> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2K1.4 Arson: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2k1-4-arson-fy2022/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:27:07.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:27:07.000Z - Description: In fiscal year 2022, 103 people were sentenced under §2K1.4, more than the 78 in fiscal year 2021. 97 of them (94%) received a prison term, 5 (5%) received probation only, and the median prison term was 51 months (4.2 years). - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2K1.4 Arson](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2k1-4-arson/) › §2K1.4: FY2022 **In brief:** In fiscal year 2022, 103 people were sentenced under §2K1.4, more than the 78 in fiscal year 2021\. 97 of them (94%) received a prison term, 5 (5%) received probation only, and the median prison term was 51 months (4.2 years). 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 103 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2022\. 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/). ## 103 People, 97 Prison Terms, 5 Probation Sentences The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 103 people in fiscal year 2022 whose primary guideline was §2K1.4\. Of those, 97 (94%) were sentenced to prison. 5 (5%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term for those sent to prison was 51 months. A quarter received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less. These are imposed terms, not time served. ## How This Year Compares With Its Neighbors In fiscal year 2021, 78 people were sentenced under this guideline, with a median prison term of 48 months. In fiscal year 2023, the count was 105 people and the median was 60 months. Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the median was 60 months for 727 people. The 51 months in fiscal year 2022 is lower than that all-years median. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2022, the median was 30 months. ## Plea Rate and the Few Trials 99 of the 103 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. 92% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 8% were straight pleas. The median prison term was 51 months after a guilty plea and 40.4 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 4 people, so it is too small to treat as a pattern. ## Mandatory Minimums and Range Position A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 55 of the 103 people with that information recorded (53%). 44 sentences (43%) were within the guideline range. 29 (28%) were below the range at the government's request, and 21 (20%) were below it without a government request. 9 sentences (9%) were above the range. For all guidelines in the same year, 42% of sentences were within the range. ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution 95 people (92%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 2 people (2%), and restitution for 79 (77%). For criminal history, 50% were in category I, the lowest, and 11% were in category VI, the highest. ## Full Series Table Guideline §2K1.4 is titled "Arson; Property Damage by Use of Explosives" in the Sentencing Guidelines Manual. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022, and the Commission labels these cases with the offense type Arson. The table lists the count, median prison term, and plea rate for each year from 2016 to 2025. | 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% | ## What the Records Leave Out The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count, so other counts in the same case are not described. A median is the middle value when prison terms are listed from shortest to longest. Only convicted and sentenced people are counted, so acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. The records also give no reason for the change in count from one year to the next. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline. This post reports the federal numbers on their own. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2022 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2K1.4 (103), 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](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) - [§2K1.4 Arson: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2k1-4-arson/) (overview) - [§2K1.4 Arson: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2k1-4-arson-fy2021/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2K1.4 Arson: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2k1-4-arson-fy2023/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/) - [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/) - [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.