Federal Robbery Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025
All 337 people sentenced for robbery in the Western District of Tennessee in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 121 months (10.1 years), compared with 90 months for all 94 districts. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 249 of the 337 people (74%).
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, FY20 › Robbery: Western District of Tennessee
In brief: All 337 people sentenced for robbery in the Western District of Tennessee in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 121 months (10.1 years), compared with 90 months for all 94 districts. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 249 of the 337 people (74%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 337 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 Every Person
Each of the 337 people (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. In all districts, 99% of people sentenced for robbery were sent to prison.
The median prison term was 121 months. A quarter received 192 months or more, and a quarter received 90 months or less. For all offenses in the Western District of Tennessee, the median was 60 months. The terms are sentences imposed, not time served.
Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 249 of the 337 people (74%). This is a term set by statute that a judge must generally impose.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 336 people (more than 99%), with a median term of 36 months.
Position Against the Guideline Range
The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines produce a range for each case. A sentence within the range was given to 131 people (39%), about the same as the 40% for all districts. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 45%.
A sentence below the range at the government's request was given to 111 (33%). A sentence below the range without such a request was given to 73 (22%). A sentence above the range was given to 22 (7%).
Guilty Pleas and Trials
A total of 317 of 337 people (94%) pleaded guilty, and 20 were convicted after a trial. For all districts, 95% pleaded guilty.
The median prison term was 121 months after a guilty plea and 234 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 20 people.
Among guilty pleas, 78% had a written plea agreement and 21% were straight pleas with no agreement.
What Robbery Includes Here
"Robbery" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's name for an offense type. The primary guideline for 331 people was §2B3.1 (Robbery). Another 6 were sentenced under §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).
These cases were 8% of the 4,226 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
A fine was ordered for 1 person (less than 1%). Restitution was ordered for 55 (16%).
In criminal history, 30% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 10% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and Medians
The district sentenced 128 people for robbery in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 209 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The fiscal year begins on October 1.
Yearly counts run from 24 to 50. The median was 106 months in 2016, 180 months in 2024, and 105 months in 2025. The records do not show why the figure changed from year to year.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 27 | 106 months | 89% |
| 2017 | 24 | 109 months | 96% |
| 2018 | 27 | 108 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 50 | 121 months | 94% |
| 2020 | 36 | 135 months | 81% |
| 2021 | 31 | 144 months | 97% |
| 2022 | 43 | 125 months | 98% |
| 2023 | 45 | 130 months | 96% |
| 2024 | 29 | 180 months | 93% |
| 2025 | 25 | 105 months | 100% |
What Is Not in the Data
The Commission's data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and the data does not describe any individual case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Tennessee (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Tennessee West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (337). 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 Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Tennessee, 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.