Federal Drug Possession Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025
Of the 70 people sentenced for drug possession in the Western District of Kentucky in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 61 (87%) received probation only and 9 (13%) received a prison term. In all 94 districts together, 68% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. All 70 people pleaded guilty.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY201 › Drug Possession: Western District of Kentucky
In brief: Of the 70 people sentenced for drug possession in the Western District of Kentucky in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 61 (87%) received probation only and 9 (13%) received a prison term. In all 94 districts together, 68% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. All 70 people pleaded guilty.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 70 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 series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Probation Only Was the Usual Sentence
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Drug Possession" covers 70 people in this district. The usual sentence was probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
Among the 9 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 0.2 months. A quarter received 0.4 months or more, and a quarter received 0.1 months or less. The median for this offense type in all districts was 6 months.
Across all offenses in this district, the median was 57 months. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
Fines and Supervised Release
A fine was ordered for 63 of the 70 people (90%). Restitution was ordered for 0. Supervised release after prison was ordered for 1 person (1%), with a median term of 12 months.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 60 people with that information recorded (2%).
A Falling Number of Cases
The district sentenced 55 people for drug possession in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 15 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The yearly table shows 20 people in each of fiscal years 2018 and 2019, and 1 person in fiscal year 2024.
Medians are listed as n/a in years when no one received a prison term. Because the yearly counts after fiscal year 2019 are very small, the medians cannot show a trend. A fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 13 | 0.4 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 20 | n/a | 100% |
| 2019 | 20 | 0.1 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 3 | 0.5 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2021 | 4 | n/a | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 3 | 0.1 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 0.2 months | 2 of 2 |
Every Person Pleaded Guilty
All 70 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Across all offenses in the district, 97% pleaded guilty, and in all districts for this offense type, more than 99% did.
Among the guilty pleas, 64% had a written plea agreement and 11% were straight pleas with no agreement. Those figures do not add up to 100%, and the records do not explain what the remainder were.
Within the Guideline Range
Of the 69 people with the information, 65 (94%) were sentenced within the guideline range. Below the range at the government's request was 1 (1%), and below it without such a request were 2 (3%). 1 sentence (1%) was above the range.
That is much more often than the 37% for all offenses in this district. For drug possession in all districts, 90% of sentences were within the range.
Guidelines and Criminal History
The most common primary guideline was §2D2.1 (Unlawful Possession), with 11 people. These cases are 2% of the 3,229 people sentenced in the district.
On criminal history, 81% were in the lowest category and 1% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
What the Records Cannot Show
Fort Knox, Kentucky is in the district and appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. The federal data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced, so charges that were dismissed and people who were acquitted are not counted, and the quantity or type of drug is not part of this summary.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Kentucky (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Kentucky West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Possession" (70). 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.