ATLANTA (AP) -- A federal appeals court considered whether churches are more like homes or businesses Tuesday in the case of a serial church arsonist who argues he should not be guilty of violating federal laws on interstate commerce.
Jay Scott Ballinger, an Indiana native and self-described Satanist, was convicted of torching five Georgia churches between 1998 and 1999. One of the blazes killed a volunteer fire fighter.
Ballinger was sentenced to life in prison under federal laws because of rules on interstate commerce.
But Ballinger's attorney, Paul Kish, argued Tuesday that it was wrong to compare Ballinger's arsons to similar attacks on businesses.
``These are little, tiny, rural churches,'' Kish said after the hearing.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is considering the Ballinger case for the second time. Two years ago the same court sided with the arsonist, but the court later set aside that ruling and decided to reconsider. The question is whether Ballinger was engage in interstate commerce when carrying out his crimes because he carried gasoline across state lines.
A lawyer for the federal government argued that churches were ``far more commercial than a private residence'' and asked for the interstate commerce violations to stand.
``If church arson is ever a federal crime, it is this one,'' said Christopher Ray.
No time frame was given for a decision by judges.
Ballinger, of Terre Haute, Ind., has pleaded guilty to setting 26 church fires in eight states. He also faces state charges in Georgia for the death of 27-year-old Kennon Loy Williams at New Salem United Methodist Church in Banks County on New Year's Eve 1998.
