Federal Manslaughter Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025
The Commission's data shows 10 people sentenced for manslaughter in the Southern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2024. Of them, 9 (90%) received prison, and the median prison term was 78 months (6.5 years). That is higher than the 63 months for this offense type across all 94 distric
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, F › Manslaughter: Southern District of Mississippi
In brief: The Commission's data shows 10 people sentenced for manslaughter in the Southern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2024. Of them, 9 (90%) received prison, and the median prison term was 78 months (6.5 years). That is higher than the 63 months for this offense type across all 94 districts.
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.
Voluntary and Involuntary Manslaughter
The offense type is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's category "Manslaughter," and it groups cases by primary guideline. In this district, 5 cases used §2A1.3 (Voluntary Manslaughter) and 5 used §2A1.4 (Involuntary Manslaughter).
The records do not separate prison terms by guideline. The median of 78 months therefore covers both.
Prison Terms
Of the 10 people, 9 (90%) received a prison term, and 1 (10%) received probation only. A quarter of those sent to prison received 48 months or less, and a quarter received 120 months or more.
Across all 94 districts, 96% of people in this type were sent to prison. For all offenses in the Southern District of Mississippi, the median prison term was 48 months. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
One Trial and 9 Guilty Pleas
A total of 9 of the 10 people (90%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. The rate for this type across all 94 districts was 93%, and for all offenses in the district it was 97%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 72.5 months. After a trial it was 300 months, but that figure is based on 1 person. One case cannot show how trials generally end.
All 9 guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and none was a straight plea.
Within, Below, and Above the Range
The sentence was within the guideline range for 6 of the 10 people (60%). It was above the range for 3 people (30%), and below it at the government's request for 1 person (10%). None was below the range without a government request (0%).
Across all 94 districts, 45% of sentences for this type were within the range. For all offenses in the district, the figure was 69%. A mandatory minimum applied to 0 of the 9 people with that information recorded.
Release, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 8 people (80%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 2 people (20%). Restitution was ordered for 5 people (50%).
In the lowest criminal history category, category I, were 70% of the people. None were in the highest, category VI (0%).
Counts by Year
Manslaughter cases were less than 1% of the 3,361 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 3 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 7 people. A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends the following September.
The table shows 1 person in most years and 3 people in 2023. The medians run from 37 months in 2022 to 300 months in 2016, but each comes from 1 to 3 people. They are individual sentences, not trends. The table also has no median for 2020.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 300 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2018 | 1 | 48 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 1 | 132 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 1 | 78 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | 37 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 3 | 78 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 1 | 67 months | 1 of 1 |
What the Records Cannot Show
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included. The data does not describe the facts of any case or explain why one term was longer than another.
Keesler AFB, Mississippi, is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court, and none of these numbers describe them.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Mississippi (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Mississippi South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Manslaughter" (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 Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, 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.