§2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021
Of the 71 people sentenced under §2X3.1 in fiscal year 2021, 63 (89%) received a prison term, and 6 (8%) received probation only. The median prison term was 27.6 months (2.3 years). Only 24% of sentences were within the guideline range.
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In brief: Of the 71 people sentenced under §2X3.1 in fiscal year 2021, 63 (89%) received a prison term, and 6 (8%) received probation only. The median prison term was 27.6 months (2.3 years). Only 24% of sentences were within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 71 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021. 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 series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
A High Share Went to Prison
In fiscal year 2021, 63 of 71 people (89%) received a prison term. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 6 (8%).
The prison share across fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under this guideline was 84%, so 2021 was higher than the overall figure.
Among those sent to prison, the median was 27.6 months. A quarter received 54 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. These are the terms imposed, not time served.
A Low Within-Range Share
Within the range: 24% (17 people). Below the range at the government's request: 39% (28). Below the range without a government request: 30% (21). Above the range: 7% (5).
The within-range share was 36% in fiscal year 2020 and 28% in fiscal year 2022. Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025 it was 32%, and for all guidelines in fiscal year 2021 it was 43%.
The records show where each sentence fell relative to the range. They do not show why.
Guilty Pleas and the 3 Trial Convictions
A total of 68 of 71 people (96%) pleaded guilty. The other 3 were convicted after a trial.
The median prison term was 25.8 months after a guilty plea and 30 months after a trial. The trial figure comes from 3 people, which is too few to compare with the plea figure.
Written plea agreements covered 91% of guilty pleas, and 9% were straight pleas. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2021, 98% of 57,287 people pleaded guilty.
The Guideline and Its Offense Types
Guideline §2X3.1 is titled "Accessory After the Fact" in the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
In fiscal year 2021, the Commission's most common offense types for these cases were Drug Trafficking 20, Murder 13, Robbery 8, and Firearms 7. Those are labels for the cases and not descriptions of any person's conduct. Fiscal year 2021 ran from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021.
Supervised Release, Payments, and Criminal History
Supervised release was ordered for 63 people (89%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 4 (6%), and restitution for 13 (18%). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 71 people (3%).
By criminal history, 63% were in category I and 8% in category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Surrounding Years and Limits
In fiscal year 2020, 55 people were sentenced under this guideline, with a median prison term of 30 months. In fiscal year 2022, 97 people were sentenced, with a median of 30 months. The all-guidelines median in 2021 was 29 months.
The data includes only people who were 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.
| 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 2021 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2X3.1 (71), 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- §2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.