Federal Arson Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 10 people were sentenced for arson in the District of Maryland, and all 10 received a prison term. The median was 114 months (9.5 years), compared with 60 months for arson in all 94 federal districts.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 › Arson: District of Maryland
In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 10 people were sentenced for arson in the District of Maryland, and all 10 received a prison term. The median was 114 months (9.5 years), compared with 60 months for arson in all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 10 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Arson Prison Terms Compared With All Districts
The median prison term was 114 months. A quarter of the 10 people received 151.8 months or more, and a quarter received 62.5 months or less. No one received probation only.
In all districts, 96% of 742 people sentenced for arson were sent to prison, and the median was 60 months. For all offenses in the District of Maryland, the median was 48 months.
Mandatory Minimums Applied to Most Cases
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 8 of the 10 people (80%). A mandatory minimum is a prison term set by statute that a judge must impose unless an exception applies.
All 10 cases used one primary guideline, §2K1.4 (Arson). "Arson" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, and the Commission assigns it by the primary guideline. These cases were less than 1% of the 6,044 people sentenced in the district.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
Of the 10 people, 8 (80%) pleaded guilty and 2 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 7 of 8 had a written plea agreement, and 1 was a straight plea with no agreement.
The median prison term was 89 months after a guilty plea and 300 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on only 2 people, so it should not be read as a pattern. In all districts, 93% pleaded guilty for arson.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
The sentence was within the guideline range for 7 people (70%). It was below the range at the government's request for 1 (10%), below it without a request for 1 (10%), and above it for 1 (10%).
Within-range sentences were more common here than the 45% for arson in all districts and the 31% for all offenses in this district. The guideline range is a recommended sentencing range calculated from the offense and the person's criminal history. Judges may sentence outside it, and the records show how often that happened but not the reasons.
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
All 10 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 9 (90%), and no fine was ordered.
In criminal history, 50% were in the lowest category and 10% in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and What the Records Leave Out
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 6 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 4. The most in any one year was 3, in fiscal year 2016. With 1 person in most years, the yearly medians are single sentences and show no trend.
Fort Meade and Joint Base Andrews are in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts. The data counts only people convicted and sentenced, reports terms imposed rather than time served, and cannot show the facts of any case.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 60 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2017 | 1 | 162 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 1 | 120 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 1 | 420 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | 180 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2021 | 1 | 37 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | 108 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 121 months | 1 of 1 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Maryland (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Maryland") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Arson" (10). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.