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# Federal Arson Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-arson-sentences-western-district-of-pennsylvania/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:01:30.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:01:30.000Z
- Description: All 11 people sentenced for arson in the Western District of Pennsylvania in fiscal years 2017 to 2025 received a prison term, and all 11 pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 36 months, lower than the 60 months for arson in all 94 federal districts.
- 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 Western District of Pennsylvania, F](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-pennsylvania/) › Arson: Western District of Pennsylvania

**In brief:** All 11 people sentenced for arson in the Western District of Pennsylvania in fiscal years 2017 to 2025 received a prison term, and all 11 pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 36 months, lower than the 60 months for arson in all 94 federal districts.

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 a Guilty Plea and Prison

11 people were sentenced in the Western District of Pennsylvania under the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Arson" in fiscal years 2017 to 2025\. 11 of 11 (100%) received a prison term, and 0 received probation only.

11 of 11 (100%) also pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. Among those who pleaded guilty, 91% had a written plea agreement and 9% entered a straight plea with no agreement.

## How Long the Prison Terms Were

The median prison term was 36 months (3 years). A quarter of the people received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 28.5 months or less. The terms are those imposed, not time served.

In all 94 districts, the same offense type had 742 people, 96% sent to prison, and a median prison term of 60 months. The district's median is therefore lower, though its group is small.

## Mandatory Minimums

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 6 of the 11 people with that information recorded (55%). The records show how many people had a mandatory minimum, not which statute produced it.

10 people (91%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median supervised release term was 36 months.

## Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range

4 people (36%) were sentenced within the advisory guideline range. 3 (27%) were sentenced below it at the government's request, and 4 (36%) were sentenced below it without a government request. 0 were sentenced above it.

The share within the range was 45% for arson in all districts and 38% for all offenses in this district.

## The Guideline Used

The most common primary guideline was §2K1.4 (Arson), used for 10 of the people.

A fine was ordered for 1 person (9%), and restitution for 9 (82%).

## Criminal History and Share of the District's Cases

45% were in the lowest criminal history category, Category I, and 18% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so no comparison with courts-martial is made here.

Arson cases were less than 1% of the 4,460 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. All offenses in the district had a median prison term of 48 months and a guilty plea rate of 98%.

## Counts by Fiscal Year

1 person was sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 10 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The yearly table has 1 to 3 people in each year listed, so a year's median is the middle of a very small group. Years with no one sentenced are not shown.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2017        | 1                | 60 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2020        | 1                | 120 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2021        | 1                | 30 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2022        | 3                | 27 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2023        | 1                | 60 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2024        | 2                | 45 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2025        | 2                | 27 months     | 2 of 2         |

## Limits of the Records

Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission's data. The records also do not describe what happened in any individual case.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. West") 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 Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-pennsylvania/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-pennsylvania/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-pennsylvania/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-pennsylvania/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-western-district-of-pennsylvania/) (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.