Federal Assault Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025
In the District of Massachusetts, 66 people were sentenced for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 65 (98%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 78 months (6.5 years). In all 94 districts, the median for assault was 42 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2 › Assault: District of Massachusetts
In brief: In the District of Massachusetts, 66 people were sentenced for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 65 (98%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 78 months (6.5 years). In all 94 districts, the median for assault was 42 months.
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.
Prison Terms Were Longer Here Than Across All Districts
"Assault" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type for these cases. In this district, the median prison term was 78 months. A quarter received 144 months or more, and a quarter received 36 months or less.
In all 94 districts, 7,573 people were sentenced for assault, 90% were sent to prison, and the median was 42 months. The median for all offenses in this district was 30 months.
Aggravated Assault and Intent to Murder Led
The most common primary guideline was §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder), with 35 people. Next was §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault), with 27.
One person each was under §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) and §2A2.3 (Assault). Assault cases were 1% of the 4,847 people sentenced in the district.
Guilty Pleas and the Few Trials
A total of 62 of 66 people (94%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 93% pleaded guilty, and in this district across all offenses the figure was 95%.
The median prison term was 70 months after a guilty plea and 234 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 4 people and is too small to generalize. Among guilty pleas, 84% had a written plea agreement and 16% were straight pleas.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Of the 66 people with the information, 13 (20%) were sentenced within the range. A total of 30 (45%) were below the range at the government's request, and 17 (26%) were below it without a government request. Another 6 (9%) were above the range.
For assault in all districts, 48% were within the range. In this district across all offenses, 29% were.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 10 of the 65 people with that information recorded (15%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
After prison, 64 people (97%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 2 people (3%), and restitution for 3 (5%).
On criminal history, 38% were in the lowest category and 11% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Reading the Yearly Table
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 27 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 39. A fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.
Years have between 1 and 12 people. Fiscal year 2016 has 1 person, so no median is shown. The yearly medians range from 24 months in 2021 to 166 months in 2019. With counts this small, the table does not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2017 | 6 | 106.5 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2018 | 12 | 120 months | 92% |
| 2019 | 8 | 166 months | 6 of 8 |
| 2020 | 3 | 100 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2021 | 9 | 24 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2022 | 9 | 60 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2023 | 8 | 115 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2024 | 3 | 60 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 7 | 60 months | 7 of 7 |
What the Records Do Not Cover
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served, and the records do not describe the facts of any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Massachusetts (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Massachusetts") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (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 District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, 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.