who destroys multiple properties with different owners is guilty of multiple counts of arson. See Williamson v. State, 798 N.E.2d 450, 451 (Ind.Ct.App.2003), trans. denied. Based on this authority, the State argues that the legislature did not intend for a defendant who destroys properties with different owners to be guilty of multiple counts of arson, while the defendant who destroys a single property but injures multiple people commits only one arson. This argument relates to two different claims: that endangering two people is two Class B crimes under subsection (a)(2) and also to the issue discussed in Part I.C.whether injuring two people creates two Class A felonies under the last sentence of section 1(a). There is some appeal to the State's point, but the statute does not support it. The arson statute criminalizes damaging property (or a dwelling or a religious structure), not injuries to people. As a result, a single set of facts that satisfies more than one of the circumstances enumerated in section 1(a) (Dorsey burns the building causing $100,000 in property damage and also endangering human life) supports only one B felony as a violation of section 1(a) because only one property is damaged.