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Arsonist convicted of five murders

RIVERSIDE, Calif. | A jury convicted an auto mechanic Friday of murdering five federal firefighters by setting a wildfire that overran them as they defended a home in a rural Southern California mountain community.

Raymond Lee Oyler, 38, was found guilty of five counts of first-degree murder. Because he committed multiple murders and did so while committing another felony - 20 counts of arson and 17 counts of using an incendiary device - he will receive a death sentence or life imprisonment without parole in the penalty phase beginning Tuesday.

John R. Hawkins, Riverside County fire chief, told reporters that he hoped the families of the firefighters could “rest now knowing that the man responsible will pay for his actions, and no one else will suffer as they have.”

All of the fires were set in rural Riverside County May 16, 2006. Prosecutor Michael Hestrin told jurors that the variations in the devices showed that Oyler was experimenting with different designs and learning from his mistakes.

Judge lets group help defend gay

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. | A conservative group behind a successful ballot measure banning unmarried couples from adopting or fostering children can help defend the ban in a lawsuit, a judge ruled Friday.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza said he believes that allowing the Arkansas Family Council’s request to help the state defend the law would allow the case to be “fully developed,” saying he was “a firm believer that you can’t be afraid of what someone is going to say.”

Byron Babione, an attorney for the family council, said it had a unique interest in the case because it pushed to get the measure on the November ballot and mobilized volunteers during its successful fall campaign. He noted that Gov. Mike Beebe and state Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, both Democrats, opposed the measure, and that Mr. McDaniel’s political action committee gave $1,000 to a group that campaigned against the restriction.

“Nobody really likes to have their interests represented by somebody who doesn’t believe in their cause,” said Mr. Babione, who is senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian legal organization.

Muslim terrorist gets 16 years

SANTA ANA, Calif. | One of four men accused of plotting terrorist attacks on Jewish and military targets in California has been sentenced to 16 years in federal prison.

Kevin James 32, was sentenced Friday in Santa Ana. He pleaded guilty in 2007 to conspiracy to wage war against the United States.

The U.S. attorney’s office said James formed an Islamic terrorist group while in state prison in 1997.

Prosecutors said two recruits held up gas stations to raise money for attacks on targets that included Los Angeles International Airport, the Israeli Consulate, military bases and Army recruiting centers. They were sentenced last year to prison. A fourth man who initially was found unfit to stand trial will be tried in July.

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