People v. Burrett

Following a jury trial, defendant Harry Burrett was found guilty of aggravated arson, arson, conspiracy and solicitation. The court sentenced him to 18 years of imprisonment.

On appeal the defendant alleges that (1) the State failed to prove that defendant knew or had reason to know that the arsoned premises were occupied as required for conviction under the aggravated arson statute; (2) the State’s closing argument on the issue of what defendant might have reasonably known was based on evidence not in the record; and (3) the sentence of 18 years was too harsh. For the reasons set forth below,…