> ## 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 2019 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2x3-1-accessory-after-the-fact-fy2019/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:26:34.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:26:34.000Z - Description: The median prison term under §2X3.1 in fiscal year 2019 was 36 months (3 years), for the 79 of 88 people sentenced who went to prison (90%). That median is higher than in fiscal year 2018 and fiscal year 2020. Probation only went to 7 people (8%). - 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: FY2019 **In brief:** The median prison term under §2X3.1 in fiscal year 2019 was 36 months (3 years), for the 79 of 88 people sentenced who went to prison (90%). That median is higher than in fiscal year 2018 and fiscal year 2020\. Probation only went to 7 people (8%). 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 88 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/). ## A Median of 36 Months Among the 79 people sent to prison in fiscal year 2019, the median prison term was 36 months. A quarter received 62 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. The median was 27 months in fiscal year 2018 and 30 months in fiscal year 2020\. Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the median under this guideline was 30 months. The records do not explain the year-to-year changes. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2019, the median prison term was 21 months. Prison terms are those imposed and not the time served. ## Prison Was Ordered for 90% of the Group Of the 88 people, 79 (90%) received a prison term. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 7 (8%). Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 84% of people sentenced under §2X3.1 went to prison. Supervised release followed prison for 74 people (84%) in 2019, with a median term of 36 months, and 1 person (1%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 6 people (7%) and restitution for 15 (17%). ## After a Trial, a Median of 109.5 Months A total of 80 of 88 people (91%) pleaded guilty, and 8 were convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 88% had a written plea agreement and 11% were straight pleas. The median prison term was 33 months after a guilty plea and 109.5 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 8 people sent to prison. It is a small group, and the records do not show why those cases ended in longer terms. ## Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums Within the range: 32% (28 people). Below the range at the government's request: 27% (24). Below the range without a government request: 36% (32). Above the range: 5% (4). The same 32% share applies to §2X3.1 over fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2019, 51% of sentences were within the range. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 3 of the 88 people (3%). ## Defining the Guideline and the Offense Types Guideline §2X3.1 is titled "Accessory After the Fact" in the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual. People are counted under the primary guideline, the one for their most serious count. The Commission's offense types for these cases in fiscal year 2019 were Murder 21, Drug Trafficking 16, Robbery 14, and Firearms 10 among the most common. Fiscal year 2019 ran from October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019. ## Criminal History and Limits By criminal history, 56% were in category I and 11% in category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. The data counts only people convicted and sentenced. There is no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline in the approved crosswalk, so this post reports the federal numbers on their own. The table covers fiscal years 2016 to 2025. | 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 2019 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2X3.1 (88), 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 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2x3-1-accessory-after-the-fact-fy2018/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2x3-1-accessory-after-the-fact-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.