Expert Discusses Significance of Raymond Lee Oyler Arson-Murder Death Penalty Case

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In March of 2009, Raymond Lee Oyler became the first person to get the death penalty for setting a wildland fire which resulted in the deaths of firefighters.  Oyler, a former auto mechanic, set the infamous Esperanza Fire on October 26, 2006, killing five US Forest Service firefighters, who died battling the wildfire.  After a two month trial, Oyler was found guilty of five counts of murder and multiple counts of arson for the Esperanza Fire and 23 other wildfires and was sentenced to death, setting a significant judicial precedent.

Author and journalist John Maclean has dedicated the past four years to researching and writing about the deadly fire and Oyler's trial.   As the Keynote Speaker at the Firehouse World Expo in San Diego, California, Maclean explained the significance of this case, saying, "The importance of the Oyler trial is considerable.  It is part of an evolution for much stricter penalty of arsonists.  Fifty years ago, you couldn't even indict somebody for murder if they set a fire and by chance somebody got killed in it."

As an example, Maclean recounts the 1955 Rattlesnake Fire, which killed 15 firefighters.  The arsonist in that case admitted to setting the fire so that he could work.  He was charged with two counts of willful burning and spent a mere two years in prison.

In comparison, Maclean says of the Oyler case, "Today you have a guy who has been sentenced to death for that.  It's the first time it has ever happened and it probably won't be the last."

According to Maclean, arson accounts for approximately 10% of wildland fire starts, and catching an arsonist and proving his guilt is extremely difficult.  He explains, "Catching an arsonist is like making elephant soup, but you've got to catch one.  It's not easy to do.  It's an anonymous crime.  There are seldom witnesses.  The evidence is often burned up, so that the number of arson-murder trials is not going to be extreme."

Maclean says that it was difficult to prove Oyler's guilt in the courtroom, and that there were holdouts among the jurors.  However, CAL Fire did an excellent job preserving the evidence for the homicide detectives.  They were able to prove that Oyler not only set the Esperanza fire but was a serial arsonist, setting at least 23 other fires in Southern California.

An interesting fact that John Maclean brings to light is that almost all serial murders began as serial arsonists, and he feels that Raymond Lee Oyler would have been on his way to becoming a serial murderer had he not been caught.  He elaborates, "He (Raymond Lee Oyler) wanted more consequences.  He wanted more attention to it, and murdering people is a part of that.  Whether he specifically wanted to kill people, I don't know.  But we do know that the day of the fatalities, on October 26th, they occurred about 7 o'clock in the morning.  He went to work that day, and when he punched out of work at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, he went out and set another fire."

John Maclean's fourth book about the Esperanza Fire and the Raymond Lee Oyler trial will be coming out soon.  For more information about this and his previous works, visit www.JohnMacleanBooks.com.

To watch FDNNTV.com's coverage of the Raymond Lee Oyler Arson-Murder Trial, click below.

Judge Sentences Raymond Lee Oyler to Death

Jury Recommendation for Death Penalty

Jury Finds Raymond Lee Oyler Guilty of Arson and Murder

Week 4 of Raymond Lee Oyler Trial

Week 3 of Raymond Lee Oyler Trial

Week 2 of Raymond Lee Oyler Trial

Week 1 of Raymond Lee Oyler Trial

Raymond Lee Oyler Trial Begins

Author:Deanne Goodman - FDNNTV.com