USA v. Alexander Olson, No. 23-11939 (11th Cir. 2025)
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Alexander Olson was involved in a conspiracy with seven others to set fires in four Walmart stores in Alabama and Mississippi during business hours. The fires caused chaos, fear, and significant property damage. Olson was indicted on two counts of maliciously setting fires and one count of conspiracy to do so. He pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge in exchange for the dismissal of the other charges and a recommended sentence of 60 months imprisonment.
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama accepted Olson's guilty plea but did not follow the government's sentencing recommendation. Instead, the court sentenced Olson to 180 months imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay over $7 million in restitution. The court justified the higher sentence by citing the extensive property damage, the risk to human life, and the political motivation behind the fires.
Olson appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, arguing that the district court erred by not clearly specifying whether the sentence was a result of a departure or a variance and that the sentence was substantively unreasonable. The Eleventh Circuit found that the district court's statement that it would have imposed the same sentence "whether an upward departure or a variance" rendered the distinction irrelevant. The appellate court also held that the sentence was substantively reasonable given the severity of the offenses and the factors considered by the district court.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's decision, concluding that there was no abuse of discretion in the sentencing.
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