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# Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-arkansas/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:17:01.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:17:01.000Z
- Description: In the Western District of Arkansas, 1,069 people were sentenced for drug trafficking in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 1,067 (more than 99%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 96 months (8 years), which is higher than the 60 months for all 94 districts. Drug trafficking was 49% of t
- 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 Western District of Arkansas, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-arkansas/) › Drug Trafficking: Western District of Arkansas

**In brief:** In the Western District of Arkansas, 1,069 people were sentenced for drug trafficking in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 1,067 (more than 99%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 96 months (8 years), which is higher than the 60 months for all 94 districts. Drug trafficking was 49% of the 2,185 people sentenced in the district.

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 1,069 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/).

## Prison Terms Longer Than the All-District Median

Among the 1,067 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 96 months. A quarter received 140 months or more, and a quarter received 60 months or less. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

The median for all 94 districts in the Drug Trafficking offense type is 60 months. The median for all offenses in this district is 72 months, which is also lower than the drug trafficking median here. Only 1 person (less than 1%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.

## How Did the Median Prison Term Differ by Fiscal Year?

The yearly table shows the median prison term at 67 months in fiscal year 2016 and 120 months in fiscal years 2023 and 2025\. Yearly counts range from 79 to 138 people.

The district sentenced 456 people for drug trafficking in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 613 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The records cannot show why the medians changed. They do not include drug type, quantity, or role in the offense.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 106              | 67 months     | 98%            |
| 2017        | 92               | 84 months     | 98%            |
| 2018        | 120              | 77 months     | 100%           |
| 2019        | 138              | 94 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2020        | 133              | 87 months     | 100%           |
| 2021        | 79               | 100 months    | 100%           |
| 2022        | 117              | 100 months    | more than 99%  |
| 2023        | 92               | 120 months    | 100%           |
| 2024        | 108              | 117.5 months  | 98%            |
| 2025        | 84               | 120 months    | 98%            |

## Mandatory Minimums Applied to 40%

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 425 of the 1,069 people with that information recorded (40%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 1,061 people (more than 99%), with a median term of 36 months.

"Drug Trafficking" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The primary guideline was §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)) for 1,065 people. Another 2 people had §2D1.8 (Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment), and 1 had §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).

## Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range

The guideline range is the range the federal guidelines calculate for each case. Of the 1,069 sentences, 442 (41%) were below the range without a government request. Another 327 (31%) were within the range, and 267 (25%) were below the range at the government's request. Only 33 (3%) were above the range.

Within-range sentences were 32% across all districts in this offense type. The figure for all offenses in this district is 43%. The 31% here is about the same as the all-district figure for drug trafficking and lower than the figure for all offenses in this district.

## Nearly Everyone Pleaded Guilty

Of the 1,069 people, 1,059 (more than 99%) pleaded guilty and 10 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 96 months after a guilty plea and 207.5 months after a trial, based on 10 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.

More than 99% of guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and less than 1% were straight pleas with no agreement. Across all districts, 98% pleaded guilty in this offense type, and the figure for all offenses in this district is also 98%.

## Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History

A fine was ordered for 447 people (42%), and restitution for 3 (less than 1%). In criminal history, 28% were in the lowest category, category I, and 31% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, so the records cannot show how many drug trafficking prosecutions ended without a conviction.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Arkansas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Arkansas West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Trafficking" (1,069). 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)
- [Federal Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-arkansas/) (overview)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-arkansas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-arkansas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-western-district-of-arkansas/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-western-district-of-arkansas/) (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.