Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Hawaii, FY2016–2025
In the District of Hawaii, 89 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 84 (94%) received a prison term, and the median was 33 months (2.8 years). For all 94 districts, the median was 42 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Hawaii, FY2016–2025 › Firearms: District of Hawaii
In brief: In the District of Hawaii, 89 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 84 (94%) received a prison term, and the median was 33 months (2.8 years). For all 94 districts, the median was 42 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 89 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.
Median Prison Term Lower Than the National Figure
Among the 84 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 33 months (2.8 years). A quarter received 51 months or more, and a quarter received 21 months or less.
For all 94 federal districts together, the firearms offense type had 78,851 people, 94% sent to prison, and a median prison term of 42 months. The median in this district was lower, and the share sent to prison was the same. For all offenses in the District of Hawaii, the median prison term was 53 months.
4 people (4%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
What the Firearms Offense Type Covers
"Firearms" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. It was 6% of the 1,377 people sentenced in the district. The primary guideline was §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition) for 84 people.
Other guidelines also appeared. §2K1.3 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials) had 2 people, and §2K1.1 (Failure to Report Theft of Explosive Materials) had 1.
Few Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 6 of the 89 people with that information recorded (7%). That is a small share in this offense type here.
Within the guideline range were 56% of sentences (50 people). 15% (13) were below the range at the government's request, and 24% (21) were below the range without a government request. 6% (5) were above the range.
The same measure was 52% for firearms cases in all 94 districts and 37% across this district's offenses.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
87 of 89 (98%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. 72% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 28% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The median prison term was 33 months after a guilty plea and 67.5 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on only 2 people, so it is not a reliable comparison.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release followed prison for 82 people (92%), at a median of 36 months. Only 6 people (7%) were fined, and 2 (2%) were ordered to pay restitution.
In the criminal history data, 34% of the people were in the lowest category and 6% were in the highest. The court-martial system keeps no such field.
Fiscal Year Counts
The counts were 25 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 64 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The highest single year was fiscal year 2021, with 19.
The yearly medians range from 24 months to 60 months, and most years have 7 to 12 people. The table does not show a clear direction.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | 34.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 7 | 29 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2018 | 8 | 33 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2019 | 8 | 30 months | 7 of 8 |
| 2020 | 12 | 30 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 19 | 27 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 12 | 37 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 7 | 24 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2024 | 7 | 60 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2025 | 7 | 60 months | 7 of 7 |
Where Courts-Martial Fit and What Is Not Shown
The district includes Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay, and Wheeler Army Airfield, all of which appear in this site's court-martial data. Those installations are in the district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts.
This data includes only convicted and sentenced people. Imposed terms are not the same as time served. The type of firearm and the facts of each case are not in the records.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Hawaii (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Hawaii") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (89). 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 Hawaii, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Hawaii, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Hawaii, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Hawaii, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the District of Hawaii, 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.