Federal Kidnapping Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025
All 10 people sentenced for kidnapping in the Western District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2018 to 2024 received a prison term. The median was 266 months (22.2 years), compared with 155 months across all 94 federal districts. 1 person received a life sentence.
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In brief: All 10 people sentenced for kidnapping in the Western District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2018 to 2024 received a prison term. The median was 266 months (22.2 years), compared with 155 months across all 94 federal districts. 1 person received a life sentence.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 10 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.
Very Long Prison Terms
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 10 people in this district whose offense type was Kidnapping. All 10 (100%) were sentenced to prison, and 0 received probation only.
The median prison term was 266 months (22.2 years). A quarter received 318 months or more, and a quarter received 222 months or less. 1 person received a life sentence.
Across all districts, 1,124 people were sentenced for kidnapping, more than 99% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 155 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 60 months. These are the terms imposed, not time served.
Pleas and Trial
Of the 10 people, 9 (90%) pleaded guilty, and 1 person was convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 240 months. For the 1 person convicted at trial and sent to prison it was 470 months.
One trial case cannot be compared with the plea group. In all districts, 84% pleaded guilty for kidnapping, and for all offenses in this district the share was 96%. Among guilty pleas, 9 of 9 had a written plea agreement, and 0 of 9 were straight pleas with no agreement.
Guideline and Range
§2A4.1 (Kidnapping, Abduction, Unlawful Restraint) was the primary guideline for all 10 people. Kidnapping cases were less than 1% of the 3,011 people sentenced in this district in the period.
Of the 10 people with guideline information, 5 (50%) were sentenced within the range. Another 1 (10%) was below it at the government's request, and 3 (30%) were below it without a government request. 1 person (10%) was above the range.
In all districts, 33% of kidnapping sentences were within the range. The share here was higher, and it was lower than the 67% for all offenses in this district.
Mandatory Minimums and Supervised Release
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 10 people with that information recorded (20%).
All 10 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 60 months, and 1 person (10%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 0, and restitution for 2 (20%).
Criminal History
In criminal history, 20% were in the lowest category (category I), and 40% were in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 5 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 5. The table has rows for 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024 only. Yearly counts are 1 to 3 people, so there is no trend to report.
Fiscal years start on October 1. The 2022 row shows 0 of 1 pleaded guilty, which matches the 1 person convicted after a trial.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2 | 222 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 3 | 240 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 1 | 470 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2023 | 1 | 470 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 3 | 240 months | 3 of 3 |
Installations and Limits
Barksdale AFB and Fort Polk are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission data. The records do not describe the facts of any case.
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 "Kidnapping" (10). 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 Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, 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.