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# Federal Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-kansas/
- Published: 2026-11-03T06:11:35.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T06:11:35.000Z
- Description: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the District of Kansas sentenced 4,217 people, and those sent to prison received a median term of 46 months. Across all 94 federal districts, the median was 24 months. In Kansas, 14% of people got probation with no prison time, and 85% went to prison.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › District of Kansas

**In brief:** In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the District of Kansas sentenced 4,217 people, and those sent to prison received a median term of 46 months. Across all 94 federal districts, the median was 24 months. In Kansas, 14% of people got probation with no prison time, and 85% went to prison.

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 4,217 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/).

## A Longer Median Prison Term

The median prison term in Kansas was 46 months, or 3.8 years. That means about as many people received less than that as received more. The figure for all federal districts together was 24 months.

The spread of terms was wide. The longest quarter of prison terms were 84 months or more. The shortest quarter were 18 months or less. 8 people received a life sentence.

The Sentencing Commission records the term a judge imposed. It does not track how much of that term a person served.

## Prison or Probation

Of the 4,217 people sentenced, 3,572 (85%) were sent to prison. That rate is lower than the 91% for all districts. Another 595 people (14%) received probation only.

Kansas therefore combines a lower rate of prison sentences with a longer median term for the people who did go to prison. The data does not explain how those figures relate to each other in individual cases.

## What Kinds of Cases Were Sentenced in Kansas?

Drug trafficking made up 34% of the district, with 1,417 people. Their median prison term was 70 months. Firearms cases came next: 862 people (20%), with a median of 37 months.

Fraud, theft, and embezzlement covered 465 people (11%) and had a median of 18 months. Immigration accounted for 291 people (7%), with a median of 8 months.

The Commission's prison offenses category included 148 people (4%), with a median of 12 months. Child pornography (images of child exploitation) cases numbered 146, with a median of 103.5 months.

| Offense type             | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ------------------------ | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| Drug Trafficking         | 1,417            | 34%               | 70 months     | 98%            |
| Firearms                 | 862              | 20%               | 37 months     | 98%            |
| Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement | 465              | 11%               | 18 months     | 98%            |
| Immigration              | 291              | 7%                | 8 months      | more than 99%  |
| Robbery                  | 163              | 4%                | 71.5 months   | 98%            |
| Prison Offenses          | 148              | 4%                | 12 months     | more than 99%  |
| Child Pornography        | 146              | 3%                | 103.5 months  | 99%            |
| Other                    | 92               | 2%                | 0.1 months    | 98%            |

## The Guideline Range

Federal sentencing starts from a guideline range set for each case. Of the 4,102 Kansas sentences with this information, 1,736 (42%) were within the range. For all districts, the within-range share was 48%.

A government request was behind 1,624 sentences below the range (40%). Judges went below the range without such a request for 569 people (14%). Sentences above the range numbered 173, or 4%.

## Guilty Pleas and the Trial Group

Guilty pleas accounted for 4,108 of the 4,217 sentences, or 97%. That matches the all-district share. The remaining 109 people were found guilty at trial.

The median prison term was 43 months after a plea and 121 months after a trial. The trial median rests on 99 people who were convicted at trial and sent to prison.

A written plea agreement was part of 91% of the guilty pleas. Straight pleas, with no agreement, made up 7%.

## Other Parts of the Sentence

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,128 people (28%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 3,320 people (79%), usually for a median of 36 months, and for life in 14 cases.

Judges ordered restitution for 776 people (18%) and a fine for 234 (6%). In criminal history, 40% were in category I and 13% in category VI.

## Year by Year, and What the Records Leave Out

The district sentenced 2,024 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 2,193 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The yearly table lists counts, median terms, and plea shares for each fiscal year.

Fort Leavenworth, Fort Riley, and McConnell AFB are in Kansas and appear in this site's court-martial data. Their courts-martial take place in military courts, so they are not counted here. The Commission data also has no acquittals or dismissed cases.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 491              | 41 months     | 96%            |
| 2017        | 582              | 37 months     | 98%            |
| 2018        | 486              | 34 months     | 99%            |
| 2019        | 465              | 41 months     | 98%            |
| 2020        | 311              | 40 months     | 97%            |
| 2021        | 420              | 54 months     | 99%            |
| 2022        | 371              | 46 months     | 98%            |
| 2023        | 341              | 51 months     | 96%            |
| 2024        | 340              | 47 months     | 98%            |
| 2025        | 410              | 51.5 months   | 96%            |

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Kansas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Kansas") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (4,217). 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)
- [Drug Use: Courts-Martial at McConnell AFB vs. Federal Court in the District of Kansas](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-use-mcconnell-afb-vs-district-of-kansas/) (installation comparison)
- [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.