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# Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-southern-district-of-new-york/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:31:39.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:31:39.000Z
- Description: 1,179 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in the Southern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, which is 10% of the district's 12,035 people. The median prison term was 40 months (3.3 years), close to the 42-month median across all 94 federal districts. 43% of sentences were wit
- 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 New York, FY20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-new-york/) › Firearms: Southern District of New York

**In brief:** 1,179 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in the Southern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, which is 10% of the district's 12,035 people. The median prison term was 40 months (3.3 years), close to the 42-month median across all 94 federal districts. 43% of sentences were within the guideline range.

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 1,179 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/).

## Prison Terms Compared With the National Median

Of the 1,179 people, 1,159 (98%) received a prison term, and 15 (1%) received probation only. The median prison term was 40 months (3.3 years). A quarter received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 21 months or less.

Across all 94 districts, 94% of people in this offense type were sent to prison, and the median was 42 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 33 months.

## Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums

The guideline range comes from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's rules for each case. 43% of the sentences (511 people) were within the range. 6% (73) were below the range at the government's request, and 46% (542) were below it without a government request. 4% (50) were above the range.

The within-range share was 52% across all 94 districts and 22% for all offenses in this district. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 269 of the 1,177 people with that information recorded (23%).

## Trials Led to Longer Median Terms

1,143 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 36 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 38.4 months. After a trial it was 74 months, based on 36 people.

The records do not explain the difference. Among the guilty pleas, 67% had a written plea agreement and 32% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## How the Yearly Medians Moved

The district sentenced 137 people in this offense type in fiscal year 2016 and 112 in fiscal year 2025\. Fiscal year 2020 had the fewest, with 61 people, and its median was 58 months. The highest median in the table was 60 months in fiscal year 2019.

The medians in fiscal years 2021 through 2023 were 36 months, 36 months, and 35 months. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September. The records cannot show what accounts for the year-to-year changes.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 137              | 36 months     | 94%            |
| 2017        | 126              | 45 months     | 97%            |
| 2018        | 113              | 27 months     | 92%            |
| 2019        | 120              | 60 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2020        | 61               | 58 months     | 100%           |
| 2021        | 99               | 36 months     | 98%            |
| 2022        | 144              | 36 months     | 99%            |
| 2023        | 143              | 35 months     | 98%            |
| 2024        | 124              | 42 months     | 96%            |
| 2025        | 112              | 42 months     | 98%            |

## Which Guidelines Applied

"Firearms" is the Commission's offense type for this group. The primary guideline for most people was §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition), with 942 people. Smaller groups used §2K1.3 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials) with 3 people, §2K2.5 (Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility) with 3 people, and §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) with 1 person.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History

1,153 people (98%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 24 people (2%), and restitution for 42 people (4%).

19% of the people were in the lowest criminal history category (Category I), and 11% were in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## What the Numbers Leave Out

Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear in the data. Acquittals and dismissals do not. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

The records do not describe the type of firearm, the circumstances, or any other facts of a case.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (1,179). 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 New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-new-york/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-southern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-southern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Robbery Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-southern-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-money-laundering-sentences-southern-district-of-new-york/) (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.