Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
In the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 441 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 396 (90%) received a prison term. The median was 60 months (5 years), compared with 42 months across all 94 districts. The yearly medians in the table are lower in fiscal years 2
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY › Firearms: Middle District of Pennsylvania
In brief: In the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 441 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 396 (90%) received a prison term. The median was 60 months (5 years), compared with 42 months across all 94 districts. The yearly medians in the table are lower in fiscal years 2023 to 2025.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 441 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 Longer Than the National Median
Of the 441 people, 396 (90%) received a prison term, and 34 (8%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all 94 districts, 78,851 people were in this offense type, and 94% were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison here, the median prison term was 60 months. A quarter received 84.8 months or more, and a quarter received 30 months or less. The national median was 42 months, and the median for all offenses in this district was 46 months.
The terms are those imposed, not time served.
Yearly Medians Fell Late in the Period
The table shows a median of 60 months in each of 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. The medians for the next years are 47 months in 2023, 40.5 months in 2024, and 34.5 months in 2025.
The yearly groups have 22 to 60 people. The change appears in the records, but they do not show why the medians moved. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 169 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 272.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 22 | 51.5 months | 95% |
| 2017 | 37 | 65.5 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 50 | 64 months | 96% |
| 2019 | 60 | 60 months | 88% |
| 2020 | 40 | 60 months | 93% |
| 2021 | 36 | 60 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 49 | 60 months | 92% |
| 2023 | 56 | 47 months | 98% |
| 2024 | 44 | 40.5 months | 95% |
| 2025 | 47 | 34.5 months | 98% |
Mandatory Minimums Applied to 30% of the Group
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 134 of the 440 people with that information recorded (30%).
Most firearms cases in the district were sentenced under one guideline. §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition) was the primary guideline for 343 people. §2K1.3 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials) applied to 5, and §2K2.5 (Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility) to 1.
Pleas and Trials
420 of 441 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 21 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 97% pleaded guilty.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 60 months. After a trial it was 120 months, based on 21 people. The records do not show how the groups of cases differed.
Among the guilty pleas, 91% had a written plea agreement and 9% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Against the Guideline Range
Sentences within the guideline range were 51% of the cases (227 people). Below the range at the government's request were 22% (99 people), and below the range without a government request were 24% (108 people). Above the range were 2% (7 people).
For firearms offenses across all districts, 52% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 47%. Firearms sentences were therefore within the range about as often as the national rate for this offense type.
Supervision, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release followed prison for 391 people (89%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 120 people (27%), and restitution for 33 (7%).
In criminal history, 32% were in the lowest category I and 23% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
What the Records Do Not Cover
Firearms cases were 11% of the 4,067 people sentenced in the district. Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and the records do not describe any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (441). 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 Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 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.