Federal Arson Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025
All 11 people sentenced for arson offenses in the Northern District of Ohio in fiscal years 2019 to 2025 received a prison term and pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 41 months (3.4 years), compared with 60 months across all 94 federal districts. Restitution was ordered for 10 of the 11 (91%
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2 › Arson: Northern District of Ohio
In brief: All 11 people sentenced for arson offenses in the Northern District of Ohio in fiscal years 2019 to 2025 received a prison term and pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 41 months (3.4 years), compared with 60 months across all 94 federal districts. Restitution was ordered for 10 of the 11 (91%).
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 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.
Prison Terms for Arson
The median prison term was 41 months. A quarter of the 11 people received 56 months or more, and a quarter received 27 months or less. No one received probation only.
Across all 94 districts, this offense type covers 742 people. In those districts, 96% were sent to prison and the median prison term was 60 months. The district's median is lower than that figure. It is also lower than the 46 months for all offenses in the district.
The figures are prison terms imposed, not time served.
One Guideline Covers Every Case
The Commission's offense type "Arson" is defined by the primary guideline used at sentencing. All 11 cases in this district used §2K1.4 (Arson).
Arson made up less than 1% of the 7,866 people sentenced in the district from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025. The first arson case in these records is from fiscal year 2019.
Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 4 of the 11 people (36%).
Sentences were within the guideline range for 45% of the people (5), and below the range at the government's request for 45% (5). None were below the range without a government request. One sentence (9%) was above the range.
Across all 94 districts, 45% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in the district, the figure was 43%.
Guilty Pleas
All 11 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none were convicted after a trial. Across all 94 districts, 93% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in the district, the figure was 96%.
A written plea agreement covered 91% of the guilty pleas, and 9% were straight pleas with no agreement. There are no trial sentences in these records to compare with plea sentences.
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
All 11 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 10 (91%), and a fine for 1 (9%).
Criminal history was recorded too: 73% were in the lowest category (category I), and 0% were in the highest category, VI. Court-martial records have no such field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 3 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 8. The most in any year was 3, in fiscal years 2019 and 2022. The median prison term was 216 months in fiscal year 2024, based on 1 person, and 15 months in fiscal year 2025.
Counts this small do not show a trend. Each fiscal year starts October 1 and ends in September.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 3 | 52 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 3 | 43 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 2 | 32.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 1 | 216 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 15 months | 2 of 2 |
What the Records Cannot Show
Only convicted and sentenced people are in this data. Acquittals and dismissals are not counted.
The records give no facts about any case. They cannot show why the district's median differs from the national group.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Ohio (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Ohio 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Ohio, 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.