Pennsylvania Attorney Gets 5 To 10 For Torching Family Home

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, The Associated Press reports:

• A 57-year-old attorney has been sentenced to five to 10 years in prison for setting fire to his family home, critically injuring his bedridden daughter. Samuel Pontier says he is remorseful and that he never intended to set his house on fire or harm his daughter, who has cerebral palsy. Pontier pleaded guilty in November to aggravated assault, arson and other charges. Pontier's attorney says the former O'Hara Township councilman was suffering from manic depression and abusing alcohol and prescription drugs when he set the Dec. 29 fire. Pontier's 17-year-old daughter Kristin suffered smoke inhalation and burns to her esophagus. Pontier's estranged wife and their other daughter were not at home when the fire started.

Source: Lawyer gets prison term for setting family home on fire.

For earlier articles on this story, see the Pittsburgh Tribune Review:

• Girl urges lengthy sentence for father,
• Man tells detective why he set fire.