> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-delaware/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:13:15.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:13:15.000Z - Description: In the District of Delaware, 140 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 94% received a prison term, and the median prison term was 46 months, compared with 42 months for firearms cases in all 94 federal districts. 51% of sentences were within the guideline range. - 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 District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-delaware/) › Firearms: District of Delaware **In brief:** In the District of Delaware, 140 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 94% received a prison term, and the median prison term was 46 months, compared with 42 months for firearms cases in all 94 federal districts. 51% of sentences were within the guideline range. 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 140 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/). ## What the Delaware Firearms Numbers Show The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 140 people sentenced in the District of Delaware for firearms offenses from fiscal year 2016 through fiscal year 2025\. Federal fiscal years run from October to September. "Firearms" is the Commission's own offense category, and the records count only people who were convicted and sentenced. Of the 140, 132 (94%) received a prison term. Another 8 (6%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 46 months, or 3.8 years. A quarter received 70 months or more, and a quarter received 21 months or less. These are the terms imposed by the court, not the time actually served. ## How Delaware Compares With All Districts and With Its Own Caseload Across all 94 federal districts, firearms cases involved 78,851 people. In those cases, 94% were sent to prison and the median prison term was 42 months. The Delaware median of 46 months is higher than that national figure, while the share sent to prison is the same. Firearms cases made up 15% of the 925 people sentenced in the District of Delaware over the same years. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 27 months. The firearms median is therefore higher than the district's median for all offenses. The most common primary guideline was §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition), which applied to 134 of the 140 people. ## Guilty Pleas, Trials, and Plea Agreements 132 of the 140 people (94%) pleaded guilty, and 8 were convicted after a trial. For all firearms cases in all districts the guilty plea rate was 97%, so Delaware's rate is lower than that figure. For all offenses in the district it was 96%. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 43 months. After a trial, it was 55.5 months. The trial figure rests on only 8 people, so it is a small group and should not be read as a pattern. Among the guilty pleas, 95% had a written plea agreement, and 5% were straight pleas with no agreement. ## Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range The Commission records whether each sentence was within the advisory guideline range, below it, or above it. In Delaware firearms cases, 51% (72 people) were within the range. Sentences below the range at the government's request were 18% (25), and below the range without a government request were 26% (37). Sentences above the range were 4% (6). The within-range share for all firearms cases in all districts was 52%, which is about the same. For all offenses in the district, it was 44%. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 11 of the 140 people (8%). ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History 132 people (94%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 2 people (1%), and restitution for 10 (7%). In criminal history, 26% were in the lowest criminal history category and 13% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so that measure has no counterpart there. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 10 | 43.5 months | 90% | | 2017 | 13 | 36 months | 85% | | 2018 | 12 | 41 months | 67% | | 2019 | 18 | 34.5 months | 100% | | 2020 | 4 | 51 months | 3 of 4 | | 2021 | 13 | 48 months | 100% | | 2022 | 18 | 60 months | 100% | | 2023 | 25 | 48 months | 100% | | 2024 | 14 | 33 months | 100% | | 2025 | 13 | 57 months | 100% | ## Year-by-Year Counts and Limits of the Data Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 53 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 87\. Yearly counts are small, from 4 people in 2020 to 25 in 2023, so single-year medians in the table can move a great deal from small changes in the group. Dover AFB, Delaware appears in this site's court-martial data and is in the district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in the District of Delaware, and these federal numbers do not describe any court-martial case. The records do not show the facts of any case, the charges that were dropped, or people who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed. They also cannot show why one person received a longer term than another. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Delaware (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Delaware") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (140). 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 District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-delaware/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-delaware/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-delaware/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-delaware/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sexual-abuse-sentences-district-of-delaware/) (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.