Start an illegal fire, injure 6 firemen, destroy 53 homes, 37 cars and 45 structures = 5 years probation??

It wasn't intentional. It was accidental. Was it an accident that Brian David Franks and his friends were partying in a restricted area where campfires were illegal? Reinforced with signage that said, "No fires".

Didn't I just get through talking about how our justice system sucks -a few posts below (eye-for-an-eye punishment in Iran)? Then I heard this bullshit yesterday.

A 28-year-old helped to start the Corral Canyon fire in Malibu in 2007 with his buddies and he was sentenced to five years probation and 300 hours of community service. Probaby because he's testifying against his buddies in court next.

5 years probation! Deputy Public Defender Douglas Goldstein, Franks' lawyer, said he believed the sentencing was fair and his client was "very sorry" about what happened. The District Attorney's Office said the blaze was started "during and within an area of a state of emergency," which would require a mandatory state prison sentence if the suspects were convicted.

What sort of message is our court system handing down? Seriously? My God - if I had nothing to lose in life, I'd contemplate accidentally burning down the bitch's house in Bel Air if I could get 5 year's probation. This idiot is one of the luckiest people on the planet right now.

I'm assuming the 50 homeowners and the fireman with 2nd degree burns on his face are a tad perturbed with the sentence. You think?