Oliver

Appellant was found guilty by a jury of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187) and of arson (Pen. Code, § 451, subdivision (b)). An *923 alleged special circumstance that the murder was committed while appellant was engaged in the commission of arson (Pen. Code, § 190.2, subdivision (a)(17)(viii)) was also found to be true. He was sentenced to state prison for life without possibility of parole on account of the murder with special circumstance, and for a concurrent term of five years in connection with the arson.

The facts giving rise to the prosecution were these. Appellant, a disabled person required to use a wheelchair, met Sandra Whalen, Ms neighbor, in September of 1981, when he was 18 years of age and, after the two had seen one another on an every-other-day basis for several months, proposed marriage to her in January of 1982. A ring he simultaneously bestowed, however, was returned a day later with Ms. Whalen’s statement she did not then wish to marry anyone. Disgruntled over the refusal, appellant on January 21, 1982, spoke with his brother-in-law Orlan Douglas and, independently, with two teenage boys who lived in the area, indicating he wanted to get even…