Federal Environmental Offense Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025
Of the 54 people sentenced for environmental offenses in the Western District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 48 (89%) received probation only, and 6 (11%) received a prison term. The median prison term for those 6 was 2 months. A fine was ordered for 45 people (83%).
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In brief: Of the 54 people sentenced for environmental offenses in the Western District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 48 (89%) received probation only, and 6 (11%) received a prison term. The median prison term for those 6 was 2 months. A fine was ordered for 45 people (83%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 54 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.
Mostly Probation, Not Prison
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 54 people in this district whose offense type was Environmental. Of these, 48 (89%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The other 6 (11%) received a prison term.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 2 months. A quarter received 5.2 months or more, and a quarter received 1 month or less. The group is small, and the terms are those imposed, not time served.
Across all 94 federal districts, 1,638 people were sentenced for this offense type, 28% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 5 months. For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 60 months.
Fines and Restitution
A fine was ordered for 45 people (83%), and restitution was ordered for 10 (19%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 4 people (7%), with a median term of 12 months.
These figures differ from the district's cases overall, where most people were sentenced to prison. They describe how the cases ended, and the records do not give the reason for any financial order.
What Guidelines Applied
The offense type is the Commission's category, assigned from the primary guideline. §2Q2.1 (Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants) was the primary guideline for 21 people. §2Q1.3 (Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants) applied to 4, and §2Q1.2 (Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides) applied to 3.
Environmental cases were 2% of the 3,011 people sentenced in this district in the period.
Pleas and Guideline Range
All 54 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 76% had a written plea agreement and 15% were straight pleas with no agreement. In all districts, 98% of people sentenced for this offense type pleaded guilty.
Of the 44 people with guideline information, 29 (66%) were sentenced within the range. Another 7 (16%) were sentenced below the range at the government's request, and 8 (18%) below it without a government request. 0 were sentenced above the range.
Across all districts, 50% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. The share here was higher. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 43 people with that information recorded (0%).
Criminal History
In criminal history, 80% were in the lowest category (category I), and 0% were in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 24 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 30. Each fiscal year starts on October 1 of the prior calendar year. In the yearly table, many years show n/a for the median prison term. That means too few people in that year were sent to prison for a median to be reported.
Counts are small in every year, so the table does not show a trend. The district contains Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, and Fort Polk, Louisiana, which this site tracks for courts-martial. Military courts, not this district court, try those cases.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 9 | n/a | 9 of 9 |
| 2017 | 4 | n/a | 4 of 4 |
| 2018 | 6 | 3 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2019 | 5 | 24 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2020 | 4 | n/a | 4 of 4 |
| 2021 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 6 | 1 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2023 | 13 | n/a | 100% |
| 2024 | 3 | 1 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
What the Records Cannot Show
The Commission data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. The records do not describe the conduct in any case.
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 whose offense type was "Environmental" (54). 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 (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 Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, 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.