Arson 'not intentional’

Press, 2 March 1977, Page 1

Arson ' not intentional’

PA Timaru The jury in the Supreme Court at Timaru yesterday found a young man guilty of arson, but added a rider that the act was not intentional.

Russell Mark Bramley, aged 24, of Wellington, who had been charged in connection with a fire at Mount Cook last year, will be sentenced on Friday.

Council for the defence (Mr M. J. Green) asked for clarification of the verdict, and the foreman of the jury said that the defendant had been found guilty of recklessness in starting the fire, but not guilty of deliberately starting the fire. Bramley was charged with wilfully setting fire to the Glencoe Lodge staff quarters at Mount Cook on December 8.

The jury took two hours to reach its verdict.

Mr Justice Casey pre sided, and Mr T. M. Gres

son prosecuted for the Crown.

Summing up, the Judge said that both counsel had placed considerable emphasis on the interpretation of the word “wilful.” Earlier in the day a statement by the defendant had been read, in which he admitted dropping a lighted match on the carpet five or six inches away from the drapes which, several witnesses had said, they later saw burning. The Judge told the jury that in law. the word “wilful” carried the element of recklessness. If they found that Bramley had merely acted carelessly in dropping the match, he must be acquitted of the charge. If, however, in their opinion he had deliberately set fire to the drapes or, in dropping the match realised that his action would probably cause a fire, then he was guilty of wilfully starting the fire.