Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Western District of Texas, FY2016–2025
All 250 people sentenced for prison offenses in the Western District of Texas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. 245 (98%) received a prison term, with a median of 11 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Texas, FY2016–2 › Prison Offense: Western District of Texas
In brief: All 250 people sentenced for prison offenses in the Western District of Texas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. 245 (98%) received a prison term, with a median of 11 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 250 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.
No Trials in This Group
250 of 250 people (100%) pleaded guilty. None was convicted after a trial, so the data has no trial sentences to compare with plea sentences for this offense type.
Among the guilty pleas, 26% had a written plea agreement and 74% were straight pleas with no agreement. In all 94 districts, 99% of people sentenced for prison offenses pleaded guilty.
What the Offense Type Covers
"Prison Offenses" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's category. The most common primary guideline was §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape), with 219 people. §2P1.2 (Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison) had 24, and §2P1.3 (Engaging In, Inciting or Attempting to Incite a Riot Involving Persons in a Facility for Official Detention) had 6.
These cases were less than 1% of the 76,480 people sentenced in the district. The Commission's data labels the district "Texas West".
Prison Terms Here and in All Districts
245 of the 250 people (98%) were sentenced to prison, and 5 (2%) received probation only. The median prison term was 11 months. A quarter received 16 months or more, and a quarter received 7.1 months or less.
In all 94 districts, 4,976 people were sentenced for prison offenses. 96% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 10 months. The district's median was higher, and the share sent to prison was higher. The median for every offense type in this district was also 10 months.
Position Against the Guideline Range
193 people (77%) were sentenced within the guideline range. 10 (4%) were below it at the government's request, and 26 (10%) were below it without a government request. 21 (8%) were above it.
In all 94 districts, 63% were within the range. The rate across all offense types in this district was 77%, the same as for these cases.
A Different Criminal History Pattern
16% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 18% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this line has no military comparison.
No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 250 people (0%). Supervised release was ordered for 225 (90%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 37 (15%), and restitution for 0 (0%).
Counts by Year
In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 81 people were sentenced. In fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 169 people were sentenced. The yearly table shows 16 people in fiscal year 2016 and 42 in fiscal year 2025.
The yearly medians range from 8 months to 15 months. The records do not show what caused the differences.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 16 | 13 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 21 | 15 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 16 | 13 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 28 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 19 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 24 | 10 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 24 | 8 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 28 | 8.6 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 32 | 10 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 42 | 10 months | 100% |
Limits
Only convicted and sentenced people are counted, and prison terms are those imposed rather than time served. Military installations in the district appear in the site's court-martial data, but their courts-martial are tried in military courts.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Prison Offenses" (250). 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.
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 Texas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western 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.