This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

D, a twenty-six-year-old high school dropout, was living in a rented house with his girlfriend, Ashley Newby, and their child. D, an abuser of alcohol since he was twelve or thirteen, had been sober for a period of some four years prior to New Year's Eve, December 31, 1999. D began drinking again. On January 12, 2000, he was, according to his testimony, 'wasted,' having started drinking at 7:00 a.m. He had argued during the day with Newby, and when he got home, she was at the home of a male friend, Jerry Hill. D testified that 'I wanted her to come home and she wouldn't come home.' D called Hill's home and said that he was 'going to catch the house on fire and lie in the middle of it.' D's first attempt at starting a fire in front of the house was put out by other individuals. D's second attempt involved the deliberate use of an accelerant. It resulted in significant fire damage to the house. D remembered running outside to call 911 and then going back into the house to collect personal items when he was overcome by smoke. He was subsequently treated for smoke inhalation. D testified that there was no one else in the house at the time of the second fire. Investigator Watkins testified that Newby said she was in the house at the time of the fire. No one, other than D, sustained any injuries as a result of the fire. John Jones testified that D was 'seriously delinquent' on his rent payments at the time of the fire. Rent on the house was $575 a month. Jones had no fire insurance on any of the houses, and Jones had spent approximately $28,000 on repairs to the house and had not been able to rent it again for three months. He presented an estimate from Jack Crisp of Complete Repair and Service for $28,600. The single paid invoice produced as evidence by Jones was for $3448. Jones stated that he had several other paid bills that he did not bring with him to court. D was found guilty and sentenced to serve 4 years in prison. The court denied D’s request for alternative sentencing.

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