Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025
Judges in the Southern District of Georgia stayed inside the federal guideline range in 71% of sentences, compared with 48% across all federal districts. The district also ordered fines often: 1,521 of the 4,115 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (37%) received one. The median prison term
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In brief: Judges in the Southern District of Georgia stayed inside the federal guideline range in 71% of sentences, compared with 48% across all federal districts. The district also ordered fines often: 1,521 of the 4,115 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (37%) received one. The median prison term was 48 months (4 years), higher than the 24-month median for all districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 4,115 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.
In-Range Sentences at 71%
The Sentencing Commission had guideline information for 4,114 of the district's cases. Of these, 2,914 sentences were within the range set by the federal sentencing guidelines.
Departures from the range in either direction were less common than in federal court overall. 713 people (17%) were sentenced below the range at the government's request. 423 (10%) received a below-range sentence without a government request. 64 (2%) were sentenced above the range.
Fines and Restitution
A fine was part of the sentence for 37% of people in the district. Restitution was ordered for 547 people (13%).
Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 675 people (16%). The share sent to prison, 82% (3,383 people), was lower than the 91% for all districts. The records do not show which sentences combined probation with a fine.
Fort Gordon and Fort Stewart
Fort Gordon and Fort Stewart, both in Georgia, are inside this federal district and appear in this site's court-martial data. Service members at those posts who face a court-martial are tried in military courts. They are not tried in this federal district court, and the numbers on this page do not include courts-martial.
What Offenses Were Sentenced Here?
Drug trafficking was the most common offense type, with 1,394 people (34%) and a median prison term of 70 months. Firearms offenses accounted for 886 (22%), with a median of 54 months.
The Commission's "Other" group made up 611 people (15%). Its median prison term was 0.3 months, and more than 99% of the group pleaded guilty.
Child pornography (images of child exploitation) accounted for 81 people (2%), with a median of 84 months. Sexual abuse had 77 people and a median of 180 months, the longest in the table.
| Offense type | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drug Trafficking | 1,394 | 34% | 70 months | 99% |
| Firearms | 886 | 22% | 54 months | 98% |
| Other | 611 | 15% | 0.3 months | more than 99% |
| Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement | 361 | 9% | 21 months | 94% |
| Immigration | 223 | 5% | 4.3 months | more than 99% |
| Child Pornography | 81 | 2% | 84 months | 98% |
| Sexual Abuse | 77 | 2% | 180 months | 92% |
| Robbery | 68 | 2% | 117 months | 93% |
Pleas and Trial Convictions
4,026 people pleaded guilty, which is 98% of those sentenced. 89 were convicted after a trial, and all 89 were sent to prison.
Median prison terms were 46 months after a guilty plea and 120 months after a trial. 88% of guilty pleas were made under a written plea agreement, and 7% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Prison Terms and Supervision
Among those sent to prison, a quarter received 93.5 months or more and a quarter received 18 months or less. 10 people were sentenced to life. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 505 people.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 3,100 people (75%). The median supervised release term was 36 months, and 20 people (less than 1%) received it for life.
By criminal history, 44% were in category I, the lowest, and 15% in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records contain no criminal history field.
Fiscal Year Counts
The district sentenced 1,754 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 2,361 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025, a longer span. The yearly count was 500 in fiscal year 2022 and 272 in fiscal year 2025. The median prison term was 57 months in 2024, the highest year in the table.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 404 | 55 months | more than 99% |
| 2017 | 414 | 48 months | 98% |
| 2018 | 462 | 36 months | 99% |
| 2019 | 474 | 46 months | 99% |
| 2020 | 408 | 50 months | 97% |
| 2021 | 443 | 46 months | 98% |
| 2022 | 500 | 46 months | 97% |
| 2023 | 371 | 48 months | 98% |
| 2024 | 367 | 57 months | 98% |
| 2025 | 272 | 48 months | 96% |
What the Data Leaves Out
The Commission counts only people convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not the time served. Nothing in these records explains why this district's judges sentenced within the range as often as they did.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Georgia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Georgia South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (4,115). 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)
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Courts-Martial at Fort Stewart vs. Federal Court in the Southern District of Georgia (installation comparison)
- 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.