Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025
In the Southern District of West Virginia, 443 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 37 months (3.1 years), which is lower than the 42 months for all 94 districts. Of the sentences, 61% were within the guideline range, compared with 52%
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of West Virginia, › Firearms: Southern District of West Virginia
In brief: In the Southern District of West Virginia, 443 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 37 months (3.1 years), which is lower than the 42 months for all 94 districts. Of the sentences, 61% were within the guideline range, compared with 52% for all districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 443 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.
How Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
Of the 441 sentences with the information recorded, 267 (61%) were within the guideline range. Another 130 (29%) were below the range without a government request, and 31 (7%) were below the range at the government's request. Only 13 (3%) were above the range.
For all 94 districts in the Firearms offense type, 52% were within the range. For all offenses in this district the figure is 51%. Within-range sentences were therefore more common in this group than in either comparison.
Prison Terms
Of the 443 people, 405 (91%) received a prison term, and 27 (6%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term was 37 months. A quarter received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 21 months or less. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
The median for all 94 districts in this offense type is 42 months, which is higher than here. The median for all offenses in this district is also 42 months. Firearms cases were 18% of the 2,416 people sentenced in the district.
Which Guideline Covered These Cases?
"Firearms" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. Almost all of these cases used one guideline: §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition), for 415 people. One person's primary guideline was §2K2.5 (Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility).
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 32 of the 441 people with that information recorded (7%).
Pleas and Trials
Of the 443 people, 431 (97%) pleaded guilty and 12 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 37 months. After a trial it was 43.5 months, based on 12 people. Both groups are similar in the median, but the trial group is small.
Among guilty pleas, 70% had a written plea agreement and 30% were straight pleas with no agreement. The guilty plea rate matches the 97% for all districts in this offense type and for all offenses in this district.
Year-by-Year Medians
There were 164 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 279 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The yearly median prison term was 37 months in many years, and the table shows each year. The lowest median is 28.5 months in 2016, when 23 people were sentenced.
The yearly counts are modest, and the records cannot show why any one year differs from another.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 23 | 28.5 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 31 | 37 months | 97% |
| 2018 | 47 | 37 months | 96% |
| 2019 | 63 | 37 months | 97% |
| 2020 | 56 | 40.5 months | 91% |
| 2021 | 38 | 37 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 47 | 36.5 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 53 | 36 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 40 | 36 months | 98% |
| 2025 | 45 | 36 months | 98% |
Supervision, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 402 people (91%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 9 (2%), and restitution for 12 (3%).
In criminal history, 21% were in the lowest category, category I, and 8% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of West Virginia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "W Virginia South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (443). 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 West Virginia, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Southern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Southern District of West Virginia, 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.