Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Connecticut, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 439 people were sentenced in federal court in the District of Connecticut for firearms offenses. The median prison term was 37 months, compared with 42 months for firearms cases in all 94 districts. Sentences were within the guideline range for 39% of these people, comp
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Connecticut, FY2016–202 › Firearms: District of Connecticut
In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 439 people were sentenced in federal court in the District of Connecticut for firearms offenses. The median prison term was 37 months, compared with 42 months for firearms cases in all 94 districts. Sentences were within the guideline range for 39% of these people, compared with 52% nationally.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 439 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.
How Often Did Sentences Match the Guideline Range?
The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the federal Sentencing Guidelines. A judge may impose a sentence inside it, below it, or above it.
In these 439 Connecticut firearms cases, 39% of sentences (173 people) were within the range. Another 17% (75 people) were below the range at the government's request. A further 38% (168 people) were below the range without a government request. Only 5% (23 people) were above the range.
For firearms cases in all 94 districts together, 52% of sentences were within the guideline range. For all offenses in the District of Connecticut, the figure was 30%. The firearms group here is lower than the national figure and higher than the district-wide figure.
What Is Counted in This Post
The U.S. Sentencing Commission sorts every federal case into an offense type. This post covers the type "Firearms" in the District of Connecticut, for fiscal years 2016 to 2025. A fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Firearms cases were 14% of the 3,174 people sentenced in the district over the same period.
Which Guidelines Applied
The most common primary guideline was §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition), used for 402 of the 439 people. The next was §2K1.3 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials), used for 4 people.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 46 people (10%) of the 439 with that information recorded.
Prison Terms and Probation
Of the 439 people, 416 (95%) received a prison term. Another 20 (5%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. In all 94 districts, 94% of people in firearms cases were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 37 months (3.1 years). A quarter received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 20.8 months or less. The wide spread between the 60-month and 20.8-month figures shows that the median describes a middle case, not a typical range.
After prison, 414 people (94%) were ordered to serve supervised release. The median supervised release term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 18 people (4%), and restitution for 13 (3%).
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 37 | 37 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 31 | 36 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 27 | 34 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 49 | 25 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 51 | 27 months | 98% |
| 2021 | 55 | 37 months | 98% |
| 2022 | 50 | 27 months | 98% |
| 2023 | 61 | 46 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 38 | 54 months | 89% |
| 2025 | 40 | 57 months | 95% |
Guilty Pleas and Trials
Of the 439 people, 430 (98%) pleaded guilty, and 9 were convicted after a trial. Nationally, 97% of people in firearms cases pleaded guilty.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 37 months. After a trial it was 30 months, but that figure rests on only 9 people, so it is a weak basis for comparison.
Among the guilty pleas, 97% had a written plea agreement and 2% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Changes Over the Years
The table shows each fiscal year. The median prison term was 25 months in fiscal year 2019 and 57 months in fiscal year 2025. Yearly counts range from 27 to 61 people, so each single year is small.
From fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 144 people were sentenced. From fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 295 people were sentenced. These counts describe the sheet's period and do not show why the numbers differ.
What the Records Cannot Show
The data does not show the facts of any case, the charges that were dropped, or the people who were acquitted. It reports criminal history only by category: 19% were in the lowest category (category I) and 20% in the highest category (category VI).
The numbers describe groups of sentences. They cannot show why a judge chose a particular 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 "Firearms" (439). 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 District of Connecticut, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Connecticut, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Connecticut, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the District of Connecticut, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the District of Connecticut, 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.