Federal Assault Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025
39 people were sentenced for assault offenses in the Northern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 35 (90%) received a prison term, with a median of 63 months (5.2 years), compared with 42 months for all 94 districts. Aggravated assault was the most common primary guideline.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, F › Assault: Northern District of Mississippi
In brief: 39 people were sentenced for assault offenses in the Northern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 35 (90%) received a prison term, with a median of 63 months (5.2 years), compared with 42 months for all 94 districts. Aggravated assault was the most common primary guideline.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 39 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.
Assault Sentences in This District
Assault cases were 2% of the 1,573 people sentenced in this district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The U.S. Sentencing Commission assigns the offense type "Assault" from the main guideline used at sentencing.
The primary guideline was §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault) for 25 people and §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder) for 7. For 2 people it was §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).
The district sentenced 15 people in this offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 24 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
Prison Terms
35 of the 39 people (90%) received a prison term, and 3 (8%) received probation only. The share sent to prison for all 94 districts was also 90%.
The median prison term was 63 months (5.2 years). A quarter received 96 months or more, and a quarter received 29 months or less. The median for all 94 districts was 42 months, which is lower. For all offenses in this district, it was 36 months.
These are terms imposed, not time served.
One Trial Conviction
38 of 39 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. In all districts, 93% pleaded guilty. All guilty pleas had a written plea agreement.
The median prison term was 55.5 months after a guilty plea. The trial figure is 240 months, but it comes from 1 person and cannot be compared with the plea figure in any firm way.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
The records show the position for 37 people. Sentences within the range were given to 22 (59%). Sentences below the range at the government's request were given to 6 (16%), and below the range without a government request to 6 (16%). Sentences above the range were given to 3 (8%).
For all districts, 48% of sentences in this offense type were within the range, and for all offenses in this district it was 45%. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 39 people with that information recorded (3%).
Criminal History, Supervised Release, and Fines
In criminal history, 21% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 26% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 31 people (79%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 2 people (5%), and no restitution was ordered.
Yearly Counts and Medians
Yearly counts run from 1 to 11 people. The largest year was fiscal year 2020, with 11 people and a median of 70 months.
The yearly medians range from 12 months in fiscal year 2018 to 300 months in fiscal year 2021, which rests on 1 person. Medians from groups this small do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | 57 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 4 | 49 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2018 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 6 | 32 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2020 | 11 | 70 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 1 | 300 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | 63 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 4 | 76.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2024 | 4 | 237.5 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2025 | 3 | 70 months | 3 of 3 |
What Is Missing From the Records
Columbus AFB, Mississippi, is in this district and appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission's data.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Mississippi (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Mississippi North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (39). 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 Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, 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.