Federal Kidnapping Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025
In the District of Maryland, 19 people were sentenced for kidnapping offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 19 received a prison term. The median prison term was 168 months (14 years), compared with 155 months for kidnapping cases in all 94 federal districts.
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In brief: In the District of Maryland, 19 people were sentenced for kidnapping offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 19 received a prison term. The median prison term was 168 months (14 years), compared with 155 months for kidnapping cases in all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 19 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 for Every Person Sentenced
All 19 people (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. The median prison term was 168 months (14 years). A quarter received 204 months or more, and a quarter received 126 months or less.
For kidnapping cases in all 94 federal districts together, the median was 155 months, and more than 99% of 1,124 people were sent to prison. For all offenses in the District of Maryland, the median prison term was 48 months.
What the Kidnapping Category Includes
"Kidnapping" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's own offense type. The Commission assigns a case to a type based on the primary guideline used at sentencing.
In this district, 18 of the 19 cases used §2A4.1 (Kidnapping, Abduction, Unlawful Restraint). The other case used §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact). These cases were less than 1% of the 6,044 people sentenced in the district in the same period.
Every Case Ended in a Guilty Plea
All 19 people pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Every guilty plea came with a written plea agreement. There were no straight pleas without an agreement.
Across all offenses in this district, 95% pleaded guilty. For kidnapping in all districts, 84% did. Because the data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced, it cannot show how many kidnapping cases were dismissed or ended in an acquittal.
How Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
The guideline range was recorded for all 19 people. Sentences for 4 people (21%) were within the range. Sentences for 13 (68%) were below it at the government's request, and sentences for 2 (11%) were below it without a government request. None was above the range.
For kidnapping in all districts, 33% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 31% were. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 7 of the 19 people with that information recorded (37%).
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
All 19 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 60 months. Restitution was ordered for 12 (63%). No fine was ordered for any of them.
In criminal history, 21% were in the lowest category and 11% in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this detail has no counterpart in military data.
Counts by Period and Limits of the Data
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 4 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 15. A fiscal year runs from October to September. The yearly counts are small, with no more than 7 people in any year, so they do not show a trend.
Fort Meade and Joint Base Andrews are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. The prison terms are those imposed, not time served, and the records cannot show the facts of any case.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 216 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 1 | 204 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 2 | 159 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 7 | 156 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2023 | 3 | 126 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 2 | 144 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2025 | 1 | 240 months | 1 of 1 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Maryland (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Maryland") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Kidnapping" (19). 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 District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Maryland, 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.