Federal Arson Sentences in the Northern District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025
The Sentencing Commission's records list 17 people sentenced for arson in the Northern District of Oklahoma between fiscal years 2016 and 2025. All 17 pleaded guilty. 14 (82%) were sent to prison for a median of 48.5 months (4 years), which is shorter than the 60 months for arson cases in all 94 dis
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Oklahoma, FY20 › Arson: Northern District of Oklahoma
In brief: The Sentencing Commission's records list 17 people sentenced for arson in the Northern District of Oklahoma between fiscal years 2016 and 2025. All 17 pleaded guilty. 14 (82%) were sent to prison for a median of 48.5 months (4 years), which is shorter than the 60 months for arson cases in all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 17 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.
Who Pleaded Guilty and How Cases Ended
Every one of the 17 people pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. The rate for all districts in this offense type was 93%.
94% of the guilty pleas came with a written plea agreement. The other 6% were straight pleas with no agreement. Since no case went to trial here, there is no trial median to compare with the plea median.
Length of Prison Terms
14 of the 17 people (82%) received a prison term. The other 3 (18%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
The median prison term for the 14 was 48.5 months. A quarter of them received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 31.5 months or less.
Across all 94 districts, 96% of arson cases ended in prison and the median was 60 months. Both numbers are higher than the ones in this district. The district's median for every offense type combined was 37 months.
The Single Guideline Behind These Cases
Arson is one of the offense types the Commission uses to group cases. In this district, all 17 cases had the same primary guideline, §2K1.4 (Arson).
Together they made up less than 1% of the 3,400 people sentenced in the district across the 10 fiscal years.
Where the Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
Judges calculate a guideline range for each case. 8 people (47%) received a sentence inside it. 7 (41%) received a sentence below it at the government's request, and 2 (12%) below it with no government request. None was above it.
For all districts, 45% of arson sentences were inside the range. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 4 of the 17 people (24%).
Release, Restitution, and Prior Record
15 people (88%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 7 (41%), and no fine was ordered for anyone.
On criminal history, 41% were in category I, the lowest, and 6% were in category VI, the highest.
A Year-by-Year Look
A federal fiscal year begins on October 1 of the prior calendar year and ends the following September. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 have 2 people, and 2020 to 2025 have 15.
In 2024, 9 people were sentenced. Every other year in the table has between 1 and 3. A median based on 1 person is that person's sentence, so the yearly figures cannot show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 92 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | 30 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 9 | 55.5 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2025 | 1 | 71 months | 1 of 1 |
Gaps in the Records
People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed do not appear in this data. The terms shown are the sentences imposed, which can differ from the time actually served.
Nothing here describes the fires themselves, the harm they caused, or why a judge chose a given sentence.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Oklahoma (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Oklahoma North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Arson" (17). 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 Oklahoma, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Oklahoma, 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.