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# Federal Arson Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-arson-sentences-district-of-new-jersey/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:32:32.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:32:32.000Z
- Description: 9 of the 10 people sentenced for arson in the District of New Jersey in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, with a median of 24 months (2 years). The median for arson in all 94 districts was 60 months, which is higher.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-new-jersey/) › Arson: District of New Jersey

**In brief:** 9 of the 10 people sentenced for arson in the District of New Jersey in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, with a median of 24 months (2 years). The median for arson in all 94 districts was 60 months, which is higher.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Shorter Arson Terms Than in All Districts

In the Sentencing Commission's "Arson" offense type, the District of New Jersey had 10 people sentenced. This is less than 1% of the 6,441 people sentenced in the district over the period.

The median prison term among the 9 people sent to prison was 24 months. A quarter received 28 months or more, and a quarter received 20 months or less. For all 94 districts, the median was 60 months. For all offenses in the district, the median was 37 months. The arson median here is lower than both.

## Who Went to Prison

9 of the 10 (90%) received a prison term. None received probation only. In all districts, 96% of the 742 people sentenced for arson were sent to prison.

9 people (90%) were also ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 4 (40%), and no fines were ordered.

## All 10 Pleaded Guilty

10 of 10 (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Each guilty plea had a written plea agreement. The all-districts rate was 93%, and the rate for all offenses in the district was 97%.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 10 people (20%).

## Against the Guideline Range

The guideline range is the sentence range calculated under the federal Sentencing Guidelines. 6 sentences (60%) were within the range. 2 (20%) were below the range at the government's request, and 2 (20%) were below the range without a government request. None was above.

For all districts, 45% of arson sentences were within the range. For all offenses in the district, the figure was 37%. The share within the range here is higher than both.

## Guideline and Criminal History

Every case used the same primary guideline, §2K1.4 (Arson). 40% of the people were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 0% were in category VI, the highest.

## Years in the Table

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 4 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 6\. The yearly counts are 1 to 3 people. The median was 30 months in fiscal year 2022 (3 people) and 0 months in fiscal year 2024 (1 person). Such small groups cannot show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 2                | 16.5 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2017        | 2                | 20 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2021        | 1                | 28 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2022        | 3                | 30 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2023        | 1                | 27 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2024        | 1                | 0 months      | 1 of 1         |

## Limits of the Data

Only people convicted and sentenced are in this data. Acquittals and dismissals are not, and prison terms are the terms imposed rather than time served. The records give no facts about any case. The district includes Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, but courts-martial are tried in military courts and not in this federal court.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Jersey (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Jersey") 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-new-jersey/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-new-jersey/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-new-jersey/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-new-jersey/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-new-jersey/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.