> ## 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 2023 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2x3-1-accessory-after-the-fact-fy2023/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:26:38.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:26:38.000Z - Description: Of the 82 people sentenced under §2X3.1 in fiscal year 2023, 72 (88%) received a prison term, with a median of 26 months (2.2 years). The 3 people convicted after a trial had a median prison term of 168 months, a figure based on too few people to generalize. - 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: FY2023 **In brief:** Of the 82 people sentenced under §2X3.1 in fiscal year 2023, 72 (88%) received a prison term, with a median of 26 months (2.2 years). The 3 people convicted after a trial had a median prison term of 168 months, a figure based on too few people to generalize. 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 82 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023\. 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/). ## The Trial Median of 168 Months The median prison term after a trial was 168 months in fiscal year 2023, compared with 24 months after a guilty plea. The trial figure is based on only 3 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. With 3 people, one case can set the median. The figure describes those cases and does not show how trials and pleas compare in general. A total of 79 of 82 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% were straight pleas. ## Prison, Probation, and the Overall Median A prison term went to 72 of the 82 people (88%), and 8 (10%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Among those sent to prison, the median was 26 months. A quarter received 62.5 months or more, and a quarter received 12.8 months or less. These are terms imposed, not time served. The median was 30 months in fiscal year 2022 and 48 months in fiscal year 2024\. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2023, the median was 30 months across 64,124 people. ## Where Sentences Fell Against the Range Within the range: 24% (20 people). Below the range at the government's request: 34% (28). Below the range without a government request: 34% (28). Above the range: 7% (6). The fiscal year 2022 share within the range was 28%, and the fiscal year 2024 share was 37%. Across all guidelines in 2023 it was 42%, and across fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under §2X3.1 it was 32%. ## Guideline and 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. For fiscal year 2023, the Commission's most common offense types for these cases were Drug Trafficking 17, Murder 16, Robbery 7, and Assault 7\. Fiscal year 2023 ran from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023. ## Other Parts of the Sentences Supervised release was ordered for 71 people (87%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 10 (12%) and restitution for 9 (11%). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 81 people with that information recorded (2%). By criminal history, 52% were in category I and 9% in category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Limits Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 827 people were sentenced under this guideline and 84% went to prison. The table lists each 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 2023 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2X3.1 (82), 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 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2x3-1-accessory-after-the-fact-fy2022/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2x3-1-accessory-after-the-fact-fy2024/) (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.