Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025
1,389 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in the Eastern District of Arkansas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, which is 28% of the district's 4,942 sentenced people. The median prison term was 57 months, compared with 42 months for all 94 districts.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY201 › Firearms: Eastern District of Arkansas
In brief: 1,389 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in the Eastern District of Arkansas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, which is 28% of the district's 4,942 sentenced people. The median prison term was 57 months, compared with 42 months for all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,389 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.
Longer Median Prison Terms Than the All-District Figure
1,320 of the 1,389 people (95%) received a prison term, and 57 (4%) received probation only. For all districts, 94% of the 78,851 people sentenced for firearms offenses were sent to prison.
The median prison term was 57 months (4.8 years). A quarter received 92 months or more, and a quarter received 33 months or less. For all districts the median was 42 months, and for all offenses in this district it was 50 months. The terms are those imposed, not time served.
Criminal History in This Group
34% of the group were in the highest criminal history category, and 9% were in the lowest. Criminal history is part of how the guideline range is set, and court-martial records have no criminal history field.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 186 of the 1,389 people (13%).
How Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
836 people (60%) were sentenced within the guideline range. 298 (21%) were below the range without a government request, and 102 (7%) were below it at the government's request. 153 (11%) were above the range.
For all districts, 52% of firearms sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 55%.
Medians by Fiscal Year
The number of people sentenced rose from 43 in 2016 to 228 in 2024, and was 181 in 2025. The yearly median prison term ran from 42 months in 2020 to 64.5 months in 2018.
The records show these counts but cannot show why they changed. Fiscal years run from October 1 through the end of September.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 43 | 43.5 months | 95% |
| 2017 | 63 | 57 months | 97% |
| 2018 | 72 | 64.5 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 95 | 60 months | 99% |
| 2020 | 156 | 42 months | 99% |
| 2021 | 164 | 60 months | 98% |
| 2022 | 192 | 51 months | 97% |
| 2023 | 195 | 51 months | 97% |
| 2024 | 228 | 60 months | 96% |
| 2025 | 181 | 60 months | 99% |
Pleas, Trials, and Plea Agreements
1,358 of the 1,389 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 31 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 57 months. After a trial it was 88 months, based on 31 people.
Among guilty pleas, 65% had a written plea agreement and 35% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Guidelines and Supervised Release
"Firearms" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, based on the primary guideline. The most common was §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition), for 1,323 people. Smaller groups were sentenced under §2K1.3 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials) for 5, §2K2.5 (Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility) for 2, and §2X1.1 for 1.
1,314 people (95%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 12 people (less than 1%), and restitution for 25 (2%).
What the Data Does Not Show
273 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 1,116 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The second period covers more years.
Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court. The data also has no acquittals or dismissals.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Arkansas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Arkansas East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (1,389). 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 Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Arkansas, 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.