Federal Environmental Offense Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Missouri, 17 of 20 people (85%) sentenced for environmental offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2024 received probation only, and 2 (10%) received a prison term. Across all 94 federal districts, 28% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. A fine was ordered for 13
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY201 › Environmental Offense: Western District of Missouri
In brief: In the Western District of Missouri, 17 of 20 people (85%) sentenced for environmental offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2024 received probation only, and 2 (10%) received a prison term. Across all 94 federal districts, 28% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. A fine was ordered for 13 of the 20 (65%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 20 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, Few Prison Terms
The U.S. Sentencing Commission lists 20 people sentenced in this district for environmental offenses. Of those, 17 (85%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The remaining 2 people (10%) received a prison term.
The median prison term for those 2 people was 13 months. A quarter received 18.5 months or more, and a quarter received 7.5 months or less. With only 2 people, these figures describe 2 sentences and not a typical case.
For all 94 districts, the median prison term for environmental offenses was 5 months, and 28% of people were sent to prison. The share sent to prison here was lower.
Fines and Other Terms
A fine was ordered for 13 people (65%). Restitution was ordered for 4 (20%). Supervised release after prison applied to 2 people (10%), with a median term of 24 months.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 20 people (0%).
What Cases Were in the Category
"Environmental" is the Commission's name for an offense type, and it is based on the primary guideline used at sentencing. In this district, 14 people were sentenced mainly under §2Q2.1 (Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants).
3 were sentenced under §2Q1.3 (Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants), and 3 under §2Q1.2 (Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides).
Guilty Pleas and Guideline Ranges
Of the 20 people, 19 (95%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. For all 94 districts and for all offenses in this district, 98% pleaded guilty. Every guilty plea (100%) had a written plea agreement.
Among 19 people with the guideline information, 26% (5) were sentenced within the range. Below the range at the government's request were 16% (3). Below the range without a government request were 58% (11). No sentence was above the range.
For all 94 districts, 50% of environmental sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 38% were. The share within the range here was lower than the share for all districts and about the same as the district-wide share for all offenses.
A Small Part of the Caseload
The district sentenced 7,571 people in these years, and environmental cases were less than 1% of them. The district-wide median prison term for all offenses was 72 months, which is higher than the environmental median.
By period, 14 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 6 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. In the Commission's data, 85% were in the lowest criminal history category (category I) and 0% in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | n/a | 5 of 6 |
| 2017 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 4 | n/a | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 2 | 2 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 2 | 24 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
Limits of This Data
The table shows "n/a" for most years because a median prison term cannot be reported when no one, or too few people, went to prison that year. Counts of 1 to 6 people per year do not show a trend.
Only people convicted and sentenced appear here. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission's data. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and Whiteman AFB, Missouri, are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Missouri (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Missouri West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Environmental" (20). 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 Missouri, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, 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.