Federal Individual Rights Offense Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025
In the Middle District of North Carolina, 13 of the 19 people sentenced for individual rights offenses in fiscal years 2017 to 2024 (68%) received probation only. Only 3 (16%) went to prison, with a median of 71 months. For all 94 districts, 68% were sent to prison.
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In brief: In the Middle District of North Carolina, 13 of the 19 people sentenced for individual rights offenses in fiscal years 2017 to 2024 (68%) received probation only. Only 3 (16%) went to prison, with a median of 71 months. For all 94 districts, 68% were sent to prison.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 19 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.
Probation Was the Most Common Sentence
Of the 19 people, 13 (68%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. A prison term went to 3 (16%).
In all 94 districts, the pattern was different: 68% of people sentenced for individual rights offenses were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 30 months.
The "Individual Rights" offense type is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's category. It is assigned from the primary guideline, and it covers different kinds of cases.
Prison Terms for 3 People
Among the 3 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 71 months (5.9 years). A quarter received 84 months or more, and a quarter received 56 months or less.
With only 3 people, these figures describe a very small group. The median after a guilty plea was 84 months, and the 1 person convicted after a trial received 41 months.
A single trial case cannot be compared with the plea cases. For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 60 months.
Guidelines Used
The most common primary guideline was §2H2.1 (Obstructing an Election or Registration), with 8 people. Next were §2H1.1 (Offenses Involving Individual Rights) with 2 and §2H4.1 (Peonage, Involuntary Servitude, and Slave Trade) with 2.
Individual rights cases were less than 1% of the 3,816 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Most Sentences Were Within the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Of the 15 people with the information recorded, 13 (87%) were sentenced within the range. In all 94 districts, 38% were within the range.
One sentence (7%) was below the range without a government request, and 1 (7%) was above the range. A mandatory minimum applied to 0 of the 18 people with that information recorded.
Fines, Supervised Release, and Criminal History
A fine was ordered for 14 people (74%), and restitution for 0. Supervised release after prison was ordered for 3 people (16%), with a median term of 36 months.
In criminal history, 73% were in the lowest category, category I, and 0% were in the highest, category VI.
Pleas and Years
Of the 19 people, 18 (95%) pleaded guilty, and all of those pleas had a written plea agreement. The table shows that 15 of the 19 people were sentenced in fiscal year 2021, with 100% pleading guilty. The district sentenced 3 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 16 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2 | 97 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 1 | 71 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 15 | n/a | 100% |
| 2024 | 1 | 41 months | 0 of 1 |
What Cannot Be Concluded
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. It has no acquittals or dismissals, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. A single year with 15 people drives much of the district's total, so the 10-year totals should not be read as a steady pattern.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Individual Rights" (19). 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 Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, 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.