> ## 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. # §2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2x3-1-accessory-after-the-fact-fy2018/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:26:33.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:26:33.000Z - Description: Among the 90 people sentenced under §2X3.1 in fiscal year 2018, the median prison term was 27 months (2.2 years) after a guilty plea and 28.5 months after a trial, which are close. Prison went to 69 people (77%), and 41% of sentences were within the guideline range. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2x3-1-accessory-after-the-fact/) › §2X3.1: FY2018 **In brief:** Among the 90 people sentenced under §2X3.1 in fiscal year 2018, the median prison term was 27 months (2.2 years) after a guilty plea and 28.5 months after a trial, which are close. Prison went to 69 people (77%), and 41% of sentences were within the guideline range. 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 90 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/). ## Plea and Trial Medians Were Close in 2018 The median prison term was 27 months after a guilty plea and 28.5 months after a trial. Among the 90 people, 82 (91%) pleaded guilty and 8 were convicted after a trial. A group of 8 people sent to prison after a trial is small, so the closeness of the medians should not be treated as a rule. Written plea agreements covered 87% of guilty pleas, and 13% were straight pleas. ## Overall Prison Terms In fiscal year 2018, 69 of 90 people (77%) received a prison term, and 18 (20%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term among those sent to prison was 27 months. A quarter received 57 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. The median was 25 months in fiscal year 2017 and 36 months in fiscal year 2019. These terms are the sentences imposed and not the time served. Across all guidelines in fiscal year 2018, the median was 24 months for 69,425 people. ## Sentences Measured Against the Range Within the range: 41% (37 people). Below the range at the government's request: 21% (19). Below the range without a government request: 31% (28). Above the range: 7% (6). Across all guidelines in fiscal year 2018, 51% of sentences were within the range. For §2X3.1 over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the figure was 32%. It was 38% in fiscal year 2017 and 32% in fiscal year 2019. ## What the Guideline Covers The Sentencing Guidelines Manual gives §2X3.1 the title "Accessory After the Fact." The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count in a case. For these cases in fiscal year 2018, the Commission's most common offense types were Drug Trafficking 18, Robbery 16, Murder 13, and Firearms 9\. The records do not say what any person did. Fiscal year 2018 ran from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018. ## Supervised Release, Money Orders, and Criminal History Supervised release followed prison for 67 people (74%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 3 (3%) and restitution for 12 (13%). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 90 people (1%). In criminal history terms, 48% were in category I and 6% in category VI. Court-martial records do not have this field. ## What the Numbers Leave Out Only people who were convicted and sentenced are in the data. Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 827 people were sentenced under §2X3.1, and 84% went to prison. The yearly table lists every fiscal year. There is no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline in the approved crosswalk, so this post reports the federal numbers on their own. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 82 | 26.1 months | 93% | | 2017 | 99 | 25 months | 89% | | 2018 | 90 | 27 months | 91% | | 2019 | 88 | 36 months | 91% | | 2020 | 55 | 30 months | 93% | | 2021 | 71 | 27.6 months | 96% | | 2022 | 97 | 30 months | 97% | | 2023 | 82 | 26 months | 96% | | 2024 | 90 | 48 months | 89% | | 2025 | 73 | 24 months | 90% | ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2X3.1 (90), 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) - [§2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2x3-1-accessory-after-the-fact/) (overview) - [§2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2x3-1-accessory-after-the-fact-fy2017/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2x3-1-accessory-after-the-fact-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.