(a) A person commits the crime of arson in the second degree if he intentionally damages a building by starting or maintaining a fire or causing an explosion.

Attorney's Note

Under the Alabama Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class B felony2 to 20 yearsup to $30,000
For details, see Ala. Code § 13A-5-6
criminal case

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Terms Used In Alabama Code 13A-7-42

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Explosion: includes , but is not limited to, a sudden and rapid combustion, causing violent expansion of the air, or the sudden bursting or breaking up or in pieces from an internal or other force. See Alabama Code 13A-7-40
  • person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • property: includes both real and personal property. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
(b) A person does not commit a crime under subsection (a) if:

(1) No person other than himself has a possessory or proprietary interest in the building damaged; or if other persons have those interests, all of them consented to his conduct; and
(2) His sole intent was to destroy or damage the building for a lawful and proper purpose.
(c) The burden of injecting the issue of justification in subsection (b) is on the defendant, but this does not shift the burden of proof.
(d) A person commits the crime of arson in the second degree if he intentionally starts or maintains a fire or causes an explosion which damages property in a detention facility or a penal facility, as defined in Section 13A-10-30, with reckless disregard (because of the nature or extent of the damage caused or which would have been caused but for the intervention of others) for the safety of others.
(e) Arson in the second degree is a Class B felony.
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