§2K1.4 Arson: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 35 of the 66 people (53%) sentenced under §2K1.4 in fiscal year 2019, and 34 of them (52%) received a sentence within the guideline range. The median prison term was 60 months (5 years), the same as for this guideline across fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
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In brief: A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 35 of the 66 people (53%) sentenced under §2K1.4 in fiscal year 2019, and 34 of them (52%) received a sentence within the guideline range. The median prison term was 60 months (5 years), the same as for this guideline across fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 66 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019. 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.
Mandatory Minimums in Fiscal Year 2019
The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded a mandatory minimum prison term for 35 of the 66 people with that information (53%). This is the share of everyone sentenced under the guideline that year.
A mandatory minimum sets the lowest prison term a court can impose for a count. The records here show that one applied. They do not show which count carried it or whether the sentence was above the minimum.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Of the 66 sentences, 34 (52%) were within the guideline range. Another 14 (21%) were below the range at the government's request, and 11 (17%) were below the range without that request. 7 sentences (11%) were above the range.
In fiscal year 2018, 40% of sentences under this guideline were within the range, and in fiscal year 2020 the figure was 45%. For all federal cases in fiscal year 2019, 51% were within the range.
How Long the Prison Terms Were
64 of the 66 people (97%) were sentenced to prison, and 2 (3%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median term was 60 months. A quarter received 79.5 months or more, and a quarter received 37 months or less.
The median for every federal case in fiscal year 2019 was 21 months, and the prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
What Changed With Trials
56 people (85%) pleaded guilty, and 10 were convicted after a trial. Among those who pleaded guilty, 91% had a written plea agreement and 9% did not.
The median prison term was 60 months after a guilty plea and 61.5 months after a trial. The trial figure covers 10 people sent to prison, which is a small group.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
64 people (97%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (2%), and restitution for 50 (76%).
For criminal history, 52% were in category I, the lowest, and 11% were in category VI, the highest.
The Full Series for §2K1.4
The Sentencing Guidelines Manual gives §2K1.4 the title "Arson; Property Damage by Use of Explosives." The Commission files this group under the offense type Arson, with 66 cases in fiscal year 2019. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019.
Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 727 people were sentenced under this guideline, 96% went to prison, and 93% pleaded guilty. The table gives the count, median prison term, and plea rate for each year.
| 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% |
Limits of the Data
The Commission's files count only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals do not appear, so these numbers cannot show how often arson cases ended another way.
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline. This post therefore reports federal numbers on their own, and it does not explain why any year differs from another.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2K1.4 (66), 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 2018 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2K1.4 Arson: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020 (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.