Federal Environmental Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025
None of the 25 people sentenced for environmental offenses in the Southern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. Probation only was the sentence for 22 of them (88%). Across all 94 districts, 28% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.
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In brief: None of the 25 people sentenced for environmental offenses in the Southern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. Probation only was the sentence for 22 of them (88%). Across all 94 districts, 28% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 25 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.
No Prison Terms in This Group
The U.S. Sentencing Commission data shows 0 of the 25 people (0%) with a prison term. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was recorded for 22 people (88%).
Because no one in the group has a prison term, the sheet has no median prison term for it. The yearly table shows "n/a" in that column for every year. Across all 94 districts, the median prison term for environmental offenses was 5 months. For all offenses in the Southern District of Mississippi, it was 48 months.
Fish, Wildlife, and Pollution Guidelines
"Environmental" is the Commission's offense type, and it groups cases by the primary sentencing guideline. The most common here was §2Q2.1 (Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants), with 13 cases.
Another 3 cases used §2Q1.3 (Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants), and 2 used §2Q1.2 (Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides).
The records do not break results down by guideline, so they cannot show whether sentences differed among these guidelines.
Fines and Restitution
A fine was ordered for 24 of the 25 people (96%). Restitution was ordered for 8 people (32%). These financial penalties were the most common parts of the sentence recorded in this data.
Guilty Pleas and Plea Agreements
A total of 23 of the 25 people (92%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. Across all 94 districts, 98% of people in this type pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in the district the figure was 97%.
Among guilty pleas, 78% had a written plea agreement and 13% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
Of the 23 people with this information, 16 (70%) had a sentence within the guideline range. For 5 people (22%), the sentence was below the range at the government's request, and for 2 (9%) it was below the range without a government request. None was above the range (0%).
Across all 94 districts, 50% of sentences in this type were within the range. For all offenses in the district, it was 69%. A mandatory minimum applied to 0 of the 20 people with that information recorded (0%).
Criminal History and Counts by Year
In the lowest criminal history category, category I, were 91% of the people. None were in the highest, category VI (0%).
Environmental cases were less than 1% of the 3,361 people sentenced in the district. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 10 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 15 people. The table covers the years with cases, from 2 people to 6 people in a year, so it describes small groups only.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | n/a | 4 of 4 |
| 2017 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
| 2021 | 6 | n/a | 6 of 6 |
| 2023 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 4 | n/a | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 3 | n/a | 1 of 3 |
What Is Missing From the Records
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. The records give the share with probation only, but this sheet does not list what the sentence was for everyone else.
Keesler AFB, Mississippi, is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court, and none of these numbers describe them. The records cannot show why environmental sentences in this district were so often probation.
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 whose offense type was "Environmental" (25). 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 Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern 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.