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# Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-mississippi/
- Published: 2026-11-03T06:11:17.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T06:11:17.000Z
- Description: A fine was ordered for 2,061 of the 3,361 people sentenced in the Southern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, or 61%. The district's median prison term was 48 months (4 years), against 24 months for all federal districts. 69% of sentences fell within the guideline range, compared
- 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 Mississippi

**In brief:** A fine was ordered for 2,061 of the 3,361 people sentenced in the Southern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, or 61%. The district's median prison term was 48 months (4 years), against 24 months for all federal districts. 69% of sentences fell within the guideline range, compared with 48% nationally.

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 3,361 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/).

## Fines for 61% of People Sentenced

The Sentencing Commission records whether a fine was part of each sentence. In this district, 2,061 people had one. Restitution was ordered less often, for 588 people (17%).

The fine figure counts people, not dollars. Fine amounts are not part of these figures, so they cannot show how large the fines were or whether they were paid.

## Guideline Range Positions

Guideline information was available for 3,347 people. 2,293 of them were sentenced within the range.

Below-range sentences without a government request accounted for 516 (15%). Below-range sentences at the government's request accounted for 398 (12%). 140 people (4%) received a sentence above the range.

## Who Went to Prison, and for How Long?

3,101 people (92%) were given a prison term, close to the 91% for all districts. 202 (6%) received probation only.

Among prison terms, a quarter were 108 months or more and a quarter were 15 months or less. 9 people were sentenced to life. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 746 people (22%).

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 2,977 (89%), with a median term of 36 months. 58 people (2%) were given supervised release for life.

## Offense Types and Their Terms

Drug trafficking was the most common offense type: 1,057 people (31%), with a median prison term of 102 months. Firearms followed with 741 (22%) and a median of 46 months.

Fraud, theft, and embezzlement accounted for 462 (14%), with a median of 16 months. Immigration offenses accounted for 449 (13%), with a median of 6 months.

Smaller groups included robbery (68 people, 84 months), prison offenses (60 people, 12 months), and sexual abuse (59 people, 188.5 months).

| Offense type              | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ------------------------- | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| Drug Trafficking          | 1,057            | 31%               | 102 months    | 98%            |
| Firearms                  | 741              | 22%               | 46 months     | 97%            |
| Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement  | 462              | 14%               | 16 months     | 98%            |
| Immigration               | 449              | 13%               | 6 months      | more than 99%  |
| Robbery                   | 68               | 2%                | 84 months     | 94%            |
| Prison Offenses           | 60               | 2%                | 12 months     | 97%            |
| Sexual Abuse              | 59               | 2%                | 188.5 months  | 95%            |
| Administration of Justice | 50               | 1%                | 13 months     | 98%            |

## Pleas Under Written Agreements

3,273 people pleaded guilty, or 97%, the same share as all districts. 88 were convicted after a trial.

Written plea agreements covered 95% of guilty pleas; straight pleas were 5%. The median prison term was 47 months after a plea and 120 months after a trial, the second figure based on 86 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.

## Keesler AFB and the District Court

Keesler AFB, Mississippi, is in this district and appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial there are held in military courts. They are not part of the federal district court's caseload, and none are counted on this page.

## Changes by Fiscal Year

The district sentenced 1,317 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 2,044 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025, which includes more years. The yearly count was 456 in fiscal year 2019\. The yearly median prison term was 60 months in 2016 and 2017 and 24 months in 2020, the lowest year in the table.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 238              | 60 months     | 98%            |
| 2017        | 281              | 60 months     | 96%            |
| 2018        | 342              | 57 months     | 99%            |
| 2019        | 456              | 41 months     | 97%            |
| 2020        | 386              | 24 months     | 96%            |
| 2021        | 262              | 49 months     | 98%            |
| 2022        | 324              | 51 months     | 98%            |
| 2023        | 372              | 52 months     | 96%            |
| 2024        | 322              | 50 months     | 96%            |
| 2025        | 378              | 41 months     | 98%            |

## Criminal History and Data Limits

47% were in criminal history category I and 8% in category VI. Courts-martial do not record criminal history in this way.

The data includes only people convicted and sentenced, not those acquitted or whose cases were dismissed. It reports terms imposed rather than time served, and it does not explain why fines were ordered so often here.

### 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 (3,361). 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.