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# Federal Arson Sentences in the Northern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-arson-sentences-northern-district-of-georgia/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:03:18.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:03:18.000Z
- Description: All 11 people sentenced for arson in the Northern District of Georgia in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and all 11 pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 21 months, compared with 60 months for arson across all 94 federal districts. A mandatory minimum applied to 5 of the 11 (4
- 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 Northern District of Georgia, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-georgia/) › Arson: Northern District of Georgia

**In brief:** All 11 people sentenced for arson in the Northern District of Georgia in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and all 11 pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 21 months, compared with 60 months for arson across all 94 federal districts. A mandatory minimum applied to 5 of the 11 (45%).

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 11 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/).

## Every Arson Case Ended in Prison and a Guilty Plea

The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Arson" had 11 people in the Northern District of Georgia, which is less than 1% of the 5,362 people sentenced in the district. 11 of the 11 (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only.

11 of 11 (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. Every guilty plea had a written plea agreement.

## Prison Terms Were Shorter Than the National Median

The median prison term was 21 months. A quarter received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 19.2 months or less. The terms are those imposed, not time served.

Across all 94 districts, 742 people were sentenced for arson, 96% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 60 months. For all offenses in the Northern District of Georgia, the median was 41 months. The prison term for arson here was lower than both.

## Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 5 of the 11 people (45%). A mandatory minimum is a floor set by statute for the prison term.

5 sentences (45%) were within the advisory guideline range. 6 (55%) were below the range at the government's request. None was below the range without a government request, and none was above it. Across all 94 districts, 45% of arson sentences were within the range, which is the same share as here. For all offenses in the district, the figure was 32%.

## Years With Cases

1 person was sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 10 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The table lists the years with cases. 5 people were sentenced in fiscal year 2022, the largest single year.

One year has a median of 180 months, but that is a single sentence. With 1 to 5 people in each year, the medians do not show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2019        | 1                | 24 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2020        | 1                | 180 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2021        | 3                | 21 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2022        | 5                | 21 months     | 5 of 5         |
| 2025        | 1                | 60 months     | 1 of 1         |

## Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History

All 11 (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 0, and restitution for 8 (73%).

In criminal history, 27% were in the lowest category I and 9% in the highest VI.

## The Guideline Behind These Cases

All 11 cases had the same primary guideline: §2K1.4 (Arson). This means the group is uniform in the guideline applied. The records do not say how many people were involved in any one event.

## What the Records Cannot Show

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included. The records give no description of any case, so they cannot show why one sentence was longer than another.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Georgia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Georgia North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Arson" (11). 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 Northern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-georgia/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-georgia/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-georgia/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-northern-district-of-georgia/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-georgia/) (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.