The Face of Evil

Or at least mind-numbing stupidity

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In the face of last week's Esperanza arson blaze, which has burned more than 60 square miles in the lovely San Jacinto Mountains near Palm Springs and killed five brave firefighters, I wondered whether the the crime of arson could carry the death penalty.

Apparenly it can. Thirty-six-year-old Raymond Lee Oyler, of Beaumont, was arrested and charged with arson and murder in connection with the Esperanza fire and two other fires in the Banning Pass area in June. The charges carry the death penalty or life in prison.