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# §2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2x3-1-accessory-after-the-fact/
- Published: 2026-11-03T01:39:48.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T01:39:48.000Z
- Description: Federal courts sentenced 827 people under guideline §2X3.1, accessory after the fact, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Prison was ordered for 693 (84%), and the median term was 30 months (2.5 years). Cases sentenced after a trial had a median of 62.5 months.
- 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

**In brief:** Federal courts sentenced 827 people under guideline §2X3.1, accessory after the fact, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Prison was ordered for 693 (84%), and the median term was 30 months (2.5 years). Cases sentenced after a trial had a median of 62.5 months.

Updated November 2, 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 827 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 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/).

## Prison Terms Under the Accessory After the Fact Guideline

Guideline §2X3.1 is titled "Accessory After the Fact." Of the 827 people sentenced with it as the primary guideline, 693 (84%) were sent to prison and 107 (13%) received probation only.

The median prison term was 30 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.

## What Kinds of Cases Used This Guideline?

The guideline title does not say which underlying crime was involved. The Sentencing Commission's offense type for these cases is more specific. It lists Murder for 159 people, Drug Trafficking for 150, Robbery for 124, and Firearms for 66.

These types are not the whole group. The records here do not break down the remaining cases.

## Guilty Pleas Compared With Trials

Most of the group, 764 of 827 (92%), pleaded guilty. The other 63 were convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 90% had a written plea agreement, and 9% were straight pleas.

After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 29 months. After a trial it was 62.5 months, based on 60 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The records do not show why the trial figure is higher.

## Sentences and the Guideline Range

The guideline range is the range the guidelines calculate for a case. Sentences within it numbered 267 (32%).

Sentences below the range at the government's request numbered 277 (33%). Sentences below the range without such a request numbered 233 (28%). Sentences above the range numbered 50 (6%). The records do not show how far above or below the range any sentence was, only which side of it. The yearly table gives the count sentenced, the median prison term, and the share who pleaded guilty for each fiscal year, and the sections above use the same group of 827 people.

## Mandatory Minimums and Supervised Release

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 18 people (2%).

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 677 (82%), with a median term of 36 months. Supervised release for life was given to 2 people. A fine was ordered for 74 (9%), and restitution for 145 (18%).

In criminal history, 53% were in the lowest category and 8% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Changes Over the Years

In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 359 people were sentenced and the median prison term was 27 months. In fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 468 people were sentenced and the median was 33 months.

The yearly medians moved between 24 months in 2025 and 48 months in 2024\. The records cannot show whether any change in the types of underlying cases accounts for that.

| 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%            |

## Limits of the Data

The data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced, not acquittals or dismissals. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.

The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart, so this post stays with federal numbers.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2X3.1 (827), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's 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)
- [§2X4.1 Misprision of Felony: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2x4-1-misprision-of-felony/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [§2X5.2 Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline): Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2x5-2-class-a-misdemeanors-not-covered-by-another/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [§2X1.1 Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline): Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2x1-1-attempt-solicitation-or-conspiracy-not-covered-by/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [§2X7.2 Submersible and Semi-Submersible Vessels: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2x7-2-submersible-and-semi-submersible-vessels/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [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.