Benjamin Haskell, a 25-year-old Springfield man, was sentenced to 6 years in a case brought by Massachusetts prosecutors. The sentence is concurrent with his 9-year federal sentence for burning down the Macedonia Church of God in Christ, a mostly-black church, to protest the 2008 election of President Obama.
Haskell pleaded guilty to a 10-count state indictment. The indictment included drug charges and a charge that he set fire to a house in 2003. Superior Court Judge Moriarty called Haskell a “one man crime wave.”
Source: The Boston Globe, Church arsonist pleads guilty in Mass. case
If you have been charged with arson or any crime in Massachusetts, call the criminal defense lawyers of Altman and Altman LLP. Arson can be a felony or a misdemeanor, and the punishments vary. For example, setting fire to a house of worship carries more serious penalties.
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