Federal Kidnapping Sentences in the Northern District of Texas, FY2016–2025
All 40 people sentenced for kidnapping in the Northern District of Texas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median prison term was 189.5 months (15.8 years), which is higher than the 155 months across all 94 districts and the 60 months for all offenses in this district.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Texas, FY2016– › Kidnapping: Northern District of Texas
In brief: All 40 people sentenced for kidnapping in the Northern District of Texas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median prison term was 189.5 months (15.8 years), which is higher than the 155 months across all 94 districts and the 60 months for all offenses in this district.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 40 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 Kidnapping
The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 40 people in this district under its offense type "Kidnapping" for fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 40 of 40 (100%) received a prison term. None received probation only.
The median prison term was 189.5 months. A quarter received 324 months or more, and a quarter received 120.8 months or less. 1 person received a life sentence.
How This District Compares With All 94 Districts
Across all 94 federal districts, 1,124 people were sentenced for kidnapping, and the median prison term was 155 months. In this district the median was higher.
Guilty pleas were also more common here: 35 of 40 (88%), compared with 84% across all districts. The remaining 5 people were convicted after a trial.
Sentences within the guideline range were 38% here (15 people) and 33% across all districts. All offenses in this district had a rate of 62%.
Pleas, Trials, and Prison Length
The median prison term was 168 months after a guilty plea and 324 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 5 people.
The comparison shows that the 5 people convicted at trial received longer terms. It cannot show why. Cases that go to trial may differ from cases that end in a plea in ways the data does not record.
Among guilty pleas, 89% had a written plea agreement and 11% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Mandatory Minimums and Departures
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 13 of the 40 people (33%). For 39 people with the guideline information, 13 (33%) were below the range at the government's request and 9 (23%) were below it without a government request. 2 (5%) were above the range.
The guideline most often used was §2A4.1 (Kidnapping, Abduction, Unlawful Restraint), the primary guideline for 39 people. The other person was sentenced under §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).
Release, Fines, and Criminal History
38 people (95%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. 1 person (3%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 1 person (3%) and restitution for 16 (40%).
For criminal history, 35% were in the lowest category and 18% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Small Yearly Counts
There were 16 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 24 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. No year had more than 7 people. Yearly medians in the table range widely, from 83 months to 326.5 months, and with 3 to 7 people a year they are not a trend.
Kidnapping cases were less than 1% of the 14,591 people sentenced in this district over the period.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 181.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2017 | 5 | 324 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2018 | 3 | 94 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 4 | 294 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2020 | 4 | 326.5 months | 2 of 4 |
| 2021 | 4 | 252 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 7 | 121 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2023 | 3 | 83 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 3 | 300 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 3 | 121 months | 3 of 3 |
What Is Not Counted
Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. The prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
These are federal court figures. Courts-martial are tried in military courts and are not part of this count.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Kidnapping" (40). 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 Northern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Texas, 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.