§2K1.4 Arson: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017
In fiscal year 2017, restitution was ordered for 43 of the 53 people (81%) sentenced in federal court with §2K1.4, "Arson," as the primary guideline, and a fine for none. Prison went to 49 (92%), with a median prison term of 60 months (5 years). Sentences within the guideline range were 38%.
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In brief: In fiscal year 2017, restitution was ordered for 43 of the 53 people (81%) sentenced in federal court with §2K1.4, "Arson," as the primary guideline, and a fine for none. Prison went to 49 (92%), with a median prison term of 60 months (5 years). Sentences within the guideline range were 38%.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 53 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2017. 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.
Restitution Orders and No Fines
In fiscal year 2017, the U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 53 people sentenced with this guideline as the one that set the offense level. Restitution was ordered for 43 (81%). A fine was ordered for 0 (0%).
The records do not say what any restitution order covered. They show only how many people had one.
Prison Terms of 60 Months at the Median
A prison term went to 49 of the 53 (92%), and 2 (4%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 96% of the 727 people under this guideline went to prison. The 2017 share was lower than that.
The median prison term among those sent to prison was 60 months (5 years). A quarter received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 30 months or less. The median was the same as the all-years median of 60 months. For everyone sentenced in federal court in 2017, the median was 24 months.
After prison, 49 people (92%) were ordered to serve supervised release. The median term was 36 months.
Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 32 of the 53 people (60%). A mandatory minimum is a prison term set by statute that a court generally cannot go below.
Pleas and Trials
A total of 50 of 53 (94%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. For all guidelines in 2017, guilty pleas were 97%.
The median prison term was 58.5 months after a guilty plea and 120 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 3 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison, so it cannot show a general difference between trials and pleas.
Among the guilty pleas, 90% had a written plea agreement, and 10% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Within the advisory range: 38% (20). Below the range at the government's request: 32% (17). Below the range without a government request: 21% (11). Above the range: 9% (5).
The share within the range was lower than the 49% for all federal cases in 2017 and the 45% for all years under this guideline. It was lower than the 51% in 2016 and the 40% in 2018.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 63 | 48 months | 92% |
| 2017 | 53 | 60 months | 94% |
| 2018 | 52 | 58.5 months | 87% |
| 2019 | 66 | 60 months | 85% |
| 2020 | 47 | 60 months | 85% |
| 2021 | 78 | 48 months | 97% |
| 2022 | 103 | 51 months | 96% |
| 2023 | 105 | 60 months | 98% |
| 2024 | 84 | 60 months | 93% |
| 2025 | 76 | 60 months | 93% |
Criminal History and Limits
In criminal history, 51% were in the lowest category, category I, and 9% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
The Commission lists the offense type for all 53 cases as Arson. In fiscal year 2016 there were 63 people with a median prison term of 48 months. In fiscal year 2018 there were 52 people with a median of 58.5 months.
The data covers convicted and sentenced people only, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. Each prison term is the term the court imposed and may differ from the time served. Fiscal year 2017 began October 1, 2016 and ended September 30, 2017. A count of 53 people is small. The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, and the numbers here are federal only.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2017 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2K1.4 (53), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
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)
- §2K1.4 Arson: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2K1.4 Arson: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2K1.4 Arson: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- 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.