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# Federal Drug Possession Sentences in the District of Connecticut, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-possession-sentences-district-of-connecticut/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:13:05.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:13:05.000Z
- Description: The U.S. Sentencing Commission data lists 12 people sentenced for drug possession in the District of Connecticut, all in fiscal years 2017 to 2024. Only 1 (8%) received a prison term, and 11 (92%) received probation only. In all 94 districts, 68% of people in this offense type were sent 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/) › [Federal Sentences in the District of Connecticut, FY2016–202](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-connecticut/) › Drug Possession: District of Connecticut

**In brief:** The U.S. Sentencing Commission data lists 12 people sentenced for drug possession in the District of Connecticut, all in fiscal years 2017 to 2024\. Only 1 (8%) received a prison term, and 11 (92%) received probation only. In all 94 districts, 68% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.

Updated November 4, 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 12 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/).

## Probation Was the Usual Sentence

Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was the sentence for 11 of the 12 people. One person went to prison, and the median prison term for that group of 1 was 0 months.

The national median prison term for drug possession was 6 months. The district's median for all offenses was 36 months. A group of 1 cannot support a comparison with either figure.

Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

## Every Sentence Was Within the Guideline Range

All 12 sentences (100%) were within the guideline range. None was below the range, either at the government's request or without one, and none was above it.

Across all districts, 90% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. The district figure for all offenses was 30%.

No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 12 people (0%).

## Fines

A fine was ordered for 8 people (67%). No restitution was ordered (0%). The sheet does not list supervised release figures for this group, so the records here cannot show whether any supervision followed.

## Guilty Pleas

All 12 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Every guilty plea had a written plea agreement. Nationally, more than 99% pleaded guilty, and the district's rate for all offenses was 96%.

Because no one went to trial, the records have no trial sentences to compare with guilty plea sentences.

## The Guideline and the Offense Type

"Drug Possession" is the Commission's own offense type. All 12 cases used the same primary guideline, §2D2.1 (Unlawful Possession). These cases were less than 1% of the 3,174 people sentenced in the district across fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

This offense type is separate from drug trafficking, which the Commission counts as its own type. In criminal history, all 12 people (100%) were in the lowest category.

## Years in the Table

The table covers fiscal years 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024, with 1 to 3 people in each. The only median shown is 0 months, for fiscal year 2024\. 5 of the 6 rows show n/a for the median, which means the table gives no figure for that year.

There were 6 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 6 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. A group this small does not show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2017        | 3                | n/a           | 3 of 3         |
| 2018        | 3                | n/a           | 3 of 3         |
| 2020        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |
| 2021        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |
| 2022        | 3                | n/a           | 3 of 3         |
| 2024        | 1                | 0 months      | 1 of 1         |

## What the Records Cannot Show

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it.

The records do not name the drug involved or describe any case, and they do not explain any sentence.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Connecticut (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Connecticut") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Possession" (12). 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.

## 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)
- [Federal Sentences in the District of Connecticut, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-connecticut/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Connecticut, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-connecticut/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Connecticut, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-connecticut/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Connecticut, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-connecticut/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Robbery Sentences in the District of Connecticut, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-district-of-connecticut/) (same district, other offense type)
- [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.