Federal Individual Rights Offense Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025
In all, 10 people were sentenced for individual rights offenses in the District of New Mexico in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 8 received a prison term, with a median of 27 months, and 1 received a life sentence. The national median for this offense type was 30 months.
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 › Individual Rights Offense: District of New Mexico
In brief: In all, 10 people were sentenced for individual rights offenses in the District of New Mexico in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 8 received a prison term, with a median of 27 months, and 1 received a life sentence. The national median for this offense type was 30 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 10 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 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.
Prison Terms Varied Widely
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Individual Rights" covers 10 people sentenced in this district. 8 of them (80%) received a prison term. 1 person received a life sentence.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 27 months (2.2 years). A quarter received 171 months or more, and a quarter received 23 months or less. The wide gap between those figures shows how different the sentences were within a small group.
The records show no probation-only sentences in this group (0%).
Comparison With All 94 Districts
Across all 94 districts, the Commission counted 855 people in this offense type. 68% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 30 months. The district's prison share of 80% was higher, and its median of 27 months was lower.
Guilty pleas were 80% in both the district and the national figures. Sentences within the guideline range were 30% in the district and 38% nationally.
Trials and Guilty Pleas
Of the 10 people, 8 pleaded guilty and 2 were convicted after a trial. All 8 who pleaded guilty had a written plea agreement.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 69 months. After a trial it was 22 months, based on 2 people.
Those counts are too small to say how trial and plea sentences generally compare in this offense type.
Guideline Range Positions
Within the guideline range: 3 people (30%). Below the range at the government's request: 3 people (30%). Below the range without a government request: 3 people (30%). Above the range: 1 person (10%).
For all offenses in this district, 59% of sentences were within the range. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 10 people.
The Guidelines Involved
The most common primary guideline was §2H1.1 (Offenses Involving Individual Rights), with 9 people. One person was sentenced under §2H4.1 (Peonage, Involuntary Servitude, and Slave Trade).
Supervised release was ordered for 8 people (80%), and the median term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 2 people (20%), and restitution for 1 person (10%).
Criminal History and Yearly Counts
In criminal history, 90% were in the lowest category, category I, and 0% were in the highest, VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
The district had 3 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 7 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends the following September.
Yearly counts ranged from 1 person to 3 people. The yearly medians range from 17.7 months to 470 months, and one year has no median listed.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | 30 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | 24 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 2 | 17.7 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2024 | 3 | 108 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2025 | 1 | 470 months | 1 of 1 |
What Cannot Be Read From These Numbers
Individual rights cases were less than 1% of the 29,766 people sentenced in the district, where the median prison term for all offenses was 3.5 months. The records do not describe any case, and they do not explain why sentences differed.
Only people convicted and sentenced are counted. Cannon AFB, Holloman AFB, and Kirtland AFB are in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Mexico (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Mexico") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Individual Rights" (10). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.
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.
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)
- Federal Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Kidnapping Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal National Defense Offense Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Possession Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- 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.