Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025
The Southern District of Texas sentenced 2,252 people for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Their median prison term was 30 months (2.5 years), compared with 42 months across all 94 districts. Firearms cases were 3% of the district's 71,026 sentenced people.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016– › Firearms: Southern District of Texas
In brief: The Southern District of Texas sentenced 2,252 people for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Their median prison term was 30 months (2.5 years), compared with 42 months across all 94 districts. Firearms cases were 3% of the district's 71,026 sentenced people.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 2,252 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.
A Lower Median Than the National Figure
Among the 2,127 people (94%) who received a prison term, the median was 30 months. A quarter received 57 months or more, and a quarter received 15 months or less. Another 81 people (4%) received probation only.
All 94 districts together sentenced 78,851 people for firearms offenses, and the national median prison term was 42 months. The median in this district was lower. For all offenses in the Southern District of Texas, the median was 13 months.
Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 175 | 30 months | 96% |
| 2017 | 218 | 27 months | more than 99% |
| 2018 | 225 | 27 months | more than 99% |
| 2019 | 216 | 30 months | more than 99% |
| 2020 | 202 | 24 months | more than 99% |
| 2021 | 224 | 30 months | 99% |
| 2022 | 241 | 36 months | 99% |
| 2023 | 225 | 30 months | 99% |
| 2024 | 250 | 30 months | 98% |
| 2025 | 276 | 37 months | 99% |
What the Firearms Category Covers
"Firearms" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. Most cases here, 2,103, used §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition) as the primary guideline.
The other primary guidelines were rare. §2K1.3 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials) had 3 people. §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) had 2, and §2K2.5 (Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility) had 2.
Trials Were Rare, and Trial Terms Were Longer
A total of 2,223 people (99%) pleaded guilty. Another 29 were convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 65% had a written plea agreement and 35% were straight pleas.
After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 30 months. After a trial, it was 65 months, based on 28 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The groups are different sizes, and the records do not show how their cases differed.
Against the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the Commission's guidelines. Of 2,250 people with this information, 57% (1,285) were sentenced within the range. Below the range at the government's request were 14% (311), and below it without a request were 26% (577). Above the range were 3% (77).
Nationally, 52% of firearms sentences were within the range, and in all offenses in this district the figure was 58%.
Mandatory Minimums, Supervised Release, and Penalties
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 148 of the 2,239 people with that information recorded (7%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 1,896 (84%), with a median term of 36 months.
A fine was ordered for 62 people (3%) and restitution for 47 (2%). In criminal history, 42% were in the lowest category and 9% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Period and Limits of the Data
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 834 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 1,418. The table shows the yearly medians, from 24 months in fiscal year 2020 to 37 months in fiscal year 2025. The records cannot show why they differ. Each year had between 175 and 276 people, so a single year's median is based on a modest group.
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals, dismissals, and uncharged cases are not in it.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (2,252). 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 Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Southern District of Texas, 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.