Federal Environmental Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025
Of 22 people sentenced for environmental offenses in the Northern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2024, 19 (86%) received probation only, and 3 (14%) received a prison term. In all 94 districts, 28% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. A fine was ordered for 19 people
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, F › Environmental Offense: Northern District of Mississippi
In brief: Of 22 people sentenced for environmental offenses in the Northern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2024, 19 (86%) received probation only, and 3 (14%) received a prison term. In all 94 districts, 28% of people in this offense type were sent to prison. A fine was ordered for 19 people (86%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 22 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.
Mostly Probation and Fines
19 of the 22 people (86%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 3 people (14%) received a prison term. For all 94 districts, 28% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.
A fine was ordered for 19 people (86%), and restitution for 9 (41%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 3 people (14%), with a median term of 12 months.
Among the 3 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 6 months. A quarter received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 5.5 months or less. The median for all 94 districts was 5 months. With 3 people, one sentence decides the median.
A Different Pattern From the District's Other Cases
For all offenses in the Northern District of Mississippi, the median prison term was 36 months. Environmental cases are a different group of cases, and most of them did not involve prison.
These cases were 1% of the 1,573 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The district sentenced 8 people in this offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 14 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
What the Offense Type Includes
"Environmental" is an offense type the U.S. Sentencing Commission assigns from the main guideline used at sentencing. The primary guidelines were §2Q1.3 (Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants) for 2 people, §2Q2.1 (Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants) for 2 people, and §2Q1.2 (Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides) for 1 person.
The records name a primary guideline for only 5 of the 22 people, so they say little about the rest of the group.
Pleas
All 22 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 27% had a written plea agreement and 73% were straight pleas with no agreement.
This is a different mix from most other offense types, where nearly every guilty plea had a written agreement. In all districts, 98% of people in this offense type pleaded guilty.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
The records show how the sentence compared with the range for only 9 of the 22 people. 4 of 9 were within the range, 4 of 9 were below the range without a government request, and 1 of 9 was below the range at the government's request. None was above the range.
For all districts, 50% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 12 people with that information recorded (0%).
Criminal History and Yearly Counts
Criminal history is recorded for only 5 people, and all 5 were in the lowest category, Category I. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly counts run from 1 to 7 people. Several years show n/a for the median because no one in that year was sent to prison. The table does not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 7 | 5 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2018 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | 18 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 3 | 6 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 4 | n/a | 4 of 4 |
| 2024 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
Limits of the Records
Columbus AFB, Mississippi, 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.
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission's data.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Mississippi (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Mississippi North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Environmental" (22). 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.
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 Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, 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.