Federal Robbery Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025
All 66 people sentenced for robbery in the Western District of Kentucky in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 90.5 months, about the same as the 90 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. Of the 66, 54 were sentenced in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY201 › Robbery: Western District of Kentucky
In brief: All 66 people sentenced for robbery in the Western District of Kentucky in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 90.5 months, about the same as the 90 months for this offense type in all 94 districts. Of the 66, 54 were sentenced in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 66 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.
More Robbery Sentences in the Later Years
The district sentenced 12 people for robbery in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 54 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The yearly table shows 15 people in fiscal year 2024, the largest single year, and 2 people in each of fiscal years 2017, 2018, and 2022.
Medians in the table range from 52.5 months to 245 months. The highest figure, in fiscal year 2017, rests on 2 people. A fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September, and the yearly figures are not enough to show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 52.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2017 | 2 | 245 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2018 | 2 | 62 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 4 | 70.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2020 | 9 | 87 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2021 | 12 | 81 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 2 | 101 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 11 | 100 months | 91% |
| 2024 | 15 | 117 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 5 | 97 months | 5 of 5 |
Prison Terms for the Whole Group
The Commission's offense type "Robbery" covers 66 people in this district. All 66 (100%) were sent to prison, and none received probation only. In all districts together, 14,845 people were sentenced for robbery, and 99% were sent to prison.
The median prison term was 90.5 months, or 7.5 years. A quarter received 120.8 months or more, and a quarter received 63 months or less. For all offenses in this district, the median was 57 months.
Trials Are Rare and the Trial Median Is Based on 2 People
Of the 66 people, 64 (97%) pleaded guilty and 2 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 90 months after a guilty plea and 327 months after a trial.
A median from 2 people cannot show how trials and pleas compare in general. Among guilty pleas, 97% had a written plea agreement and 3% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
Within the range were 25 sentences (38%). Below the range at the government's request were 23 (35%), and below it without such a request were 16 (24%). 2 sentences (3%) were above the range. For robbery in all districts, 40% were within the range.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 19 of the 66 people (29%). Every person was sentenced under the same primary guideline, §2B3.1 (Robbery).
After Prison
All 66 people were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 41 people (62%), and no fine was ordered for anyone.
On criminal history, 38% were in the lowest category and 21% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Limits of These Numbers
Robbery was 2% of the 3,229 people sentenced in the district. Fort Knox, Kentucky is in the district and appears in this site's court-martial data, but courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals, dismissals, and the facts behind each sentence are not in the data.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Kentucky (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Kentucky West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (66). 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 Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Kentucky, 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.