> ## 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 Crack Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-crack-cocaine-trafficking-sentences-fy2020/ - Published: 2026-11-03T06:12:01.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T06:12:01.000Z - Description: The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 1,168 people sentenced for crack cocaine trafficking in fiscal year 2020, fewer than the 1,506 in fiscal year 2019. Of those sent to prison, the median term was 60 months (5 years). A quarter received 100 months or more, and a quarter received 33 months or les - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Drug Distribution and Importation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-distribution-importation-vs-article-112a/) › Crack Cocaine: FY2020 **In brief:** The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 1,168 people sentenced for crack cocaine trafficking in fiscal year 2020, fewer than the 1,506 in fiscal year 2019\. Of those sent to prison, the median term was 60 months (5 years). A quarter received 100 months or more, and a quarter received 33 months or less. Updated November 3, 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 1,168 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020\. 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/). ## Fewer People Sentenced in Fiscal Year 2020 The yearly table lists 1,168 crack cocaine trafficking sentences for fiscal year 2020\. The count for each earlier year in the table, from 2016 through 2019, was higher. The data shows only the count of people sentenced. It does not explain why the number changed from one year to the next. Fiscal year 2020 ran from October 1, 2019, to September 30, 2020\. Federal figures are always reported by fiscal year, not calendar year. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 1,544 | 63 months | 97% | | 2017 | 1,543 | 61 months | 97% | | 2018 | 1,350 | 68 months | 96% | | 2019 | 1,506 | 60 months | 96% | | 2020 | 1,168 | 60 months | 97% | | 2021 | 1,049 | 60 months | 98% | | 2022 | 1,086 | 60 months | 97% | | 2023 | 855 | 50.5 months | 99% | | 2024 | 673 | 60 months | 98% | | 2025 | 463 | 60 months | 98% | ## What Prison Terms Looked Like Of the 1,168 people, 1,131 (97%) received a prison term. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was given to 28 (2%). Life sentences were given to 3. The median prison term of 60 months matched the median for all §2D1.1 drug trafficking cases in fiscal year 2020\. That broader group covered 15,965 people across every drug. The range around the median was wide. The top quarter of prison terms were 100 months or longer. The bottom quarter were 33 months or shorter. ## Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range A mandatory minimum prison term, a floor fixed by statute, applied to 601 crack cocaine cases (51%). For all drugs that fiscal year, the rate was 70%, so crack cocaine cases met a mandatory minimum less often. All 1,168 sentences had guideline range information. Within the range were 435 (37%). Below the range without a government request were 387 (33%). Below the range at the government's request were 315 (27%). Above the range were 31 (3%). Sentences outside the range, taken together, were more common than sentences within it. The records do not explain the reason for any sentence outside the range. ## Did Going to Trial Change the Sentence? Trials were uncommon. Only 38 people were convicted after a trial, and 1,130 (97%) pleaded guilty. People who pleaded guilty received a median prison term of 60 months. People convicted at trial received a median of 177 months. The plea and trial groups were not matched for drug quantity, charges, or criminal history, so the data cannot say how much of that gap comes from the trial itself. Of the guilty pleas, 88% were entered under a written plea agreement. Straight pleas, with no agreement, were 11%. ## Supervised Release and Other Orders After prison, 1,131 people (97%) were ordered to serve supervised release. The median supervised release term was 36 months. Courts ordered a fine for 39 people (3%) and restitution for 13 (1%). In criminal history category I, the lowest, were 19% of those sentenced. In category VI, the highest, were 23%. ## Where the Data Stops Sentencing Commission data covers only convicted and sentenced people, not acquittals or dismissals. Each case is counted under the primary drug type the Commission recorded. Court-martial records do not list drug type in a way that can be counted, and they have no criminal history field. Military drug distribution cases are compared in other posts. ### How We Counted People sentenced in fiscal year 2020 whose primary guideline was §2D1.1 and whose primary drug type was crack (1,168), U.S. Sentencing Commission. 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. **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. **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. ## 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) - [Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-distribution-importation-vs-article-112a/) (overview) - [Federal Crack Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-crack-cocaine-trafficking-sentences-fy2019/) (previous or next year) - [Federal Crack Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-crack-cocaine-trafficking-sentences-fy2021/) (previous or next year) - [Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-methamphetamine-trafficking-sentences-fy2020/) (same year, other drug) - [Federal Powder Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-powder-cocaine-trafficking-sentences-fy2020/) (same year, other drug) - [Federal Heroin Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-heroin-trafficking-sentences-fy2020/) (same year, other drug) - [Federal Marijuana Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-marijuana-trafficking-sentences-fy2020/) (same year, other drug) - [Federal Other Drug Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-other-drug-trafficking-sentences-fy2020/) (same year, other drug) - [Drug Distribution Sentences Since the 2023 Military Sentencing Reform: What the Data Shows So Far](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-distribution-2023-sentencing-reform-so-far/) - [Drug Distribution Charges: How Often Federal Trials and Courts-Martial End in Acquittal](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-distribution-acquittal-rate-vs-courts-martial/) - [§2D1.1 Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses): Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d1-1-unlawful-manufacturing-importing-exporting-or-trafficking-including/) (court-martial data) - [Army Article 112a Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-112a-trend-2021-2025/) (court-martial data) - [Are Air Force Drug Courts-Martial Disappearing? Article 112a, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-112a-trend-2016-2025/) (court-martial data) - [Is Navy-Marine Corps Drug Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 112a, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-trend-2017-2025/) (court-martial data) - [Article 112a (Wrongful Use, Possession of Controlled Substances): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-112a-courts-martial/) (court-martial data) - [Article 112a UCMJ Drug Offenses and Positive Urinalysis](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) (law firm reference page) - [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.