Federal Assault Sentences in the Southern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025
In the Southern District of West Virginia, 16 people were sentenced for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2023. Of those, 15 (94%) received a prison term, with a median of 41 months (3.4 years). That median is about the same as the 42 months for all 94 districts and for all offenses in this d
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of West Virginia, › Assault: Southern District of West Virginia
In brief: In the Southern District of West Virginia, 16 people were sentenced for assault offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2023. Of those, 15 (94%) received a prison term, with a median of 41 months (3.4 years). That median is about the same as the 42 months for all 94 districts and for all offenses in this district.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 16 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.
How Long Were the Prison Terms?
Among the 15 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 41 months. A quarter received 87 months or more, and a quarter received 15 months or less. One of the 16 people received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
For all 94 districts in the Assault offense type, 90% of people were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 42 months. The median for all offenses in this district is also 42 months.
Aggravated Assault Was the Main Guideline
"Assault" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The most common primary guideline was §2A2.2 (Aggravated Assault), for 8 people. Another 2 people had §2A2.1 (Assault with Intent to Commit Murder).
These cases were less than 1% of the 2,416 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The district sentenced 8 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 8 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
Within the Guideline Range, With Few Exceptions
Guideline information was recorded for 13 of the sentences. Of those, 10 (77%) were within the range, 2 (15%) were above the range, and 1 (8%) was below the range without a government request. None was below the range at the government's request.
For all districts in this offense type, 48% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure is 51%. Within-range sentences were more common here than either figure, but 13 sentences is a small base.
Guilty Pleas and One Trial
Of the 16 people, 15 (94%) pleaded guilty and 1 was convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 39.5 months after a guilty plea. After the trial it was 100 months, based on 1 person, which cannot show a pattern.
Across all districts, 93% pleaded guilty in this offense type. For all offenses in this district the figure is 97%. Among the guilty pleas, 20% had a written plea agreement and 80% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Mandatory Minimums, Supervision, and Criminal History
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 10 people with that information recorded (10%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 10 people (63%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 (6%), and no restitution was ordered.
In criminal history, 10% were in the lowest category, category I, and 20% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Medians and Limits
The table lists 1 to 4 people per year. The yearly median was 4 months in 2016, based on 1 person, and 98 months in 2023, based on 4 people. These are small groups, and the medians are not trends. No year appears in the table for fiscal years 2019 or 2020.
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, so the records cannot show how many assault prosecutions ended without a conviction.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 4 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2017 | 4 | 15 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2018 | 3 | 38 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2021 | 2 | 51.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 2 | 41 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 4 | 98 months | 3 of 4 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of West Virginia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "W Virginia South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Assault" (16). 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 West Virginia, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Southern District of West Virginia, 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.