Federal Environmental Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025
In the Southern District of Ohio, 15 people were sentenced for environmental offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2024. 4 (27%) received a prison term, 7 (47%) received probation only, and a fine was ordered for 10 (67%).
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In brief: In the Southern District of Ohio, 15 people were sentenced for environmental offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2024. 4 (27%) received a prison term, 7 (47%) received probation only, and a fine was ordered for 10 (67%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 15 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.
Fines Were More Common Than Prison
A fine was ordered for 10 of the 15 people (67%), and restitution for 7 (47%). Only 4 people (27%) received a prison term.
7 people (47%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For this offense type in all 94 federal districts, 28% were sent to prison, which is about the same share as in this district.
All 15 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and each plea had a written plea agreement. None was convicted after a trial.
The Few Prison Terms
Among the 4 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 0.5 months. A quarter received 14.2 months or more, and a quarter received 0.1 months or less. With 4 people, the median says little about any one case.
For this offense type in all districts, 1,638 people were sentenced and the median prison term was 5 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 36 months.
4 people (27%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 18 months.
What the Commission Means by Environmental
"Environmental" is a U.S. Sentencing Commission offense type, assigned by the primary guideline. It covers more than one kind of case.
The most common was §2Q2.1 (Offenses Involving Fish, Wildlife, and Plants), with 7 cases. Next was §2Q1.2 (Mishandling of Hazardous or Toxic Substances or Pesticides), with 6. The remaining 2 used §2Q1.3 (Mishandling of Other Environmental Pollutants).
Sentences and the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the range calculated under the Sentencing Guidelines. 20% of sentences (3) were within it, 47% (7) were below it at the government's request, and 27% (4) were below it without a government request. 7% (1) was above the range.
For all environmental cases in all districts, 50% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 27%. No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 15 people.
Criminal History
80% were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 13% were in the highest, category VI. The Guidelines use this category to set the range. Court-martial records have no such field.
Yearly Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 4 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 11. The most in any one year was 5, in 2021. A fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.
The table shows "n/a" for years where no median prison term was available. These counts are too small to show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | 54 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 2 | 0.1 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 5 | 0 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2022 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 1 | 1 months | 1 of 1 |
What These Figures Do Not Cover
Environmental cases were less than 1% of the 5,580 people sentenced in this district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, and these are federal-court numbers only.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Ohio (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Ohio South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Environmental" (15). 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 Ohio, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Ohio, 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.