The federal appeals court in Atlanta has upheld arson convictions against a man who set five Georgia churches on fire, including one fire that killed a northeast Georgia firefighter.
The Eleventh U-S Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ten-to-three decision yesterday that said Jay Scott Ballinger's crimes fall within the jurisdiction of the federal courts.
The majority of judges rejected a previous decision that said even though Ballinger's arsons were heinous, they were state -- not federal -- crimes.
The resident of Yorktown, Indiana, torched five Georgia churches in late 1998 and early 1999 during a multi-state rampage in which authorities say he set more than 20 churches on fire.
Ballinger was a self-proclaimed ``missionary of Lucifer,'' who described the burning of the churches as his work and business.
Volunteer firefighter Loy Williams died when a roof collapsed on him during a fire December 31, 1998, at the New Salem United Methodist Church in Banks County.