Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025
Of the 559 people sentenced for drug trafficking in the Middle District of Alabama in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 530 (95%) received a prison term, with a median of 90 months. That median is higher than the 60 months for all 94 districts. A mandatory minimum applied to 407 people (73%).
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In brief: Of the 559 people sentenced for drug trafficking in the Middle District of Alabama in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 530 (95%) received a prison term, with a median of 90 months. That median is higher than the 60 months for all 94 districts. A mandatory minimum applied to 407 people (73%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 559 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.
Mandatory Minimums Applied to Most People
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 407 of the 559 people (73%). A mandatory minimum is a prison term set by statute that a judge must impose unless an exception applies.
Sentences below the guideline range at the government's request were the most common result, at 42% (236 people). Sentences within the range were 33% (182 people), and below the range without a government request were 23% (130 people). 11 sentences (2%) were above the range.
For all districts, 32% of drug trafficking sentences were within the range.
Prison Terms
The median prison term for the 530 people sent to prison was 90 months, or 7.5 years. A quarter received 139.8 months or more, and a quarter received 60 months or less. 1 person received a life sentence. 24 people (4%) received probation only.
Across all districts, 96% of people in this offense type went to prison, and the median was 60 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 46 months.
Trials and Pleas
525 people (94%) pleaded guilty, and 34 were convicted after a trial. The median was 87 months after a guilty plea and 195 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 33 people.
The all-district guilty plea rate was 98%. Among the guilty pleas in this district, 90% had a written plea agreement and 10% were straight pleas with no agreement.
One Guideline Dominated
Nearly all cases, 558 of 559, had the same primary guideline: §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)).
Drug trafficking cases were 27% of the 2,037 people sentenced in the district. The Commission's offense type does not separate cases by drug, so these numbers cover all drugs together.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
527 people (94%) were ordered to serve supervised release, and the median term was 60 months. A fine was ordered for 29 people (5%). Restitution was ordered for 3 people, which is less than 1%.
In criminal history, 31% were in the lowest category, category I, and 19% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Medians by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 190 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 369 people. The fiscal year begins on October 1.
Yearly medians range from 60 months to 120 months, and yearly counts range from 28 to 98 people. The records do not show why the medians moved, so the table is not evidence of a cause.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 28 | 108 months | 96% |
| 2017 | 51 | 60 months | 94% |
| 2018 | 49 | 70 months | 90% |
| 2019 | 62 | 84 months | 90% |
| 2020 | 29 | 63 months | 97% |
| 2021 | 32 | 90 months | 97% |
| 2022 | 58 | 111 months | 98% |
| 2023 | 66 | 98.5 months | 97% |
| 2024 | 98 | 96 months | 94% |
| 2025 | 86 | 120 months | 91% |
Maxwell AFB and What the Records Omit
Maxwell AFB, Alabama, is in this district and appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission data, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
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 whose offense type was "Drug Trafficking" (559). 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)
- Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- 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.