Facts
X., who was detained in the Sennhof Penal Institution in Chur, barricaded his cell door during the night of November 3, 1977 and then set fire to the woolen blanket with the intention of taking his own life. The cell neighbor alerted the night watchman, who was able to extinguish the fire with a water hose. The fire brigade, which was called, had to put on protective masks due to the heavy smoke in the cell block. X. was rescued unharmed, and the property damage amounted to approximately CHF 8,000.
On September 5, 1978, the Cantonal Court of Graubünden found X. guilty of arson under Art. 221 para. 2 of the Swiss Criminal Code and of continued theft, and sentenced him to 20 months in a penitentiary.
X. filed a nullity appeal, requesting that the judgment of the Cantonal Court be overturned and the case be remanded for the acquittal of the appellant from the charge of intentional arson under Art. 221 para. 2 of the Swiss Criminal Code and for the re-determination of the sentence to be imposed.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the nullity appeal. It stated that the objective elements of the offense under Art. 221 of the Swiss Criminal Code require a fire of such intensity that the perpetrator can no longer control it. In the present case, the Federal Supreme Court conclusively determined that the fire had reached a considerable extent and had developed heavy smoke, so that X. had lost control over it. Even though the night watchman was able to extinguish the fire, this does not change the fact that X. as the perpetrator would no longer have been able to master the fire.
Furthermore, the Federal Supreme Court stated that the concept of arson under Art. 221 of the Swiss Criminal Code alternatively requires the creation of a public danger or the causing of a conflagration to the detriment of another person. Since in the present case a damage of approximately CHF…