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# Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-alabama/
- Published: 2026-11-03T06:11:12.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T06:11:12.000Z
- Description: Firearms offenses, not drug trafficking, were the most common offense type among the 4,557 people sentenced in the Northern District of Alabama in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 1,509 people, or 33%. The median prison term in the district was 46 months, compared with 24 months nationally. 56% of sentenc
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › Northern District of Alabama

**In brief:** Firearms offenses, not drug trafficking, were the most common offense type among the 4,557 people sentenced in the Northern District of Alabama in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 1,509 people, or 33%. The median prison term in the district was 46 months, compared with 24 months nationally. 56% of sentences were within the guideline range, against 48% for all districts.

Updated November 3, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 4,557 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Firearms Cases Led the District

The Commission placed 1,509 people in its firearms category, the largest group in the district. Their median prison term was 37 months, and 99% pleaded guilty.

Drug trafficking came second, with 1,205 people (26%). It had a longer median prison term, 84 months. Fraud, theft, and embezzlement followed with 643 (14%) and a median of 21 months.

The district also had 119 people (3%) in the national defense category. In that category, 100% pleaded guilty, and their median prison term was 60 months. Child pornography (images of child exploitation) had 82 people, with a median of 120 months. Robbery had 103 people and a median of 109 months.

| Offense type             | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ------------------------ | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| Firearms                 | 1,509            | 33%               | 37 months     | 99%            |
| Drug Trafficking         | 1,205            | 26%               | 84 months     | 96%            |
| Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement | 643              | 14%               | 21 months     | 98%            |
| Immigration              | 318              | 7%                | 6 months      | more than 99%  |
| Other                    | 170              | 4%                | 1 months      | 99%            |
| National Defense         | 119              | 3%                | 60 months     | 100%           |
| Robbery                  | 103              | 2%                | 109 months    | 96%            |
| Child Pornography        | 82               | 2%                | 120 months    | 98%            |

## Length of Prison Terms

3,763 of the 4,557 (83%) received a prison term. That is lower than the 91% share for all 94 districts. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was ordered for 628 (14%).

Among people sent to prison, the median term was 46 months (3.8 years). The top quarter received 90 months or more, and the bottom quarter 21 months or less. 10 people received a life sentence.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,303 people.

## Guideline Range: Within, Below, and Above

Of 4,530 people with guideline information, 2,544 (56%) received a sentence within the range. That is higher than the 48% share across all districts.

1,020 (23%) were sentenced below the range at the government's request. 826 (18%) were below the range without a government request. 140 (3%) were above it.

## Guilty Pleas, Plea Agreements, and Trials

The district's guilty-plea rate was 98%: 4,444 of 4,557\. 113 people were convicted after a trial.

84% of guilty pleas were made under a written plea agreement. 11% were straight pleas with no agreement.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 46 months. After a trial, it was 132 months, based on 107 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. People who went to trial were charged with a different mix of crimes, so these figures cannot show how much a trial itself changed the sentence.

## Supervision and Money Penalties

3,698 people (81%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, for a median of 36 months. 93 (2%) received supervised release for life.

Restitution was ordered for 794 (17%) and a fine for 383 (8%).

43% of those sentenced were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 11% were in category VI, the highest. There is no criminal history field in court-martial records.

## The Fiscal Year Table

The district sentenced 1,857 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 2,700 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The yearly median prison term was 53 months in 2022 and 34 months in 2025, the lowest in the table.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 361              | 38.5 months   | 97%            |
| 2017        | 434              | 45 months     | 97%            |
| 2018        | 517              | 48 months     | 99%            |
| 2019        | 545              | 46 months     | 97%            |
| 2020        | 453              | 46 months     | 96%            |
| 2021        | 445              | 52 months     | 98%            |
| 2022        | 442              | 53 months     | 97%            |
| 2023        | 405              | 50 months     | 97%            |
| 2024        | 439              | 42 months     | 98%            |
| 2025        | 516              | 34 months     | 98%            |

## What Cannot Be Read From These Records

The Sentencing Commission counts people who were convicted and sentenced. It does not include acquittals or dismissals. Prison terms are those imposed rather than served, and the records do not show why firearms cases led the district or why within-range sentences were more common here.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Alabama (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Alabama North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (4,557). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/)
- [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.