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# Federal Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-louisiana/
- Published: 2026-11-03T06:11:16.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T06:11:16.000Z
- Description: Drug trafficking cases in the Western District of Louisiana carried a median prison term of 110 months, and they made up 33% of the 3,011 people sentenced there in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The district's overall median was 60 months, compared with 24 months for all federal districts. Almost every
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

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

**In brief:** Drug trafficking cases in the Western District of Louisiana carried a median prison term of 110 months, and they made up 33% of the 3,011 people sentenced there in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The district's overall median was 60 months, compared with 24 months for all federal districts. Almost every guilty plea came with a written plea agreement: 94%.

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 3,011 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/).

## Drug Trafficking at 110 Months

The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 979 people sentenced for drug trafficking in this district. Their median prison term was 110 months. Among the offense types listed for the district, only sexual abuse had a longer median.

Firearms offenses were the next largest group, with 627 people (21%) and a median of 51 months. Fraud, theft, and embezzlement accounted for 445 people (15%) and a median of 21.5 months. Immigration offenses accounted for 306 (10%) and a median of 4.7 months.

| Offense type             | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ------------------------ | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| Drug Trafficking         | 979              | 33%               | 110 months    | 97%            |
| Firearms                 | 627              | 21%               | 51 months     | 97%            |
| Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement | 445              | 15%               | 21.5 months   | 96%            |
| Immigration              | 306              | 10%               | 4.7 months    | 98%            |
| Sexual Abuse             | 98               | 3%                | 207 months    | 89%            |
| Child Pornography        | 97               | 3%                | 97 months     | 100%           |
| Environmental            | 54               | 2%                | 2 months      | 100%           |
| Other                    | 44               | 1%                | 6 months      | 95%            |

## Sex Offenses in the District

Sexual abuse cases numbered 98 (3%). Their median prison term was 207 months, and 89% of those people pleaded guilty, the lowest plea rate in the table.

Child pornography (images of child exploitation) cases numbered 97 (3%). Their median was 97 months, and all of them pleaded guilty.

The table also lists environmental offenses: 54 people, a median prison term of 2 months, and a plea rate of 100%.

## Plea Agreements and Trials

2,902 of the 3,011 people pleaded guilty, or 96%. Nationally the plea rate was 97%. 109 people were convicted after a trial.

Written plea agreements were part of 94% of the guilty pleas. Straight pleas, with no agreement, made up 4%.

After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 57 months. After a trial, it was 120 months, based on the 106 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.

## Position Against the Guideline Range

For 2,892 people, the records show how the sentence compared with the guideline range. 1,941 (67%) were within it. For all districts, the in-range share was 48%.

Below-range sentences without a government request went to 501 people (17%). The government asked for a below-range sentence for 320 (11%). 130 (4%) received a sentence above the range.

## Barksdale AFB and Fort Polk

Barksdale AFB and Fort Polk, both in Louisiana, are located in this district and appear in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial at those installations are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court. The sentencing numbers here come only from the district court.

## Prison, Probation, and Supervision

A prison term was imposed on 2,595 people (86%), lower than the 91% for all districts. Probation only went to 400 (13%). A quarter of prison terms were 120 months or more, and a quarter were 21 months or less. 4 people received a life sentence.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 910 people. Supervised release after prison was ordered for 2,335 (78%), with a median term of 36 months, and 45 people (1%) received supervised release for life.

Restitution was ordered for 508 people (17%) and a fine for 277 (9%). In criminal history, 41% were in category I and 15% in category VI. There is no criminal history field in court-martial records.

## By Fiscal Year

The district sentenced 1,158 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 1,853 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025, a period of more years. The yearly median prison term was 33.5 months in fiscal year 2019 and 72 months in both fiscal years 2022 and 2023.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 252              | 41.5 months   | 96%            |
| 2017        | 273              | 51 months     | 96%            |
| 2018        | 252              | 37 months     | 94%            |
| 2019        | 381              | 33.5 months   | 97%            |
| 2020        | 292              | 47 months     | 96%            |
| 2021        | 240              | 60 months     | 98%            |
| 2022        | 318              | 72 months     | 96%            |
| 2023        | 340              | 72 months     | 97%            |
| 2024        | 285              | 63 months     | 96%            |
| 2025        | 378              | 67 months     | 96%            |

## Limits

Acquittals and dismissals are absent from this data, which counts only people convicted and sentenced. Terms are as imposed, not as served. The records cannot explain why the yearly medians changed.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Louisiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Louisiana West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (3,011). 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)
- [Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Courts-Martial at Fort Polk vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Louisiana](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-sex-offenses-fort-polk-vs-western-district-of-louisiana/) (installation comparison)
- [Drug Use: Courts-Martial at Barksdale AFB vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Louisiana](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-use-barksdale-afb-vs-western-district-of-louisiana/) (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.