Federal Arson Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025
Of 20 people sentenced for arson in the Eastern District of Wisconsin in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 19 (95%) received a prison term. The median was 72 months (6 years), compared with 60 months across all 94 federal districts. A mandatory minimum applied to 17 of the 20 (85%).
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY20 › Arson: Eastern District of Wisconsin
In brief: Of 20 people sentenced for arson in the Eastern District of Wisconsin in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 19 (95%) received a prison term. The median was 72 months (6 years), compared with 60 months across all 94 federal districts. A mandatory minimum applied to 17 of the 20 (85%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 20 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.
A Mandatory Minimum in Most Arson Cases
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 17 of the 20 people with that information recorded (85%). A mandatory minimum is a floor set by statute.
This is the most distinctive figure in the district's arson data, but the group is small. The sheet does not show which statutes were involved or how the minimums affected any sentence.
Prison Terms
Among the 19 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 72 months (6 years). A quarter received 108 months or more, and a quarter received 60 months or less. The all-districts median was 60 months, which is lower than the median here. For all offenses in this district it was 48 months.
One person (5%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all districts, 96% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.
These are imposed terms, not time served.
Fewer Guilty Pleas Than in Most Cases
A total of 17 of 20 people (85%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 93% pleaded guilty, and the district's figure for all offenses was 98%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 61.3 months. After a trial it was 120 months, based on 3 people. That is too few people to say the trial group differs for any general reason. All guilty pleas (100%) had a written plea agreement.
Sentences Above and Below the Guideline Range
Sentences within the guideline range were 35% (7 people). Above the range were 30% (6). Below the range at the government's request were 15% (3), and below the range without a government request were 20% (4).
In all districts together, 45% of arson sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district it was 17%.
Guideline, Supervision, and Restitution
"Arson" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. All 20 people were sentenced mainly under §2K1.4 (Arson). These cases were less than 1% of the 2,907 people sentenced in the district.
Supervised release was ordered for 19 people (95%), with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 16 people (80%), and no fine was ordered (0). In the federal data, 35% were in category I, the lowest criminal history category, and 10% in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
The district sentenced 4 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 16 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. A fiscal year starts on October 1.
The table lists only the years with arson cases, and the last year shown is 2023. Each year had between 1 and 5 people. Groups this small do not show a trend. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 1 | 120 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2018 | 2 | 106 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 1 | 60 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 4 | 78 months | 2 of 4 |
| 2021 | 3 | 62.7 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 5 | 74.2 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2023 | 4 | 60 months | 4 of 4 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Wisconsin (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Wisconsin East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Arson" (20). 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 Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, 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.