zlacker

>>fortra+(OP)
Maximum sentence is 10 years, she's unlikely to get that, but _minimum_ is 5 years IIRC. That's a _long_ time. And then you're a felon and you can't find a decent job. What was the calculus there, I wonder? Under what circumstances would a person rationally consider torching a police cruiser to be worth the risk of 5 years in the slammer?

>>m0zg+Wc
What makes you think every person knows the mandatory minimum sentencing for every single crime?

>>loeg+Od
I doubt many non-lawyers know precisely what the penalty for arson is. However I do think it's general knowledge that arson is considered a serious crime with serious penalties. Arson in the general case is easily the worst sort of property crime since it often goes hand-in-hand with murder. Granted, murder wasn't really a plausible outcome in this particular cause, but the general association between arson and murder is nevertheless commonly understood and arson is consequently understood to be a very serious matter, even when nobody gets hurt.