Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Arkansas, 287 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 280 (98%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 57 months (4.8 years), which is higher than the 42 months for all 94 districts. A fine was ordered for 78 people (27%).
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY201 › Firearms: Western District of Arkansas
In brief: In the Western District of Arkansas, 287 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 280 (98%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 57 months (4.8 years), which is higher than the 42 months for all 94 districts. A fine was ordered for 78 people (27%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 287 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.
Prison Terms Compared With the Rest of the Country
Of the 287 people, 280 (98%) received a prison term, and 5 (2%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term was 57 months. A quarter received 84.2 months or more, and a quarter received 33 months or less. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
For all 94 districts in the Firearms offense type, the median prison term is 42 months and 94% were sent to prison. Both figures are lower than in this district. The median for all offenses in this district is 72 months, which is higher than the median for firearms cases here.
Which Guideline Applies to Most Cases?
"Firearms" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The primary guideline was §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition) for 276 people. Another 4 people had §2K1.3 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials).
Firearms cases were 13% of the 2,185 people sentenced in the district. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 25 of the 287 people with that information recorded (9%).
Within the Guideline Range for Most Sentences
Of the 287 sentences, 180 (63%) were within the guideline range. Another 73 (25%) were below the range without a government request, and 21 (7%) were above the range. A further 13 (5%) were below the range at the government's request.
For all districts in this offense type, 52% of sentences were within the range. The figure for all offenses in this district is 43%. Within-range sentences were more common in firearms cases here than either figure.
Fiscal Year Medians
The district sentenced 113 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 174 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Yearly counts in the table range from 20 to 36 people. The fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.
The median was 47 months in 2016 and 2017, 80 months in 2024, and 41 months in 2025. The counts are modest, so single years should not be read as trends. The records cannot show why a year differs from the others.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 26 | 47 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 36 | 47 months | 97% |
| 2018 | 31 | 57 months | 97% |
| 2019 | 20 | 60 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 24 | 57 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 30 | 60 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 34 | 61.5 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 28 | 58.5 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 33 | 80 months | 97% |
| 2025 | 25 | 41 months | 100% |
Guilty Pleas and Trials
Of the 287 people, 284 (99%) pleaded guilty and 3 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 55 months after a guilty plea and 120 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on only 3 people.
Across all districts, 97% pleaded guilty in this offense type. The figure for all offenses in this district is 98%. Of the guilty pleas, 96% had a written plea agreement and 2% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Supervision, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 264 people (92%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 78 (27%), and restitution for 15 (5%).
In criminal history, 14% were in the lowest category, category I, and 34% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Arkansas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Arkansas West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (287). 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 Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Western District of Arkansas, 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.