Federal Bribery and Corruption Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025
In the Southern District of Mississippi, 39 people were sentenced for bribery and corruption offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 21 months, and 82% received a prison term. Sentences were within the guideline range for 33% of these people, which is lower than the 69% for
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In brief: In the Southern District of Mississippi, 39 people were sentenced for bribery and corruption offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 21 months, and 82% received a prison term. Sentences were within the guideline range for 33% of these people, which is lower than the 69% for all offenses in the district and higher than the 21% for this offense type across all 94 districts.
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.
What Did Sentences Look Like Against the Guideline Range?
The sentence was within the guideline range for 13 of the 39 people (33%). It was below the range at the government's request for 9 people (23%). It was below the range without a government request for 17 people (44%). No sentence was above the range.
For all offenses in this district, 69% of sentences were within the guideline range. For bribery and corruption across all 94 federal districts, the figure was 21%. The district's bribery and corruption cases were therefore within the range less often than its other cases and more often than the national figure for this offense type.
Prison Terms and Probation
Of the 39 people, 32 (82%) received a prison term. Another 5 (13%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 21 months. A quarter received 37.5 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Across all 94 districts, 74% of people sentenced for this offense type were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 18 months. In the Southern District of Mississippi, the share sent to prison was higher and the median was higher. The median prison term for all offenses in the district was 48 months.
Guilty Pleas and Plea Agreements
A total of 37 of the 39 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. Across all 94 districts, 91% of people sentenced for bribery and corruption pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 97%.
Among those who pleaded guilty, 95% had a written plea agreement, and 5% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 21 months. After a trial it was 15 months, but that figure rests on only 2 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. It should not be read as a pattern.
Which Guidelines Applied?
The offense type is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's own category, "Bribery/Corruption." It groups cases by the primary sentencing guideline applied.
The most common primary guideline was §2C1.1 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe), used in 37 cases. One case each used §2C1.3 (Conflict of Interest) and §2B4.1 (Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commercial Bribery).
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 39 people with that information recorded (0%). Of the 39, 97% were in the lowest criminal history category I, and 0% were in the highest, category VI.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 32 people (82%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 27 people (69%). Restitution was ordered for 7 people (18%).
How Many Cases Each Year?
Bribery and corruption cases were 1% of the 3,361 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 22 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 17 people. The fiscal year starts in October and ends the following September.
The table shows each year. The yearly counts are small, from 2 to 10 people, so single-year medians such as 60 months in 2016 and 0 months in 2024 should not be treated as trends.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 60 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2017 | 10 | 27 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 3 | 24 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 4 | 31.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2020 | 2 | 6 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2021 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 3 | 21 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 4 | 24 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 2 | 33.5 months | 1 of 2 |
What These Records Cannot Show
The Commission's data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, so the numbers say nothing about how many bribery and corruption cases were charged or ended without a conviction.
The records do not show why a sentence was below the range or why one year differs from another. Keesler AFB, Mississippi, is a military installation in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court, and these numbers do not describe them.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Mississippi (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Mississippi South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Bribery/Corruption" (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.
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 Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern 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.