> ## 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 Rhode Island, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-rhode-island/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:12:50.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:12:50.000Z - Description: In the District of Rhode Island, 87 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and the median prison term was 36 months, compared with 42 months across all 94 federal districts. 52% were sentenced below the guideline range without a government request. A mandatory mini - 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 Rhode Island, FY2016–20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-rhode-island/) › Firearms: District of Rhode Island **In brief:** In the District of Rhode Island, 87 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and the median prison term was 36 months, compared with 42 months across all 94 federal districts. 52% were sentenced below the guideline range without a government request. A mandatory minimum applied to 8 of the 87 people (9%). 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 87 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/). ## Below the Range Without a Government Request Under the federal guidelines, a court calculates a sentencing range for each case. For 45 of the 87 people (52%), the sentence was below that range, and the government had not asked for it. 23 (26%) were below it at the government's request, 18 (21%) were within it, and 1 (1%) was above it. Across all districts, 52% of firearms sentences were within the range. For all offenses in the District of Rhode Island, the figure was 22%. Within the range was less common for firearms here than across all districts. ## Prison, Probation, and the Median Term 68 of the 87 people (78%) received a prison term, and 13 (15%) received probation only. The median prison term was 36 months (3 years). A quarter received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 14.6 months or less. The share sent to prison across all districts was 94%, among 78,851 people. The median for all offenses in this district was 33 months. The terms counted are those imposed by the court, and time served is not in the data. ## Pleas, Trials, and Plea Agreements 85 of the 87 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 36 months after a guilty plea and 54 months after a trial, based on 2 people. Among the guilty pleas, 66% had a written plea agreement and 34% were straight pleas with no agreement. ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History Supervised release after prison was ordered for 67 people (77%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (1%), and restitution for 5 (6%). In criminal history, 25% were in the lowest category I and 20% were in the highest category, VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Counts by Fiscal Year Firearms cases were 9% of the 1,015 people sentenced in the district. The district sentenced 47 of them in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 40 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The smallest yearly group was 3 people, in fiscal year 2025, and the largest was 17, in fiscal year 2016\. In fiscal year 2025 the median was 105.5 months. In fiscal year 2024 it was 12 months, and in fiscal year 2017 it was 14.3 months. One case can move a median in a group this small, so the table is not evidence of a trend. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 17 | 46 months | 100% | | 2017 | 7 | 14.3 months | 7 of 7 | | 2018 | 7 | 22.5 months | 7 of 7 | | 2019 | 16 | 37 months | 94% | | 2020 | 9 | 36 months | 9 of 9 | | 2021 | 6 | 44 months | 6 of 6 | | 2022 | 8 | 36 months | 7 of 8 | | 2023 | 7 | 33 months | 7 of 7 | | 2024 | 7 | 12 months | 7 of 7 | | 2025 | 3 | 105.5 months | 3 of 3 | ## The Guideline and the Limits of the Data The primary guideline was §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition) for 86 of the 87 people. A fiscal year runs from October 1 to the end of September. Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. The facts of any case and the type of firearm are not in the data. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Rhode Island (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Rhode Island") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (87). 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 Rhode Island, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-rhode-island/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Rhode Island, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-rhode-island/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Rhode Island, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-rhode-island/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Rhode Island, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-rhode-island/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the District of Rhode Island, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-district-of-rhode-island/) (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.