South Carolina Woman Pleads Guilty in Fires that Affected Several Homes

An Irmo, S.C. woman pleaded guilty but mentally ill to charges of setting a series of fires that destroyed four homes and damaged several others.

Kimberly Wooten entered the pleas June 16 and will be sentenced July 21.

Defense attorney Lisa Kimbrough said Wooten will face no more than 15 years in prison for her pleas.

Irmo Police Chief Brian Buck says there were unusual circumstances in the case and Wooten was an unusual suspect.

The fires in the Irmo area occurred over a two week period in 2006.

Wooten’s attorneys say Wooten had irresistible impulses to start fires. The plea of guilty but mentally ill that Wooten took means she knew the difference between right and wrong — but could not conform her conduct to the requirements of the law.