> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-prison-offenses-sentences-western-district-of-wisconsin/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:16:56.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:16:56.000Z - Description: In the Western District of Wisconsin, 29 people were sentenced for prison offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 12 months, compared with 10 months for all 94 districts. 38% were in the highest criminal history category. - 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 Wisconsin, FY20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-wisconsin/) › Prison Offense: Western District of Wisconsin **In brief:** In the Western District of Wisconsin, 29 people were sentenced for prison offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The median prison term was 12 months, compared with 10 months for all 94 districts. 38% were in the highest criminal history category. 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 29 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/). ## Criminal History in Prison Offense Cases In criminal history, 38% of the people were in the highest criminal history category, and 3% were in the lowest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so that measure has no military counterpart. "Prison Offenses" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. These cases were 2% of the 1,403 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. ## Prison Terms 27 of the 29 people (93%) received a prison term, and 2 (7%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 24 months or more, and a quarter received 7 months or less. For all 94 federal districts together, the offense type had 4,976 people, 96% sent to prison, and a median prison term of 10 months. For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 59.5 months. ## Which Guidelines Applied The primary guidelines were §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape) with 17 people and §2P1.2 (Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison) with 12. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 29 people with that information recorded (0%). ## Sentences Within the Guideline Range 62% of sentences (18 people) were within the guideline range. This is a larger share than the 32% for all offenses in the district, and about the same as the 63% for all 94 districts in this offense type. 6 people (21%) were below the range without a government request, 2 (7%) were below the range at the government's request, and 3 (10%) were above the range. ## Pleas 28 of 29 (97%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 100% had a written plea agreement. For all 94 districts, guilty pleas were 99% in this offense type. ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution 10 people (34%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 48 months. A fine was ordered for 1 (3%). Restitution was ordered for 0 (0%). ## Yearly Counts Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 15 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 14 people. The table has no row for fiscal year 2022\. The yearly counts are from 1 to 5 people, so the yearly medians are not a trend. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 5 | 3.3 months | 5 of 5 | | 2017 | 3 | 10 months | 3 of 3 | | 2018 | 4 | 21 months | 3 of 4 | | 2019 | 3 | 6 months | 3 of 3 | | 2020 | 3 | 15 months | 3 of 3 | | 2021 | 2 | 25.5 months | 2 of 2 | | 2023 | 5 | 24 months | 5 of 5 | | 2024 | 3 | 18 months | 3 of 3 | | 2025 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 | ## What Cannot Be Told From These Records The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The records do not show what the person was serving time for, and they do not explain any individual sentence. They also do not show whether a person was already in custody when the offense occurred. The numbers describe groups of cases in one district over fiscal years 2016 to 2025. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Wisconsin (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Wisconsin West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Prison Offenses" (29). 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](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 Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-wisconsin/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-wisconsin/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-wisconsin/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-wisconsin/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Wisconsin, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-western-district-of-wisconsin/) (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.