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# Federal Individual Rights Offense Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-individual-rights-sentences-western-district-of-louisiana/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:14:47.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:14:47.000Z
- Description: Of the 28 people sentenced for individual rights offenses in the Western District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 9 (32%) were sentenced within the guideline range, and 14 (50%) were below it at the government's request. In all 94 federal districts, 38% were within the range. The median p
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-louisiana/) › Individual Rights Offense: Western District of Louisiana

**In brief:** Of the 28 people sentenced for individual rights offenses in the Western District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 9 (32%) were sentenced within the guideline range, and 14 (50%) were below it at the government's request. In all 94 federal districts, 38% were within the range. The median prison term was 35.5 months (3 years).

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 28 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range

All 28 people had guideline information. Of these, 9 (32%) were sentenced within the range, and 14 (50%) were sentenced below it at the government's request. Another 5 (18%) were below the range without a government request. 0 were above it.

Across all districts, 38% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. The share here was lower. For all offenses in this district, 67% were within the range.

The share below the range at the government's request is the largest in this district's table of positions. The records do not give the reason for any request.

## Prison Terms

The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 28 people in this district whose offense type was Individual Rights. Of these, 24 (86%) received a prison term, and 3 (11%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 35.5 months (3 years). A quarter received 55.5 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.

Across all districts, 855 people were sentenced for this offense type, 68% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 30 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 60 months.

## Pleas and Trials

Of the 28 people, 26 (93%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 35.5 months after a guilty plea and 64.5 months after a trial, based on 2 people. That is too small a group to compare.

In all districts, 80% pleaded guilty for this offense type, and for all offenses in this district the share was 96%. Among guilty pleas in this district, 100% had a written plea agreement and 0% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Guidelines and Mandatory Minimums

§2H1.1 (Offenses Involving Individual Rights) was the primary guideline for 26 people. §2H4.1 (Peonage, Involuntary Servitude, and Slave Trade) and §2H3.3 (Obstructing Correspondence) were each the primary guideline for 1.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 28 people with that information recorded (4%). Individual Rights cases were less than 1% of the 3,011 people sentenced in this district.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 23 people (82%), with a median term of 24 months. 1 person (4%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 2 (7%), and restitution for 3 (11%).

In criminal history, 96% were in the lowest category (category I), and 0% were in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Counts by Fiscal Year

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 16 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 12\. The table has no row for fiscal year 2022\. Yearly counts range from 1 to 11 people, so the table does not show a trend.

The median prison terms in the table vary widely, but each rests on very few people. Fiscal years start on October 1.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 2                | 12 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2017        | 11               | 40 months     | 100%           |
| 2018        | 1                | 30 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2019        | 2                | 84 months     | 1 of 2         |
| 2020        | 4                | 14.5 months   | 4 of 4         |
| 2021        | 2                | 36.5 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2023        | 2                | 249 months    | 2 of 2         |
| 2024        | 1                | 21 months     | 0 of 1         |
| 2025        | 3                | 37 months     | 3 of 3         |

## Installations and Limits

Barksdale AFB and Fort Polk are in this district and appear in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts.

Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission data. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Louisiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Louisiana West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Individual Rights" (28). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-louisiana/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-louisiana/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-louisiana/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-louisiana/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-western-district-of-louisiana/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.