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# Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-oklahoma/
- Published: 2026-11-03T06:11:36.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T06:11:36.000Z
- Description: The Northern District of Oklahoma sentenced 3,400 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 2,607 of them were sentenced in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The median prison term was 37 months, compared with 24 months for all 94 federal districts. People convicted at trial had a median prison term of 180
- 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 Oklahoma

**In brief:** The Northern District of Oklahoma sentenced 3,400 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 2,607 of them were sentenced in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The median prison term was 37 months, compared with 24 months for all 94 federal districts. People convicted at trial had a median prison term of 180 months.

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 3,400 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/).

## More Sentences in the Later Years

The district sentenced 793 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019\. In fiscal years 2020 to 2025, it sentenced 2,607\. The yearly count was 168 in fiscal year 2017 and 636 in fiscal year 2024.

Over the same years, the yearly median prison term moved between 30 months and 48 months. The highest yearly median in the table, 48 months, was in fiscal year 2024\. The Sentencing Commission records show the counts but not what caused them to change.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 213              | 33 months     | 99%            |
| 2017        | 168              | 30 months     | 98%            |
| 2018        | 195              | 36 months     | 98%            |
| 2019        | 217              | 30.5 months   | 98%            |
| 2020        | 240              | 33 months     | 96%            |
| 2021        | 328              | 39.5 months   | more than 99%  |
| 2022        | 439              | 41 months     | 95%            |
| 2023        | 400              | 33 months     | 95%            |
| 2024        | 636              | 48 months     | 97%            |
| 2025        | 564              | 37 months     | 96%            |

## Trials and Pleas

Guilty pleas made up 3,295 of the 3,400 sentences (97%), the same share as all federal districts. 105 people were convicted after a trial.

Among people sent to prison, the median term after a trial was 180 months, based on 103 people. After a guilty plea it was 36 months. The trial group is small, and the groups include different kinds of cases.

Of the guilty pleas, 84% were made under a written plea agreement and 16% were straight pleas, with no agreement.

## Offense Types in the Northern District

Drug trafficking accounted for 848 people (25%), with a median prison term of 60 months. Firearms accounted for 539 (16%), with a median of 33 months. Immigration followed with 408 people (12%) and a median of 8 months.

Assault and sexual abuse made up larger parts of this district than offense types such as robbery. Assault covered 281 people (8%). Sexual abuse covered 208 people (6%), had a median prison term of 180 months, and had a guilty plea share of 83%, lower than the other listed types.

Child pornography (images of child exploitation) cases numbered 108, with a median term of 84 months.

| Offense type             | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ------------------------ | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| Drug Trafficking         | 848              | 25%               | 60 months     | 98%            |
| Firearms                 | 539              | 16%               | 33 months     | 99%            |
| Immigration              | 408              | 12%               | 8 months      | more than 99%  |
| Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement | 343              | 10%               | 15 months     | 99%            |
| Assault                  | 281              | 8%                | 36 months     | 95%            |
| Sexual Abuse             | 208              | 6%                | 180 months    | 83%            |
| Robbery                  | 139              | 4%                | 71 months     | 96%            |
| Child Pornography        | 108              | 3%                | 84 months     | more than 99%  |

## Prison Terms and Life Sentences

A prison term was imposed on 2,922 people, or 86%. For all districts the rate was 91%. Probation alone was ordered for 345 people (10%).

The median term of 37 months equals 3.1 years. A quarter of prison terms were 84 months or more, and a quarter were 15 months or less.

32 people in the district received a life sentence. Supervised release for life was ordered for 98 people, or 3%.

## How Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range

Of the 3,376 sentences with guideline information, 1,536 (45%) were inside the range. Across all districts, 48% were inside.

Below-range sentences at the government's request totaled 1,072 (32%). Below-range sentences that judges gave without such a request totaled 574 (17%). Sentences above the range numbered 194 (6%).

## Supervision and Other Penalties

Supervised release followed prison for 2,917 people (86%), with a median term of 36 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 817 people (24%).

Restitution was ordered for 558 people (16%). Fines were ordered for 100 people (3%). In criminal history, 43% were in category I and 11% in category VI.

## Limits of the Sentencing Records

The Commission data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. The prison terms are the terms imposed, not the time served. The data also does not show why judges or prosecutors made the decisions they did.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Oklahoma (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Oklahoma North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (3,400). 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.