> ## 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. # Federal Assault Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-assault-sentences-western-district-of-tennessee/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:05:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:05:00.000Z - Description: Assault cases in the Western District of Tennessee ended in prison for all 82 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 104 months (8.7 years), compared with 42 months for assault cases 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 Tennessee, FY20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-tennessee/) › Assault: Western District of Tennessee **In brief:** Assault cases in the Western District of Tennessee ended in prison for all 82 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The median prison term was 104 months (8.7 years), compared with 42 months for assault cases 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 82 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/). ## Prison Terms Longer Than the National Median All 82 people received a prison term, and none received probation only. The median was 104 months, and a quarter received 186.8 months or more. A quarter received 48 months or less. For assault cases in all districts together, 90% were sent to prison and the median was 42 months. The district's median for all offense types was 60 months, so assault terms here were longer than the district's cases overall. ## Which Guidelines Applied The Commission's offense type "Assault" is a category, and each person is placed in it by the primary guideline in the sentence. The most common was §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder), with 53 people. Another 26 people were sentenced under §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault), and 3 under §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact). Assault cases were 2% of the 4,226 people sentenced in the district during the period. ## Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 26 of the 82 people (32%). This is a mandatory minimum set by law, which a judge generally cannot go under. The sentence was within the guideline range for 52% (43). It was below the range at the government's request for 29% (24) and below the range without a government request for 18% (15). No sentence was above the range. In all districts, 48% of assault sentences were within the range, so the share within the range was higher here. ## Pleas, Plea Agreements, and Trials There were 79 guilty pleas (96%) and 3 convictions after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 100 months. After a trial it was 444 months, based on only 3 people. That figure should not be taken as typical of trials. Among guilty pleas, 76% had a written plea agreement and 23% were straight pleas with no agreement. ## Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History All 82 people were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. No fine was ordered, and restitution was ordered for 15 people (18%). The lowest criminal history category, category I, applied to 17% of people. The highest, category VI, applied to 24%. ## Year-by-Year Counts The district sentenced 34 people for assault in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 48 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. Fiscal years run from October 1 through the end of September. Yearly counts ranged from 2 to 16\. Medians from years with so few people, such as the 260 months in fiscal year 2020, can move a great deal on a few sentences and are not trends. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 2 | 70 months | 2 of 2 | | 2017 | 16 | 103.5 months | 100% | | 2018 | 7 | 51 months | 7 of 7 | | 2019 | 9 | 100 months | 9 of 9 | | 2020 | 6 | 260 months | 5 of 6 | | 2021 | 5 | 96 months | 5 of 5 | | 2022 | 9 | 120 months | 8 of 9 | | 2023 | 11 | 120 months | 100% | | 2024 | 14 | 93 months | 93% | | 2025 | 3 | 100 months | 3 of 3 | ## What Is Not in the Data Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Dismissals and acquittals are not in the records. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served, and nothing in the data describes the facts of a case or the injuries involved. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Tennessee (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Tennessee West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (82). 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 Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-tennessee/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-tennessee/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-tennessee/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-tennessee/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Robbery Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-western-district-of-tennessee/) (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.