Calls for capital punishment intensify as Spokane arsonist faces competency hearing

Prosecutors allege that Aaron Farinacci voluntarily set a Spokane wildfire on July 4, 2025 and was responsible for more than two dozen other blazes that ravaged over 10,000 acres and razed hundreds of houses. He is scheduled for a competency hearing after his defense team argued he lacks the mental capacity to participate in his trial, a motion granted by Spokane County Superior Court Judge Jeremy Schmidt. Farinacci’s criminal record includes a 2012 shooting that killed his adoptive father and an assault on his mother, for which he served eight of a twelve-year sentence.

The piece references psychiatrist Thomas Szasz’s critique of mental-illness defenses and contends that Farinacci’s premeditated planning—choosing windy, low-humidity conditions—demonstrates clear culpability. It also notes his alleged lie to police about carrying matches while smoking marijuana and a claimed contingency to provoke police shooting. The author concludes that the case warrants the death penalty and rejects any sympathy for the arsonist.