> ## 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 Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-indiana/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:16:15.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:16:14.000Z - Description: Firearms offenses were 37% of the 3,085 people sentenced in the Northern District of Indiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 1,141 people. Of those, 1,005 (88%) received a prison term, and the median was 37 months (3.1 years). The median for firearms cases in all 94 federal districts was 42 months. - 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 Northern District of Indiana, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-indiana/) › Firearms: Northern District of Indiana **In brief:** Firearms offenses were 37% of the 3,085 people sentenced in the Northern District of Indiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 1,141 people. Of those, 1,005 (88%) received a prison term, and the median was 37 months (3.1 years). The median for firearms cases in all 94 federal districts was 42 months. 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 1,141 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/). ## Firearms Were 37% of the District's Sentenced Cases The U.S. Sentencing Commission's "Firearms" offense type had 1,141 people in the Northern District of Indiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. They were 37% of all 3,085 people sentenced in the district. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 465 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 676 people. Nearly all of them, 1,095, were sentenced under §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition). Smaller groups were sentenced under §2K1.1 (Failure to Report Theft of Explosive Materials), with 2 people, and §2K1.3 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials), with 1 person. ## Prison Terms Compared With the District and the Nation Of the 1,141 people, 1,005 (88%) were sentenced to prison, and 70 (6%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. In all 94 districts, 94% of firearms cases ended in a prison term, so the Northern District of Indiana's share was lower. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 37 months. A quarter received 63 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less. The national median for firearms was 42 months. For all offenses in the Northern District of Indiana, the median was 51 months, which is higher than the firearms median. ## Trials Led to Longer Terms in This Group A total of 1,108 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 33 were convicted after a trial. Nationally, 97% pleaded guilty. Among the guilty pleas, 87% had a written plea agreement and 13% were straight pleas with no agreement. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 37 months. After a trial it was 97 months. People who go to trial may differ from those who plead in ways the records do not show, so the gap does not measure the effect of going to trial. ## Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 89 people (8%). Of the 1,140 people with guideline information, 54% (618) were sentenced within the range. Another 16% (177) were below it at the government's request, 27% (311) were below it without a request, and 3% (34) were above it. For firearms in all 94 districts, 52% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in the Northern District of Indiana, the share was 47%. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 118 | 30 months | 100% | | 2017 | 106 | 37 months | 95% | | 2018 | 123 | 37 months | 98% | | 2019 | 118 | 37 months | 97% | | 2020 | 112 | 41.5 months | more than 99% | | 2021 | 141 | 37 months | more than 99% | | 2022 | 137 | 37 months | 98% | | 2023 | 101 | 46 months | 93% | | 2024 | 83 | 41 months | 96% | | 2025 | 102 | 42 months | 94% | ## Supervision, Fines, and Criminal History Supervised release followed prison for 993 people (87%), with a median term of 24 months. A fine was ordered for 16 people (1%), and restitution for 29 (3%). In criminal history, 20% were in the lowest category, category I, and 15% were in the highest, category VI. ## Year-by-Year Counts Yearly counts in the table run from 83 people in fiscal year 2024 to 141 in fiscal year 2021\. The yearly median was 30 months in fiscal year 2016 and 46 months in fiscal year 2023\. These are descriptions of the figures, and the records cannot show what changed from one year to the next. ## What the Records Cannot Show The Commission's data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served. The records also do not describe individual cases, so a firearms count cannot be split by the kind of conduct beyond the guideline. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Indiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Indiana North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (1,141). 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 Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-indiana/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-indiana/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-indiana/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Robbery Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-northern-district-of-indiana/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-northern-district-of-indiana/) (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.