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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE AT KNOXVILLE STATE OF TENNESSEE v. ROY D. NELSON
Appeal from the Criminal Court for Washington County No. 21727 Lynn W. Brown, Judge

No. E1997-00021-SC-R11-CD - Decided May 2, 2000 FOR PUBLICATION

This is an appeal from the Criminal Court for Washington County which convicted the defendant of aggravated arson. The defendant appealed and argued that the aggravated arson statute applies only when an individual other than the arsonist sustains serious bodily injuries. Accordingly, because he was the individual who sustained serious bodily injuries, the defendant contended that the aggravated arson statute was inapplicable. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the judgment of the trial court, and we granted the defendant's application for permission to appeal. We hold that where a defendant sustains serious bodily injuries as the result of an arson he or she committed, that defendant may be convicted of aggravated arson pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 3914-302(a)(2) (1997). Accordingly, we affirm the judgments of the trial court and the Court of Criminal Appeals. Tenn. R. App. P. 11; Judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals is Affirmed. BARKER, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which ANDERSON, C.J., and DROWOTA , BIRCH, and HOLDER , JJ. joined. Donald E. Spurrell, Johnson City, Tennessee, for the appellant, Roy D. Nelson. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General, and Gordon W. Smith, Associate Solicitor General, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. OPINION On the evening of June 3, 1994, the defendant, Roy D. Nelson, entered the basement of Angela Nelson's house and poured gasoline on the floor.1 As he walked up the stairs to the residential portion of the house, the defendant lit a cigarette which ignited the gasoline fumes causing an explosion that rocked the brick house from its foundation as well as a fire. The defendant

At the time of the arson, Angela and Roy Nelson were married but separated. Following this incident, the Nelsons obtained a divorce.

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was admitted to the hospital later that evening where he was treated for first, second, and third degree burns he sustained in the explosion and fire. The defendant was indicted and convicted for aggravated arson on the grounds that he suffered serious bodily injury, thus triggering application of the aggravated arson statute. The defendant appealed arguing that the aggravated arson statute applies only when some individual other than the arsonist sustains a serious bodily injury. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the judgment of the trial court, and we granted the defendant's application for permission to appeal on this issue.2 DISCUSSION When statutory language is plain and unambiguous, this Court must not apply a construction apart from the words of the statute. See Fletcher v. State, 9 S.W.3d 103, 105 (Tenn. 1999). The aggravated arson statute at issue in this case provides: A person commits aggravated arson who commits arson as defined in

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Tennessee Law