Federal Kidnapping Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025
19 people were sentenced in the District of South Carolina for kidnapping in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 19 received a prison term. The median prison term was 168 months (14 years), compared with 155 months across all 94 districts. 1 person received a life sentence.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016– › Kidnapping: District of South Carolina
In brief: 19 people were sentenced in the District of South Carolina for kidnapping in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 19 received a prison term. The median prison term was 168 months (14 years), compared with 155 months across all 94 districts. 1 person received a life sentence.
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.
Every Person Received Prison
All 19 people (100%) received a prison term, and 1 received a life sentence. The median prison term was 168 months (14 years). A quarter received 251 months or more, and a quarter received 94.5 months or less.
For kidnapping across all 94 districts, more than 99% were sent to prison, and the median was 155 months. The median in this district was higher. For all offenses in the district, it was 48.2 months.
Guilty Pleas and Trials Produced Different Medians
17 of the 19 people (89%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. Across all 94 districts, 84% pleaded guilty.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 120 months. After a trial it was 470 months, based on 2 people. The records do not explain the gap, and 2 people is too few for a comparison.
76% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 18% were straight pleas.
The Guideline Behind the Cases
"Kidnapping" is the Commission's offense type, assigned from the primary guideline. 17 people were sentenced mainly under §2A4.1 (Kidnapping, Abduction, Unlawful Restraint), and 1 under §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).
These cases were less than 1% of the 6,874 people sentenced in the district.
Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 5 of the 19 people (26%).
The position against the guideline range is recorded for all 19. 47% (9) of sentences were within the range, and 26% (5) were below it at the government's request. 16% (3) were below it without a request, and 11% (2) were above it.
Across all 94 districts, 33% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 47% were.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
All 19 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. No fine was ordered, and restitution was ordered for 2 people (11%).
Prior Record
22% had the least prior record (criminal history category I), and 22% had the most (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Small Counts by Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 8 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 11. Yearly counts run from 1 to 4.
The table's medians run from 80 months to 470 months. With so few people each year, they do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 470 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2017 | 3 | 80 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2018 | 2 | 120 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 2 | 256 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 4 | 110 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 2 | 340 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 1 | 176 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 126 months | 4 of 4 |
What Is Not Shown
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included, and the terms shown are those imposed, not served.
Joint Base Charleston, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and Shaw AFB are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, and this post uses federal numbers only.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Carolina") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Kidnapping" (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.
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 (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 South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of South 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.