Federal Heroin Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019
In fiscal year 2019, 2,484 people were sentenced in federal court for heroin trafficking, and their median prison term was 60 months (5 years). Within-range sentences and below-range sentences at the government's request were equally common, at 36% each. A mandatory minimum applied to 1,535 people (
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In brief: In fiscal year 2019, 2,484 people were sentenced in federal court for heroin trafficking, and their median prison term was 60 months (5 years). Within-range sentences and below-range sentences at the government's request were equally common, at 36% each. A mandatory minimum applied to 1,535 people (62%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 2,484 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019. 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.
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
For each case, the federal sentencing guidelines produce a recommended range of months. Judges may sentence inside it, below it, or above it. The Commission recorded the position for 2,483 heroin cases in fiscal year 2019.
903 people (36%) were sentenced within the range. 883 (36%) were sentenced below it at the government's request. 619 (25%) were sentenced below it without a government request. 78 (3%) were sentenced above it.
The records do not break down what kind of government request was made in these cases.
Prison, Probation, and Life Sentences
2,404 of the 2,484 people (97%) received a prison term. 52 (2%) got probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
The median prison term was 60 months. The top quarter received 96 months or more, and the bottom quarter received 27 months or less.
Life sentences were imposed on 2 people.
Mandatory Minimum Rate Compared With Other Groups
The 62% mandatory minimum rate for heroin in fiscal year 2019 was lower than the 69% for all §2D1.1 cases that year. That every-drug group had 19,463 people and a median prison term of 60 months, the same as heroin.
Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, a mandatory minimum applied to 56% of the 17,665 people sentenced for heroin. Their median prison term over all those years was 54 months.
Guilty Pleas Compared With Trials
2,420 people (97%) pleaded guilty. 64 were convicted after a trial.
Median prison terms were 57 months after a plea and 180 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on the 64 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. Trial and plea cases are not matched on drug quantity or record, so the records cannot isolate the effect of a trial.
Written plea agreements were part of 90% of guilty pleas. The other 10% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Other Parts of the Sentence
Supervised release was ordered for 2,344 people (94%). The median term was 48 months, and 1 person (less than 1%) received supervised release for life.
110 people (4%) were fined, and 50 (2%) were ordered to pay restitution.
38% were in category I, the lowest criminal history category. 16% were in category VI, the highest.
Year-by-Year Heroin Figures
The table covers heroin trafficking for each fiscal year from 2016 to 2025. Fiscal year 2019 had 2,484 people sentenced and a 97% guilty plea rate.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2,772 | 48 months | 98% |
| 2017 | 2,661 | 51 months | 98% |
| 2018 | 2,565 | 60 months | 98% |
| 2019 | 2,484 | 60 months | 97% |
| 2020 | 1,857 | 53.7 months | 97% |
| 2021 | 1,771 | 48 months | 99% |
| 2022 | 1,598 | 57 months | 98% |
| 2023 | 1,005 | 54 months | 97% |
| 2024 | 597 | 48 months | 97% |
| 2025 | 355 | 51 months | 99% |
Gaps in the Record
Sentencing Commission data counts people convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are absent. Federal fiscal year 2019 ran October 1 to September 30.
Military courts-martial do not record drug type in a way that can be counted, and drug distribution cases in the military are compared in other posts. The figures cannot explain why a judge chose a sentence.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2019 whose primary guideline was §2D1.1 and whose primary drug type was heroin (2,484), U.S. Sentencing Commission.
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.
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.
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.
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)
- Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Heroin Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018 (previous or next year)
- Federal Heroin Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020 (previous or next year)
- Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019 (same year, other drug)
- Federal Powder Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019 (same year, other drug)
- Federal Marijuana Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019 (same year, other drug)
- Federal Crack Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019 (same year, other drug)
- Federal Other Drug Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019 (same year, other drug)
- Drug Distribution Sentences Since the 2023 Military Sentencing Reform: What the Data Shows So Far
- Drug Distribution Charges: How Often Federal Trials and Courts-Martial End in Acquittal
- §2D1.1 Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses): Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- Army Article 112a Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- Are Air Force Drug Courts-Martial Disappearing? Article 112a, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Drug Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 112a, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- Article 112a (Wrongful Use, Possession of Controlled Substances): Court-Martial Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Article 112a UCMJ Drug Offenses and Positive Urinalysis (law firm reference page)
- 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.