> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2H4.1 Peonage, Involuntary Servitude, and Slave Trade: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2h4-1-peonage-involuntary-servitude-and-slave-trade/ - Published: 2026-11-03T01:40:06.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:40:06.000Z - Description: Under §2H4.1, which covers peonage, involuntary servitude, and slave trade, 95 of 104 people (91%) sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received prison. The median prison term was 72 months (6 years), and 1 person received a life sentence. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › §2H4.1 **In brief:** Under §2H4.1, which covers peonage, involuntary servitude, and slave trade, 95 of 104 people (91%) sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received prison. The median prison term was 72 months (6 years), and 1 person received a life sentence. Updated November 2, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 104 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## Long Prison Terms Under §2H4.1 The title of §2H4.1 is "Peonage, Involuntary Servitude, and Slave Trade." The Sentencing Commission counted 104 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary guideline was §2H4.1, under the offense type Individual Rights. Prison was ordered for 95 (91%), and probation only for 8 (8%). The median prison term was 72 months, or 6 years. ## The Spread of Prison Terms A quarter of those sent to prison received 120 months or more, and a quarter received 47.4 months or less. One person received a life sentence. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 4 people (4%). All terms are the ones imposed, not time served. The quarter figures show a wide spread of prison terms. The lowest quarter of terms ended at 47.4 months, and the highest quarter began at 120 months. A single median of 72 months does not describe either end. ## Trials Were Common Unlike most guidelines, a large share of these cases went to trial. Of the 104 people, 74 (71%) pleaded guilty and 30 were convicted after a trial. Sentences were longer after a trial. The median prison term was 68.5 months after a guilty plea and 100 months after a trial, based on 29 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The records do not show whether the trial itself changed the sentence or whether the cases differed. ## Range, Release, and Money Orders In 41 cases (39%), the sentence was within the guideline range. In 28 (27%), it was below the range at the government's request, and in 24 (23%), below it without a government request. In 11 (11%), it was above the range. Supervised release followed prison for 88 people (85%), with a median term of 36 months. One person (less than 1%) received supervised release for life. Restitution was ordered for 78 (75%), and a fine for 10 (10%). ## Plea Agreements and Criminal History Among guilty pleas, 96% had a written plea agreement and 4% were straight pleas. In criminal history, 79% were in the lowest category I and 0% were in the highest (VI). Plea agreements were nearly universal among those who pleaded guilty, at 96%. Still, 30 people were convicted after a trial, which is a large number for a group of 104. ## Medians by Fiscal Year Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 35 people and a median prison term of 71 months. Fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 69 people and a median of 78 months. The yearly medians vary widely, from 30 months in 2018 to 114 months in 2020\. The share pleading guilty also moves, from 100% in some years to 50% in 2025\. Each year has 7 to 16 people, so single-year changes can come from a few cases. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 9 | 96 months | 7 of 9 | | 2017 | 11 | 37 months | 91% | | 2018 | 8 | 30 months | 8 of 8 | | 2019 | 7 | 93.5 months | 3 of 7 | | 2020 | 8 | 114 months | 6 of 8 | | 2021 | 7 | 111 months | 4 of 7 | | 2022 | 9 | 64 months | 8 of 9 | | 2023 | 16 | 65 months | 81% | | 2024 | 13 | 87 months | 54% | | 2025 | 16 | 102 months | 50% | ## What the Data Cannot Tell Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, and court-martial records have no criminal history field. The records cannot show what facts of each case set the length of the term. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2H4.1 (104), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [§2H1.1 Offenses Involving Individual Rights: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2h1-1-offenses-involving-individual-rights/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2H2.1 Obstructing an Election or Registration: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2h2-1-obstructing-an-election-or-registration/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2H3.3 Obstructing Correspondence: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2h3-3-obstructing-correspondence/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2H3.1 Interception of Communications: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2h3-1-interception-of-communications/) (same guideline chapter part) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.