Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025
1,474 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in the District of South Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 21% of everyone sentenced there. 96% received a prison term, and the median was 60 months (5 years), higher than the 42 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. Within-range sen
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016– › Firearms: District of South Carolina
In brief: 1,474 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in the District of South Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 21% of everyone sentenced there. 96% received a prison term, and the median was 60 months (5 years), higher than the 42 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. Within-range sentences were 58%, more common than in the national group.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,474 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.
Prison Terms Were Longer Than the National Median
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 1,474 people under the offense type "Firearms" in this district. 1,417 (96%) received a prison term, and 48 (3%) received probation only.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 60 months. A quarter received 92 months or more, and a quarter received 33 months or less. The median for all districts in this offense type was 42 months. The median for all offenses in the District of South Carolina was 48.2 months.
Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 94 | 60 months | 95% |
| 2017 | 157 | 55 months | 99% |
| 2018 | 245 | 60 months | 98% |
| 2019 | 243 | 57 months | 97% |
| 2020 | 117 | 57 months | 98% |
| 2021 | 108 | 60 months | 98% |
| 2022 | 108 | 60 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 141 | 63 months | more than 99% |
| 2024 | 143 | 57 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 118 | 60 months | 97% |
Trials Led to Longer Median Terms
1,447 of 1,474 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 27 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 97% of firearms cases ended in a guilty plea.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 60 months. After a trial, it was 115 months, based on 27 people. The records do not show why the 60-month and 115-month medians differ, and the trial group is much smaller than the plea group.
Among guilty pleas, 54% had a written plea agreement and 46% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Within the Guideline Range More Often Than Not
Of the 1,471 people with guideline information, 58% (853) were sentenced within the range. 12% (171) were below the range at the government's request, and 26% (389) were below it without a government request. 4% (58) were above the range.
For firearms in all districts, 52% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in the District of South Carolina, the figure was 47%. Firearms sentences were therefore within the range more often than either comparison.
Mandatory Minimums and Criminal History
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 298 of the 1,474 people with that information recorded (20%). A mandatory minimum is a prison term set by statute that a court generally cannot go below.
On criminal history, 11% were in the lowest category, category I, and 25% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so there is no military counterpart for this measure.
Which Guidelines Covered These Cases
The offense type is the Commission's category. For 1,326 people, the primary guideline was §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition). Others were §2K2.5 (Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility) with 4 and §2K1.3 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials) with 1.
There were 739 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 735 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
After Prison: Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
1,407 people (95%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 19 people (1%), and restitution for 49 (3%).
Installations and Limits of the Data
Joint Base Charleston, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and Shaw AFB lie within this district. Courts-martial are heard in military courts, not in this federal court, and these numbers are federal only.
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. It does not show cases that ended in acquittal or dismissal, and it does not describe the facts of any case. Yearly medians in the table range from 55 months to 63 months, and the records cannot show what caused any change.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Carolina") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (1,474). 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 South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the District of South Carolina, 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.