“I’m Guilty as Hell”
September 13, 2004
Well, the splotchy, doughy-faced Marietta man who came to Savannah to burn down one of our churches has admitted to torching the place.
“I’m guilty as hell,’’ Smith tells detectives during a taped interview within hours of his arrest Oct. 7. “There’s no two ways about it.’’ What’s more, he felt no remorse. “No. I’m saying that now. Maybe when I’m sitting in a jail cell, I will,’’ the 31-year-old Marietta resident tells police.
Now thankfully, the damage from the fire was minimal. Although I haven’t been there in over a year, I love the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah. It is, by far, one of the most beautiful churches in the country. Whether you’re religious or not, you can’t help but feel moved when you’re in a place like this.
What really made me wonder though, is why a man from metro Atlanta would come all the way down to little Savannah to try to cause a ruckus. Why not just find a church there? The city’s sure big enough.
“I thought it was very beautiful. The whole place is a work of art and I appreciate its beauty.” “I just picked it (the cathedral) because it was the biggest and the best,’’ Smith tells detectives.
So, that’s it. Stuart Smith drove all the way from Marietta to Savannah because he wanted to set fire to the biggest, best church he could find. “A work of art.” And knowing that, one almost takes what he did as a compliment.
Apparently, there’s nothing worth burning down in Marietta.
Quotes taken from the Savannah Morning News.