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# §2P1.1 Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2p1-1-escape-instigating-or-assisting-escape-fy2018/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:07:04.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:07:04.000Z
- Description: In fiscal year 2018, 62% of the 301 people sentenced under §2P1.1 received a sentence within the guideline range: 186 people. 297 people (99%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months. All 301 pleaded guilty.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2P1.1 Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2p1-1-escape-instigating-or-assisting-escape/) › §2P1.1: FY2018

**In brief:** In fiscal year 2018, 62% of the 301 people sentenced under §2P1.1 received a sentence within the guideline range: 186 people. 297 people (99%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months. All 301 pleaded guilty.

Updated November 4, 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 301 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018\. 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/).

## Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range

Within the range: 62% (186 people). Below the range at the government's request: 9% (28). Below the range without a government request: 25% (75). Above the range: 4% (12).

Across all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under this guideline, 66% of sentences were within the range. Fiscal year 2017 had 68% and fiscal year 2019 had 66%. For everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018, 51% were within the range.

## Prison Terms and Probation

A prison term was given to 297 of the 301 people (99%). One person (less than 1%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term was 12 months.

A quarter of those sent to prison received 15 months or more. A quarter received 6.3 months or less. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 301 people with that information recorded (less than 1%).

## Every Case Ended in a Guilty Plea

All 301 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. Of the guilty pleas, 63% had a written plea agreement and 37% were straight pleas with no agreement.

Since the data hold no trial convictions for this year, they cannot show how trial sentences compare with plea sentences.

## About Guideline §2P1.1

The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual titles this guideline "Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape." The Commission's offense type for the 301 cases is Prison Offenses. A case is counted under the guideline that set the offense level for its most serious count.

Fiscal year 2018 ran from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018\. Only people who were convicted and sentenced are included.

## Criminal History

In this group, 34% were in the highest criminal history category (VI), and 2% were in the lowest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so the federal numbers stand on their own.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 247 people (82%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 8 (3%). Restitution was ordered for 1 (less than 1%).

## Counts by Year

Fiscal year 2017 had 321 people under §2P1.1 and fiscal year 2019 had 298\. Each year had a median prison term of 12 months. The table shows 2016 to 2025.

Over those years, 2,807 people were sentenced under this guideline, and 99% were sent to prison. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2018, there were 69,425 people and the median prison term was 24 months.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 264              | 12 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2017        | 321              | 12 months     | 100%           |
| 2018        | 301              | 12 months     | 100%           |
| 2019        | 298              | 12 months     | 98%            |
| 2020        | 235              | 10 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2021        | 265              | 12 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2022        | 280              | 12 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2023        | 303              | 12 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2024        | 287              | 12 months     | 100%           |
| 2025        | 253              | 12 months     | more than 99%  |

## Limits of the Records

The data do not describe how any escape happened, what the person was serving time for, or why a court sentenced below the range. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2P1.1 (301), U.S. Sentencing Commission 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)
- [§2P1.1 Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2p1-1-escape-instigating-or-assisting-escape/) (overview)
- [§2P1.1 Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2p1-1-escape-instigating-or-assisting-escape-fy2017/) (previous or next fiscal year)
- [§2P1.1 Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2p1-1-escape-instigating-or-assisting-escape-fy2019/) (previous or next fiscal year)
- [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/)
- [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/)
- [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.