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# Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-indiana/
- Published: 2026-11-03T06:11:24.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T06:11:24.000Z
- Description: Firearms cases were the most common offense type in the Northern District of Indiana: 1,141 of the 3,085 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (37%). Drug trafficking came next with 874 (28%). The district's median prison term was 51 months (4.2 years), compared with 24 months for all 94 fed
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

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

**In brief:** Firearms cases were the most common offense type in the Northern District of Indiana: 1,141 of the 3,085 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (37%). Drug trafficking came next with 874 (28%). The district's median prison term was 51 months (4.2 years), compared with 24 months for 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 3,085 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/).

## Firearms Ahead of Drug Trafficking

In this district, more people were sentenced under the Commission's firearms category than under drug trafficking. The firearms group had 1,141 people, with a median prison term of 37 months and a guilty plea rate of 97%.

The 874 drug trafficking cases had a longer median, 77.5 months. Fraud, theft, and embezzlement accounted for 428 people (14%), with a median of 24 months. Robbery accounted for 119 (4%), with a median of 92 months.

| Offense type             | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ------------------------ | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| Firearms                 | 1,141            | 37%               | 37 months     | 97%            |
| Drug Trafficking         | 874              | 28%               | 77.5 months   | 97%            |
| Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement | 428              | 14%               | 24 months     | 94%            |
| Robbery                  | 119              | 4%                | 92 months     | 95%            |
| Child Pornography        | 91               | 3%                | 91 months     | 96%            |
| Sexual Abuse             | 87               | 3%                | 211 months    | 89%            |
| Immigration              | 82               | 3%                | 10 months     | 100%           |
| Murder                   | 67               | 2%                | 235 months    | 84%            |

## Smaller Groups With Long Terms

Some less common offense types carried the longest medians. The 67 people sentenced for murder had a median prison term of 235 months, and the 87 sentenced for sexual abuse had a median of 211 months.

Child pornography (images of child exploitation) cases numbered 91 (3%), with a median of 91 months. Immigration cases numbered 82, with a median of 10 months, and every one of them ended in a guilty plea.

Murder cases had a guilty plea rate of 84%, the lowest in the table.

## Prison, Probation, and Supervision

A prison term was ordered for 2,689 people (87%). That share is lower than the 91% figure for all districts. 258 (8%) received probation only.

Among those sent to prison, a quarter received 108 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less. 10 received a life sentence. The Commission records the term imposed, not the time served.

Supervised release followed prison for 2,564 people (83%). The median supervised release term here was 24 months, and 7 people (less than 1%) received it for life.

## How Cases Were Resolved

Guilty pleas accounted for 2,957 of 3,085 cases (96%), slightly lower than the 97% national rate. 128 people were convicted after a trial.

91% of guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 8% were straight pleas with no agreement.

People who pleaded guilty had a median prison term of 50 months. People convicted at trial had a median of 135 months, based on 127 who were sent to prison. Different charges in each group mean the comparison cannot show what a trial adds.

## Guidelines and Mandatory Minimums

Of 3,077 people with guideline information, 47% (1,460) were sentenced within the recommended range. The national figure was 48%. 23% (723) were below the range at the government's request, 27% (827) were below it without a request, and 2% (67) were above it.

A mandatory minimum prison term, a statutory floor, applied to 865 people (28%).

Restitution was ordered for 646 people (21%), and a fine for 61 (2%). 36% were in criminal history category I and 12% in category VI. Court-martial records include no criminal history field.

## Fiscal Years 2016 Through 2025

1,323 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 1,762 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The second span covers more years.

The yearly median prison term was 34 months in 2016, 70 months in 2024, and 60 months in 2025.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 300              | 34 months     | 96%            |
| 2017        | 290              | 40 months     | 95%            |
| 2018        | 373              | 52 months     | 97%            |
| 2019        | 360              | 44 months     | 97%            |
| 2020        | 316              | 51 months     | 95%            |
| 2021        | 342              | 51 months     | 97%            |
| 2022        | 327              | 59 months     | 97%            |
| 2023        | 262              | 63 months     | 95%            |
| 2024        | 236              | 70 months     | 93%            |
| 2025        | 279              | 60 months     | 94%            |

## Not in These Numbers

Acquittals and dismissed cases do not appear in the Commission data, which counts only people convicted and sentenced. The data cannot show why firearms cases were so common here or why yearly medians changed.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Indiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Indiana North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (3,085). 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.