Arson

Arson charges in Delaware are felony charges. There are different classes of felony charges in these types of cases. The class of felony depends on the exact circumstances surrounding your charges.

• 801. Arson in the third degree; affirmative defense; class G felony.

(a) A person is guilty in the third degree when the person recklessly damages a building by intentionally starting a fire or causing an explosion. (b) In any prosecution under this section, it is an affirmative defense that no person other than the accused had a possessory or proprietary interest in the building.

• 802. Arson in the second degree; affirmative defense; class D felony.

(a) A person is guilty in the second degree when the person intentionally damages a building by starting a fire or causing an explosion. (b) In any prosecution under this section, it is an affirmative defense that: (1) No person other than the accused had a possessory or proprietary interest in the building, or if other persons had such interests, all of them consented to the accused’s conduct; and (2) The accused’s sole intent was to destroy or damage the building for a lawful purpose; and (3) The accused had no reasonable ground to believe that the conduct might endanger the life or safety of another person or damage another building.

• 803. Arson in the first degree; class C felony.

A person is guilty in the first degree when the person intentionally damages a building by starting a fire or causing an explosion and when: (1) The person knows that another person, not an accomplice is present in the building at the time; or (2) The person knows of circumstances which render the presence of another person, not an accomplice therein a reasonable possibility.