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Florida State - Arson

Arson is defined as the malicious, voluntarily, and intentional setting of a fire to a building(s), property of another, or a person's own property for an improper purpose such as to file a fraudulent insurance claim. First-degree felony arson is usually the charge associated with an act of arson in which a person or person are injured or killed in the fire. Meanwhile second-degree felony arson usually refers to cases in which there were no humans injured or killed but the property suffered significant damage to the structure

The Florida criminal statutes define arson in 806.01 as follows :

  1. Any person who willfully and unlawfully, or while in the commission of any felony, by fire or explosion, damages or causes to be damaged :.
    1. Any dwelling, whether occupied or not, or its contents;
    2. Any structure, or contents thereof, where persons are normally present, such as: jails, prisons, or detention centers; hospitals, nursing homes, or other health care facilities; department stores, office buildings, business establishments, churches, or educational institutions during normal hours of occupancy; or other similar structures; or
    3. Any other structure that he or she knew or had reasonable grounds to believe was occupied by a human being,?is guilty of arson in the first degree, which constitutes a felony of the first degree, punishable as provided in 775.082, 775.083, or 775.084.
  2. Any person who willfully and unlawfully, or while in the commission of any felony, by fire or explosion, damages or causes to be damaged any structure, whether the property of himself or herself or another, under any circumstances not referred to in subsection (1), is guilty of arson in the second degree, which constitutes a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in 775.082, 775.083, or 775.084.
  3. As used in this chapter, "structure" means any building of any kind, any enclosed area with a roof over it, any real property and appurtenances thereto, any tent or other portable building, and any vehicle, vessel, watercraft, or aircraft.

The state of Florida must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the following three elements as per jury instruction 12.2 in order to convict a person of the crime of arson :

  1. That the defendant damaged the property, owned by the defendant or another, by fire;
  2. The damage was done willfully and unlawfully; and
  3. The damaged property is a structure.