Federal Assault Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025
The Commission counted 17 people sentenced for assault in the Southern District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 16 of them (94%) received a prison term, with a median of 53 months (4.4 years). That is higher than the 42 months for assault in all 94 federal districts together. 41% of the pe
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY20 › Assault: Southern District of Illinois
In brief: The Commission counted 17 people sentenced for assault in the Southern District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 16 of them (94%) received a prison term, with a median of 53 months (4.4 years). That is higher than the 42 months for assault in all 94 federal districts together. 41% of the people were in the highest criminal history category.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 17 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.
Criminal History Was Weighted Toward the Top Category
None of the 17 people (0%) was in the lowest criminal history category, category I. 41% were in the highest, category VI.
Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this measure has no military counterpart. The records do not show how criminal history affected any sentence.
Prison Terms by the Numbers
1 person (6%) received probation only. The other 16 were sent to prison. A quarter of them received 79.2 months or more, and a quarter received 33 months or less.
Across all districts, 90% of people sentenced for assault went to prison. The district's median for all offenses was 71 months. Terms are those a court imposed, not the time a person served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 77 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2017 | 4 | 50.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2018 | 2 | 24 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 3 | 46 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2020 | 1 | 24 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 1 | 71 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | 240 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 2 | 46.4 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2025 | 1 | 132 months | 1 of 1 |
The Primary Guidelines
The most common primary guideline was §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault), with 11 people. §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder) applied to 4, and §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) to 1.
Assault cases were less than 1% of the 2,576 people sentenced in the district. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 10 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 7.
Plea Outcomes
16 of the 17 people (94%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 46 months after a guilty plea and 92 months after the single trial conviction. A figure based on 1 person says nothing about trials in general.
50% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 50% were straight pleas. Across all districts, 93% pleaded guilty.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
10 sentences (59%) were within the guideline range. 5 (29%) were below it at the government's request, and 2 (12%) were below it without that request. None was above it. Across all districts, 48% of assault sentences were within the range.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 17 people. 8 people (47%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 7 (41%), and restitution for 1 (6%).
Limits
Most years in the table have 1 or 2 people, with a maximum of 4, and one year has no median at all. The 240-month median in fiscal year 2022 reflects 1 person. These figures show no trend. The highest yearly count is 4 people in fiscal year 2017, with a median of 50.5 months. Fiscal year 2016 has a median of 77 months, based on 1 person.
The data excludes people who were acquitted or whose charges were dismissed. Scott AFB, Illinois, is in the district, and its courts-martial are held in military courts.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Illinois (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Illinois South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (17). 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, 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.