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# Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-alabama/
- Published: 2026-11-03T06:11:13.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T06:11:13.000Z
- Description: A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,108 of the 2,994 people sentenced in the Southern District of Alabama in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, or 37%. Supervised release after prison was ordered for 92% of them. The median prison term was 41 months, compared with 24 months for all federal district
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

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

**In brief:** A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,108 of the 2,994 people sentenced in the Southern District of Alabama in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, or 37%. Supervised release after prison was ordered for 92% of them. The median prison term was 41 months, compared with 24 months for all federal 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 2,994 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/).

## Mandatory Minimums and Prison Terms

Mandatory minimum prison terms applied to 37% of the district's sentencings. A mandatory minimum is a floor set by statute that limits how low a sentence can go.

2,758 people (92%) received a prison term, close to the 91% share for all 94 districts. 203 (7%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.

The median prison term was 41 months (3.4 years). One quarter of prison terms reached 84 months or more, and another quarter were 15 months or less. 5 people received a life sentence.

## Supervision Followed Prison for Most

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 2,744 people (92%). The median term was 36 months, and 31 people (1%) were placed on supervised release for life.

Fines were uncommon. A fine was ordered for 47 people (2%). Restitution was ordered for 507 (17%).

## Drug Trafficking, Firearms, and Fraud Cases

Drug trafficking (1,072 people, 36%) and firearms (897, 30%) were the 2 largest offense types. Their median prison terms were 63 months and 37 months.

Fraud, theft, and embezzlement had 368 people (12%) and a median of 12 months. Immigration had 219 (7%) and a median of 3.3 months. Robbery had 96 people (3%) and a median of 111 months.

Child pornography (images of child exploitation) cases were few, 32 people, but had the longest median prison term in the table: 151 months. Obscenity and other sex offenses had 38 people and money laundering 36.

| Offense type                 | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ---------------------------- | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| Drug Trafficking             | 1,072            | 36%               | 63 months     | 97%            |
| Firearms                     | 897              | 30%               | 37 months     | 97%            |
| Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement     | 368              | 12%               | 12 months     | 98%            |
| Immigration                  | 219              | 7%                | 3.3 months    | 100%           |
| Robbery                      | 96               | 3%                | 111 months    | 95%            |
| Obscenity/Other Sex Offenses | 38               | 1%                | 15 months     | 100%           |
| Money Laundering             | 36               | 1%                | 36.8 months   | 94%            |
| Child Pornography            | 32               | 1%                | 151 months    | 97%            |

## How Cases Were Resolved

2,897 people pleaded guilty, or 97%, the same as the national rate. 97 people were convicted after a trial.

89% of guilty pleas came with a written plea agreement, and 11% were straight pleas with no agreement.

After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 37 months. After a trial, it was 120 months, based on 93 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. Trial cases involved a different offense mix, so this gap does not measure the effect of a trial.

## Where Did Sentences Fall Against the Guidelines?

The Commission had guideline information for all 2,994 people. 56% (1,680) were sentenced within the range, higher than the 48% share nationally.

19% (570) were sentenced below the range at the government's request. 23% (687) were below the range without a government request. 2% (57) were above the range.

38% were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 11% in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Sentencings in Each Fiscal Year

1,313 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 1,681 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The yearly median prison term was 37 months in 2016, 60 months in 2021, and 37 months again in 2025.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 317              | 37 months     | 97%            |
| 2017        | 333              | 37 months     | 98%            |
| 2018        | 287              | 36 months     | 97%            |
| 2019        | 376              | 36 months     | 97%            |
| 2020        | 301              | 47 months     | 96%            |
| 2021        | 228              | 60 months     | 94%            |
| 2022        | 308              | 46 months     | 97%            |
| 2023        | 308              | 37 months     | 96%            |
| 2024        | 237              | 51 months     | 96%            |
| 2025        | 299              | 37 months     | 97%            |

## Gaps in the Record

The Sentencing Commission data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are absent. The prison terms shown are those imposed, not the time served. The data does not show why mandatory minimums applied as often as they did here.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Alabama (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Alabama South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (2,994). 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.