Federal Individual Rights Offense Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025
The Western District of Kentucky sentenced 14 people for individual rights offenses in fiscal years 2017 to 2025. 9 pleaded guilty (64%) and 5 were convicted after a trial, so trials were much more common than across all offenses in the district, where 97% pleaded guilty. The median prison term was
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In brief: The Western District of Kentucky sentenced 14 people for individual rights offenses in fiscal years 2017 to 2025. 9 pleaded guilty (64%) and 5 were convicted after a trial, so trials were much more common than across all offenses in the district, where 97% pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 33 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 14 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.
Trials Were Common in This Group
Of the 14 people, 9 (64%) pleaded guilty and 5 were convicted after a trial. In all 94 districts together, 80% of people sentenced for individual rights offenses pleaded guilty.
The median prison term was 24 months after a guilty plea and 36 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 5 people. Every guilty plea had a written plea agreement.
How Long the Prison Terms Were
Of the 14 people, 11 (79%) received a prison term and 2 (14%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median was 33 months, or 2.8 years. A quarter received 39 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less.
In all districts, 855 people were sentenced for this offense type, 68% were sent to prison, and the median was 30 months. For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 57 months. Terms are those imposed, not time served.
Few Sentences Within the Guideline Range
Within the range were 2 of 14 sentences (14%). Below the range at the government's request were 7 (50%), and below it without such a request were 4 (29%). 1 sentence (7%) was above the range.
For this offense type in all districts, 38% of sentences were within the range. Across all offenses in this district, the figure was 37%. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 14 people (7%).
Yearly Medians From Very Small Groups
The district sentenced 2 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 12 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. No year had more than 4 people.
The table lists a median of 121.5 months for fiscal year 2025, based on 2 people, and 19.6 months for fiscal year 2023, based on 4. Differences like these come from groups too small to show a trend. A fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 1 | 27 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2018 | 1 | 42 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2020 | 3 | 24 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2021 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | 24 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 4 | 19.6 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2024 | 1 | 36 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 121.5 months | 1 of 2 |
Guideline and Other Orders
All 14 people were sentenced under the same primary guideline, §2H1.1 (Offenses Involving Individual Rights). These cases are less than 1% of the 3,229 people sentenced in the district.
After prison, 11 people (79%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 24 months. A fine was ordered for 3 people (21%) and restitution for 3 (21%). All 14 were in the lowest criminal history category. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
What the Records Cannot Show
Fort Knox, Kentucky is in the district and appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. The federal data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not counted, and the records do not describe the conduct in any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Kentucky (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Kentucky West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Individual Rights" (14). 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 Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, 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.