> ## 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. # §2X4.1 Misprision of Felony: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2x4-1-misprision-of-felony/ - Published: 2026-11-03T01:39:41.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:39:41.000Z - Description: Federal courts sentenced 2,122 people under guideline §2X4.1, Misprision of Felony, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. All 2,122 pleaded guilty, 1,150 (54%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 12 months. A mandatory minimum applied to 1 person. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › §2X4.1 **In brief:** Federal courts sentenced 2,122 people under guideline §2X4.1, Misprision of Felony, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. All 2,122 pleaded guilty, 1,150 (54%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 12 months. A mandatory minimum applied to 1 person. 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 2,122 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/). ## What Does Guideline §2X4.1 Cover? The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual titles §2X4.1 "Misprision of Felony." The U.S. Sentencing Commission classifies these cases as Administration of Justice offenses. All 2,122 people in the data fall in that group. The count includes only cases where §2X4.1 was the primary guideline. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. The data covers people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. ## Guilty Pleas Were Universal Every one of the 2,122 people pleaded guilty. None was convicted after a trial. Because of that, the data has no trial sentences to set beside the plea sentences. Among the guilty pleas, 98% had a written plea agreement. The other 2% were straight pleas with no agreement. ## How Many Went to Prison and for How Long? A prison term went to 1,150 of the 2,122 people (54%). Another 856 (40%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term among those sent to prison was 12 months. A quarter received 21 months or more, and a quarter received 3 months or less. These are the terms imposed, not time served. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 person, which is less than 1% of the cases. The sentence in nearly every case was therefore set without a statutory floor. ## Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range The Commission recorded the sentence position for 2,120 people. Sentences within the guideline range were the most common outcome at 48% (1,007). Another 25% (520) were below the range at the government's request, and 24% (507) were below the range without a government request. Only 4% (86) were above the range. ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution Supervised release after prison was ordered for 1,059 people (50%). The median supervised release term was 12 months. A fine was ordered for 241 people (11%), and restitution for 260 (12%). In criminal history, 74% were in the lowest criminal history category (category I) and 3% were in the highest (category VI). ## Did Sentences Change Over the Years? The number of people sentenced was 1,098 in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 1,024 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The median prison term was 12 months in both periods. Yearly counts ranged from 306 in fiscal year 2017 to 151 in fiscal year 2023\. The yearly median was 12 months in every year except 2023, when it was 10.3 months. The table below lists each year. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 290 | 12 months | 100% | | 2017 | 306 | 12 months | 100% | | 2018 | 234 | 12 months | 100% | | 2019 | 268 | 12 months | 100% | | 2020 | 155 | 12 months | 100% | | 2021 | 173 | 12 months | 100% | | 2022 | 213 | 12 months | 100% | | 2023 | 151 | 10.3 months | 100% | | 2024 | 170 | 12 months | 100% | | 2025 | 162 | 12 months | 100% | ## What the Records Cannot Show The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so no military comparison is made here. The data also cannot show the facts of any case, the reasons for a sentence, or how much time anyone actually served. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2X4.1 (2,122), 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) - [§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) - [§2X3.1 Accessory After the Fact: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2x3-1-accessory-after-the-fact/) (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.