Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025
Drug trafficking was 34% of the 4,115 people sentenced in the Southern District of Georgia in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 1,394 people. 1,333 of them (96%) received a prison term, with a median of 70 months (5.8 years). Across all 94 federal districts, the median was 60 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY201 › Drug Trafficking: Southern District of Georgia
In brief: Drug trafficking was 34% of the 4,115 people sentenced in the Southern District of Georgia in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 1,394 people. 1,333 of them (96%) received a prison term, with a median of 70 months (5.8 years). Across all 94 federal districts, the median was 60 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,394 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.
The Largest Offense Type in the District
Drug trafficking cases were 34% of everyone sentenced in this district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The district's median prison term for all offenses was 48 months, and the median for drug trafficking was 70 months, which is higher.
Almost all of these cases were sentenced under one guideline. §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)) was the primary guideline for 1,387 people. §2D1.8 (Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment) applied to 3, and §2D1.2 (Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals) applied to 1.
Prison Terms and Life Sentences
1,333 of the 1,394 people (96%) received a prison term, and 51 (4%) received probation only. Probation only means no prison or other confinement.
The median prison term among those sent to prison was 70 months (5.8 years). A quarter received 120 months or more, and a quarter received 36 months or less. 2 people received a life sentence. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Against the National Figures
Nationally, 185,188 people were sentenced in the "Drug Trafficking" offense type. 96% were sent to prison, the same share as here, and the median prison term was 60 months. Guilty pleas were 98%.
Locally, 1,378 of 1,394 (99%) pleaded guilty. The median prison term here was higher than the national median.
Below the Guideline Range, Mostly at the Government's Request
All 1,394 people had the guideline information recorded. 54% (746) were sentenced within the range. 31% (435) were below the range at the government's request, and 14% (201) were below the range without a government request. Less than 1% (12) were above the range.
Nationally, 32% of drug trafficking sentences were within the range, so the within-range share here was higher. For all offenses in the district, it was 71%.
Pleas, Trials, and Written Agreements
16 people were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 70 months after a guilty plea and 172.5 months after a trial, based on the 16 who were convicted at trial and sent to prison.
More than 99% of guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and less than 1% were straight pleas with no agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 258 of the 1,394 people (19%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
1,325 people (95%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 403 (29%), and restitution for 15 (1%).
29% were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 23% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts and Medians by Fiscal Year
The district sentenced 539 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 855 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. A fiscal year starts on October 1.
Yearly counts ranged from 80 in fiscal year 2025 to 211 in fiscal year 2022. Yearly medians ranged from 60 months to 89 months. The records do not show why counts or medians differ between years.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 118 | 64 months | more than 99% |
| 2017 | 124 | 60 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 120 | 71.5 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 177 | 78 months | more than 99% |
| 2020 | 139 | 78 months | 99% |
| 2021 | 119 | 89 months | 97% |
| 2022 | 211 | 63 months | 99% |
| 2023 | 143 | 60 months | more than 99% |
| 2024 | 163 | 72 months | more than 99% |
| 2025 | 80 | 85.5 months | 95% |
What These Records Do Not Cover
The Commission lists only people who were convicted and sentenced. People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are absent, and this sheet does not say which drug was involved. Fort Gordon and Fort Stewart are in this district. Military courts try courts-martial, not this federal court.
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 whose offense type was "Drug Trafficking" (1,394). 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 Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, 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.