Federal Assault Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025
All 67 people sentenced for assault offenses in the Southern District of Iowa in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 152 months (12.7 years), compared with 42 months across all 94 federal districts. 17 of the 67 were convicted after a trial.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2 › Assault: Southern District of Iowa
In brief: All 67 people sentenced for assault offenses in the Southern District of Iowa in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 152 months (12.7 years), compared with 42 months across all 94 federal districts. 17 of the 67 were convicted after a trial.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 67 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.
A Median Higher Than the All-District Figure
The median prison term for assault in this district was 152 months. In all 94 districts, the median for this offense type was 42 months, and 90% of people were sent to prison. Here, 67 of 67 (100%) were sent to prison, and none received probation only.
A quarter of the people received 224 months or more, and a quarter received 114 months or less. The median for all offenses in the district was 80 months. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Assault With Intent to Commit Murder Was the Main Guideline
56 of the 67 cases used §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder) as the primary guideline. 7 used §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault), 3 used §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact), and 1 used §2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline)).
The offense type is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's category. Assault cases were 2% of the 4,208 people sentenced in the district.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
50 of the 67 people (75%) pleaded guilty, and 17 were convicted after a trial. In all 94 districts, 93% of people in this offense type pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 96%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 120 months. After a trial it was 360 months, based on 17 people. The groups are not matched, so the records cannot show whether the trial itself changed a sentence. Among the guilty pleas, 56% had a written plea agreement and 44% were straight pleas.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
32 people (48%) were sentenced within the range. 21 (31%) were below it without a government request, and 13 (19%) were below it at the government's request. 1 (1%) was above it.
In all 94 districts, 48% of assault sentences were within the range, the same share as here. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 18 of the 67 people (27%).
Supervised Release and Other Orders
All 67 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (1%), and restitution for 9 (13%).
On criminal history, 4% were in the lowest category and 34% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Almost All Cases Are From 2020 Onward
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 1 person, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 66 people. The table lists no cases for fiscal years 2017, 2018, or 2019. Fiscal years 2022 and 2025 had 20 and 23 people.
Yearly medians in the table range from 120 months to 470 months. Several years have 9 or fewer people, which makes those medians unreliable. The records cannot show why the cases are concentrated in recent years.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 210 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 3 | 470 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2021 | 7 | 120 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2022 | 20 | 120 months | 80% |
| 2023 | 9 | 152 months | 7 of 9 |
| 2024 | 4 | 140 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2025 | 23 | 180 months | 65% |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. The records do not describe the injuries or circumstances of any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Iowa (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Iowa South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (67). 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 Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Southern District of Iowa, 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.