Federal Arson Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025
All 16 people sentenced for arson in the District of South Dakota in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 37 months (3.1 years). For all 94 federal districts, the median arson term was 60 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–20 › Arson: District of South Dakota
In brief: All 16 people sentenced for arson in the District of South Dakota in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 37 months (3.1 years). For all 94 federal districts, the median arson term was 60 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 16 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.
Every Arson Sentence Included Prison
16 of the 16 people (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. For all districts, 96% of the 742 people sentenced for arson were sent to prison.
A quarter of those sentenced received 42 months or more, and a quarter received 22.7 months or less. The median of 37 months was lower than the 60-month median for all districts. It was about the same as the 36-month median for all offenses in the District of South Dakota. These are prison terms imposed, not time served.
1 person received a term of 18.6 months after a trial. 15 of the 16 people (94%) pleaded guilty, and their median was 37 months.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
11 people (69%) were sentenced within the guideline range. 4 (25%) were below the range without a government request, and 1 (6%) was below it at the government's request. None were above the range.
For all districts, 45% of arson sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 57%. Arson sentences here were within the range more often than the all-district arson figure.
Arson as the Commission Counts It
"Arson" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, drawn from the primary guideline of each case. 15 people were sentenced under §2K1.4 (Arson). 1 was sentenced under §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).
These cases were less than 1% of the 5,041 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
After Prison: Supervised Release and Restitution
All 16 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 12 people (75%). No fine was ordered for any of them.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 16 people. 44% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 0% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Among those who pleaded guilty, 93% had a written plea agreement and 7% pleaded with no agreement.
Arson Cases Across the Years
10 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 6 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. 2016 had the most, with 6 people. Years not listed in the table had no arson sentences in the data.
The yearly medians range from 21 months to 45.3 months, with 1 or 2 people in most years. Counts this small do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 39 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2018 | 2 | 45 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 2 | 45.3 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2021 | 1 | 42 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | 26 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 2 | 21 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2025 | 2 | 33.5 months | 2 of 2 |
What the Records Cannot Show
Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. It has no acquittals or dismissals, and it does not describe the facts of any fire or the reasons for a sentence.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Dakota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Dakota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Arson" (16). 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.
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 South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Assault Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the District of South Dakota, 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.