> ## 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 Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-southern-district-of-florida/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:07:25.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:07:25.000Z - Description: Of the 1,590 people sentenced for firearms offenses in the Southern District of Florida in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 96% received a prison term, with a median of 51 months. In all 94 federal districts, the median for this offense type 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 Southern District of Florida, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-florida/) › Firearms: Southern District of Florida **In brief:** Of the 1,590 people sentenced for firearms offenses in the Southern District of Florida in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 96% received a prison term, with a median of 51 months. In all 94 federal districts, the median for this offense type 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 1,590 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/). ## Median Prison Term of 51 Months The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Firearms" includes 1,590 people sentenced in this district. 1,528 (96%) received a prison term, and 33 (2%) received probation only. The median prison term among those sent to prison was 51 months (4.2 years). A quarter received 88 months or more, and a quarter received 27 months or less. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. Across all 94 districts, the Commission counted 78,851 people, and 94% were sent to prison. The national median was 42 months, which was lower than this district's median. ## Where the Guideline Range Fits Of the 1,572 people with guideline information, 949 (60%) were sentenced within the range. Below the range at the government's request applied to 122 people (8%), and below the range without a government request to 415 people (26%). 86 people (5%) were above the range. Nationally, 52% of firearms sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 55%. ## Guilty Pleas and Trial Convictions A total of 1,471 people (93%) pleaded guilty, and 119 were convicted after a trial. Across all 94 districts, 97% pleaded guilty. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 48 months. After a trial it was 108 months, based on 118 people sent to prison. Among guilty pleas, 77% had a written plea agreement, and 21% were straight pleas with no agreement. ## Mandatory Minimums and Criminal History A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 393 of the 1,589 people with that information recorded (25%). In criminal history for this offense type, 24% were in the lowest category, category I, and 18% were in the highest, VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this measure has no military counterpart. ## Which Guidelines Applied Most cases used §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition), with 1,422 people. Others used §2K1.3 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials), 4 people; §2K1.5 (Possessing Dangerous Weapons or Materials While Boarding or Aboard an Aircraft), 3 people; and §2K2.5 (Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility), 2 people. Firearms cases were 9% of the 17,081 people sentenced in the district. For all offenses here, the median prison term was 32 months. ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution Supervised release was ordered for 1,524 people (96%), with a median term of 36 months, and 5 people (less than 1%) received it for life. A fine was ordered for 37 people (2%), and restitution for 74 (5%). ## Yearly Counts and What They Cannot Show A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends the following September. The yearly count ranged from 92 people in fiscal year 2021 to 229 people in fiscal year 2022, and the yearly median prison term ranged from 41 months to 60 months. The records do not describe any case or explain why a sentence was higher or lower. Courts-martial are tried in military courts and are not part of this federal data. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 171 | 60 months | 90% | | 2017 | 169 | 51 months | 92% | | 2018 | 168 | 60 months | 89% | | 2019 | 195 | 46 months | 93% | | 2020 | 121 | 47 months | 94% | | 2021 | 92 | 41 months | 99% | | 2022 | 229 | 55.5 months | 94% | | 2023 | 174 | 48 months | 93% | | 2024 | 126 | 46 months | 89% | | 2025 | 145 | 46 months | 94% | ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Florida (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Florida South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (1,590). 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 Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-florida/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-southern-district-of-florida/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-southern-district-of-florida/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-southern-district-of-florida/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Southern District of Florida, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-money-laundering-sentences-southern-district-of-florida/) (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.