Georgia Woman Sentenced for Arsons

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) â€” A former exotic dancer was sentenced Wednesday to 16 years and eight months in prison for her role in a series of church arsons across the country. <br><br>Angela Wood, 25, of Athens,

Wednesday, November 15th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) â€” A former exotic dancer was sentenced Wednesday to 16 years and eight months in prison for her role in a series of church arsons across the country.

Angela Wood, 25, of Athens, Ga., who had pleaded guilty to several arson-related counts, wept in court and apologized.

``I was too lazy to think for myself, and I let somebody else influence me. I can't blame anyone else for that,'' she said.

Wood was the companion of self-described satanist Jay Scott Ballinger, who was sentenced a day earlier to nearly 43 years in prison for setting 26 church fires in eight states. The couple have a 5-year-old daughter.

Wood's attorney, Edward Shrager, said she was a lost soul.

''(Ballinger) beat her a lot if she didn't cooperate,'' he said ``He told her she would never see the child again.''

Ballinger still faces federal charges in Georgia for five church fires in 1998 and 1999, including one that killed a firefighter.