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In the United States, the common law elements of arson serve as a basic template for the modernly adopted elements, but individual jurisdictions occasionally alter them and they vary from state to state. For example, most states no longer require the "dwelling" element. In these states, the crime of arson includes the burning of any personal property without consent or with unlawful intent.
Arson charges are prosecuted with attention to degree of severity in the alleged offense: First-degree felony arson is usually charged when persons are harmed or killed in the course of the fire, second-degree felony arson when significant destruction of property occurs, and so forth. Arson is also variously prosecuted as a misdemeanor or "criminal mischief" or "destruction of property." If the arson involved a "breaking and entering", the second charge of burglary is usually attached. It is possible for the death penalty to be applied in cases where arson is deemed to be a method of homicide, as was the recent case in Texas of Cameron Willingham.
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