Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025
The Middle District of Alabama sentenced 2,037 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 94% of them pleaded guilty, lower than the 97% rate for all federal districts. 115 people were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 46 months, compared with 24 months nationally, and firearms was t
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In brief: The Middle District of Alabama sentenced 2,037 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 94% of them pleaded guilty, lower than the 97% rate for all federal districts. 115 people were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 46 months, compared with 24 months nationally, and firearms was the largest offense type, with 609 people.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 2,037 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 Lower Guilty-Plea Rate Than the National Figure
Of the 2,037 people sentenced, 1,922 pleaded guilty. That is 94%. The figure for all 94 districts together was 97%.
The other 115 people were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a trial was 120 months, based on 105 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The median after a guilty plea was 44 months.
Trial and plea cases do not involve the same offenses. The difference between the plea and trial medians is not a measure of what a trial adds to a sentence.
Of the guilty pleas, 80% came with a written plea agreement and 20% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Firearms and Drug Trafficking Cases
Firearms offenses accounted for 609 people (30%), with a median prison term of 46 months. Drug trafficking accounted for 559 (27%), with a median of 90 months.
Fraud, theft, and embezzlement had 271 people (13%) and immigration 157 (8%). Robbery had 60 people, a median of 114 months, and a guilty-plea rate of 85%, the lowest in the table.
The table also lists 50 people under obscenity and other sex offenses and 36 under prison offenses. These are small groups.
| Offense type | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firearms | 609 | 30% | 46 months | 95% |
| Drug Trafficking | 559 | 27% | 90 months | 94% |
| Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement | 271 | 13% | 25 months | 97% |
| Immigration | 157 | 8% | 3.3 months | more than 99% |
| Robbery | 60 | 3% | 114 months | 85% |
| Other | 54 | 3% | 2 months | 89% |
| Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses | 50 | 2% | 15 months | 100% |
| Prison Offenses | 36 | 2% | 2 months | 100% |
What Sentences Did the Court Impose?
A prison term was ordered for 1,809 people (89%), slightly lower than the 91% share for all districts. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 189 (9%).
The median prison term was 46 months (3.8 years). A quarter of prison terms were 92 months or more, and a quarter were 18 months or less. 4 people received a life sentence.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 617 people.
Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
Among 2,028 people with guideline information, 963 (47%) were sentenced within the range, about the same as the 48% national share.
459 (23%) were sentenced below the range at the government's request, and 532 (26%) below it without a government request. 74 (4%) were sentenced above the range.
After Prison
Supervised release was ordered for 1,665 people (82%), with a median term of 36 months. 23 people (1%) received supervised release for life.
Restitution was ordered for 377 (19%) and a fine for 155 (8%). In criminal history, 38% were in category I and 15% in category VI. Court-martial records do not record criminal history.
Year-by-Year Counts
The district sentenced 858 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 1,179 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The yearly count was 122 in 2021 and 272 in 2024. The yearly median prison term was 29.2 months in 2018 and 63 months in 2022.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 157 | 37 months | 94% |
| 2017 | 203 | 30 months | 95% |
| 2018 | 238 | 29.2 months | 91% |
| 2019 | 260 | 44 months | 96% |
| 2020 | 140 | 30 months | 96% |
| 2021 | 122 | 60 months | 96% |
| 2022 | 164 | 63 months | 94% |
| 2023 | 218 | 60 months | 97% |
| 2024 | 272 | 60 months | 93% |
| 2025 | 263 | 46 months | 93% |
Maxwell AFB and the Limits of the Data
Maxwell AFB is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court, and none appear in these numbers.
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counts only convicted and sentenced people, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served. The records cannot explain why the guilty-plea rate here was lower than the national rate.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Alabama (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Alabama Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (2,037). 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)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- 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.