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# Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-arkansas/
- Published: 2026-11-03T06:11:26.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T06:11:26.000Z
- Description: In the Eastern District of Arkansas, the U.S. Sentencing Commission's prison offenses category accounted for 552 of the 4,942 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (11%). Their median prison term was 4 months. Across the district, 55% of sentences were within the guideline range, compared wi
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

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

**In brief:** In the Eastern District of Arkansas, the U.S. Sentencing Commission's prison offenses category accounted for 552 of the 4,942 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (11%). Their median prison term was 4 months. Across the district, 55% of sentences were within the guideline range, compared with 48% in all 94 federal districts.

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 4,942 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/).

## How Common Were Prison Offense Cases?

In this district, 552 people (11%) were sentenced in that category, behind only drug trafficking and firearms.

These cases had short prison terms. The median was 4 months, and more than 99% of the people in this group pleaded guilty.

## The Full Offense Mix

Drug trafficking accounted for 1,830 people (37%), with a median prison term of 71 months. Firearms accounted for 1,389 (28%), with a median of 57 months.

Fraud, theft, and embezzlement made up 378 cases (8%) with a median of 21 months. Immigration made up 219 (4%) with a median of 1.4 months.

Child pornography (images of child exploitation) cases numbered 105 (2%), with a median of 96 months. The 86 sexual abuse cases had the longest median in the table, 188 months, and the lowest guilty plea rate, 85%.

| Offense type              | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ------------------------- | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| Drug Trafficking          | 1,830            | 37%               | 71 months     | 98%            |
| Firearms                  | 1,389            | 28%               | 57 months     | 98%            |
| Prison Offenses           | 552              | 11%               | 4 months      | more than 99%  |
| Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement  | 378              | 8%                | 21 months     | 98%            |
| Immigration               | 219              | 4%                | 1.4 months    | more than 99%  |
| Child Pornography         | 105              | 2%                | 96 months     | 97%            |
| Administration of Justice | 97               | 2%                | 18 months     | 99%            |
| Sexual Abuse              | 86               | 2%                | 188 months    | 85%            |

## Within and Above the Guideline Range

For each person, the guidelines produce a recommended range of months. The Commission recorded where 4,908 sentences in this district fell against it.

2,702 (55%) were within the range, more often than the 48% rate nationally. 307 (6%) were above the range. 599 (12%) were below it at the government's request, and 1,300 (26%) were below it without one.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,455 people.

## Prison Terms and Probation

4,385 of the 4,942 people (89%) received a prison term, compared with 91% in all districts. 495 (10%) received probation only.

The median prison term was 50 months (4.2 years), against 24 months nationally. A quarter of those sent to prison received 100 months or more, and a quarter received 18 months or less. 8 people were sentenced to life. These are terms imposed, not time served.

## Pleas and Trials

Guilty pleas accounted for 4,840 of the 4,942 people (98%), slightly higher than the 97% national rate. 102 were convicted after a trial.

Of the guilty pleas, 71% had a written plea agreement, and 28% were straight pleas with no agreement.

The median prison term was 48 months after a guilty plea. After a trial it was 120 months, based on 101 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The plea and trial groups had different charges, so the comparison cannot isolate any effect of the trial.

## Criminal History and Post-Prison Orders

27% of those sentenced were in criminal history category I and 24% were in category VI. Court-martial records have no field for criminal history.

Supervised release was ordered for 3,755 people (76%), with a median term of 36 months. 37 (less than 1%) received it for life. Restitution was ordered for 511 (10%) and a fine for 100 (2%).

## Year by Year in Eastern Arkansas

The district sentenced 1,827 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 3,115 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The second period covers more years.

The yearly median prison term was 48 months in 2016, 30 months in 2019, and 63 months in 2025.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 378              | 48 months     | 98%            |
| 2017        | 432              | 48 months     | 98%            |
| 2018        | 453              | 33 months     | 98%            |
| 2019        | 564              | 30 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2020        | 474              | 37 months     | 99%            |
| 2021        | 546              | 42 months     | 98%            |
| 2022        | 555              | 51.5 months   | 97%            |
| 2023        | 548              | 60 months     | 97%            |
| 2024        | 517              | 60 months     | 97%            |
| 2025        | 475              | 63 months     | 98%            |

## Little Rock AFB and the Limits of This Data

Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, is in this district and appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.

The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. The records cannot explain why the district's offense mix or sentences look the way they do.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Arkansas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Arkansas East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (4,942). 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)
- [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.