Carolyn
That nobody has been killed or seriously injured yet by these people is simple luck. It is only a matter of time before someone is killed who either found themselves in the wrong place or dies trying to fight one of their fires.
And I think it is unlikely he will serve the entire eight years.
He was convicted of arson. That is a violent crime.
The drunk driver that killed my cousin got less than a year in prison.
This is a longer sentence than some violent criminals get.
"“I want nothing more than to be a physicist,” Cottrell said. .............."
It was also a monumentally stupid act for one so educated. If all he wanted to be was a physicist he should not have been out spray painting, and burning vehicles.