Never Enough Time

It would be fair to say that many people are not satisfied with the justice system.  When someone is found guilty of a crime as a result of a costly trial or after providing a guilty plea, we hope for the best.  We would like to see a deterrence, a punishment that fits the crime and not just a slap on the wrist.

Last week a Peter Terence Jones was sentenced on charges relating to two church arsons that he committed last October in Wetaskiwin.  First the United Church on 50 Ave., and then the very next day he broke into, stole items and then torched the St. John's Lutheran Church.  The devastation that occurred are well known to the citizens of that city.  The United Church building is just ‘No More’ and the St. Johns Lutheran Church building, after an inspection, was determined to be non-salvageable.

All we know from what the courts were told is that the arsonist started the United Church fire in an attempt to cover up the Break and Enter he had committed.  In the second case, there was no real explanation which leads us to conclude that it was deliberately lit in an effort to gain a thrill.  In sentencing the judge concluded that it was a “totally senseless wanton act of destruction.”  Jones was sentenced to four years in prison with recognition of eight months he served while remanded in custody. With good behavior we may see Mr. Jones out and about long before the full sentence is served.

Some can say that his sentence fits the crime.  Many may believe that four years in a federal institution will teach Mr. Jones a lesson and once he gets out he will mend his ways.  Personally, I just don't buy it.

It's not that I know Mr. Jones, it is just the nature of the crime that concerns me.  The truth is that many, even psychologists, don't have a real handle on the what makes an arsonist tick.

The motivating factors behind arson have been identified as either money, peer pressure vandalism, attention-getting, political activism or pyromania due to an underlying psychological condition.  According to a British study  titled the “Home Office Arson Scoping Study,” vandalism, boredom and trill-seeking covers 80% of arson that have come before the courts, where the arsonist has admitted the ignition was a spur-of-the-moment decision targeting vacant property, abandoned buildings and automobiles.  Five percent of arsons were malicious, where they were lit as an act of revenge, retaliation, rivalry or racism, or for political ends.  An even smaller percentage of arsonists have an underlying psychological problem, where only 2% of arsonists in Britain received a court ordered hospital stay, while about 10% of arson arrests are considered mentally ill.

It has been reported that around half of all arsonists are male under the age of 18, and the majority of the offenders are males under thirty, and according to an FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, the vast majority of 'profiled' arsonists have a below-normal IQ – typically between 70 and 90.

In cases where the arson is motivated by money, politics or revenge, the culprit has usually revealed that information during the course of the investigation.

The public is properly apprised during the court proceedings and citizens can see past whatever sentence is handled down.  We can at least be assured that the problem has been contained and properly dealt with by the authorities.  But when the motivation for arson has not been properly disclosed by the offender, as in our Wetaskiwin case, we are left with an uneasy feeling that perhaps the arsonist may re-offend after he is letout.

The truth is that, unlike a Hollywood movie, when an arson occurs the police have no real way of profiling an offender.  Psychologists just do not know enough about the mental state of a firebug to make any type of determination.  That is because arson investigations do not have a high solve rate and what the public knows of that type of offender is only gleaned from those culprits that are caught and charged in the first place.

Mr. Jones did not just steal a car, bicycle or broke into a business to  steal electronics for financial gain.  He entered into a church, a building that commonly provides nothing for a criminal to gain other than salvation. Mr. Jones torched the church and repeated that offense within 24 hours.  To say that the police did an outstanding job in catching him is an understatement.  The fact that he was arrested outside of Alberta, is to some reassuring for the citizens of Wetaskiwin that there is hope that once released he will leave our province.

This is the type of case that needs a full disclosure with an explanation for the  offenders actions.  Because, with less than fours years before Mr. Jones is once again out, without peace of mind, it is never enough time.