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# §2P1.2 Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2p1-2-providing-or-possessing-contraband-in-prison-fy2019/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:25:03.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:25:03.000Z
- Description: Fiscal year 2019 had 250 sentencings in federal court under §2P1.2, "Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison." 234 people (94%) were sent to prison, with a median prison term of 6 months, and 244 (98%) pleaded guilty. Most guilty pleas in this group were straight pleas with no written agreement
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2P1.2 Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2p1-2-providing-or-possessing-contraband-in-prison/) › §2P1.2: FY2019

**In brief:** Fiscal year 2019 had 250 sentencings in federal court under §2P1.2, "Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison." 234 people (94%) were sent to prison, with a median prison term of 6 months, and 244 (98%) pleaded guilty. Most guilty pleas in this group were straight pleas with no written agreement.

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 250 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019\. 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/).

## Plea Agreements Were Less Common Than Straight Pleas

Among the 244 people who pleaded guilty, 45% had a written plea agreement and 51% entered a straight plea with no agreement. In fiscal year 2019, then, straight pleas were more common than agreements under this guideline.

The other 6 people in the group were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 6 months. After a trial it was 12 months, but that figure is based on only 5 people sent to prison, so it is too small to treat as a pattern.

## The Size of the Group and What Was Counted

The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 250 people sentenced in fiscal year 2019 whose primary guideline was §2P1.2\. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. The Commission classed all 250 cases as Prison Offenses.

The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019\. Only convicted and sentenced people are counted, so acquittals and dismissals do not appear.

## Prison, Probation, and Supervised Release

Of the 250 people, 234 (94%) received a prison term. 10 (4%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.

Among those sent to prison, the median was 6 months. The longest-sentenced quarter received 18 months or more. The shortest-sentenced quarter received 2 months or less. These are imposed terms, not time served.

After prison, 96 people (38%) were ordered to serve supervised release, and the median supervised release term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 12 (5%), and restitution for 1 (less than 1%).

## Sentences Measured Against the Guideline Range

The Commission had range information for 238 people. 66% (158) received a sentence within the guideline range. Sentences below the range without a government request accounted for 17% (40), and those below it at the government's request accounted for 13% (31). Sentences above the range were 4% (9).

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 248 people whose records had that information. Mandatory minimums therefore did not set the sentences in this group.

## Criminal History

8% of the people were in criminal history category I, the lowest. 22% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so no military figure matches this one.

## Where 2019 Fits in the 2016 to 2025 Record

The table lists each fiscal year from 2016 to 2025\. The count for 2019 is the largest in that table. The year before, 2018, had 206 people, a median of 12 months, and 69% within the range. The year after, 2020, had 162 people, a median of 7.4 months, and 59% within the range.

Over all of fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 1,552 people were sentenced under §2P1.2\. 93% went to prison, the median was 9 months, 98% pleaded guilty, and 62% were within the range.

For all guidelines together in fiscal year 2019, 76,538 people were sentenced, the median prison term was 21 months, and 51% were within the range.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 119              | 12 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2017        | 133              | 8 months      | more than 99%  |
| 2018        | 206              | 12 months     | 97%            |
| 2019        | 250              | 6 months      | 98%            |
| 2020        | 162              | 7.4 months    | 97%            |
| 2021        | 198              | 6 months      | 98%            |
| 2022        | 144              | 6 months      | 98%            |
| 2023        | 97               | 12 months     | 96%            |
| 2024        | 122              | 12 months     | 95%            |
| 2025        | 121              | 12 months     | more than 99%  |

## Limits of the Comparison

These figures cannot show what conduct led to each case or why a given term was chosen. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so only federal numbers are reported.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2P1.2 (250), 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.

## 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)
- [§2P1.2 Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2p1-2-providing-or-possessing-contraband-in-prison/) (overview)
- [§2P1.2 Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2p1-2-providing-or-possessing-contraband-in-prison-fy2018/) (previous or next fiscal year)
- [§2P1.2 Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2p1-2-providing-or-possessing-contraband-in-prison-fy2020/) (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.