Federal National Defense Offense Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025
Of 10 people sentenced for national defense offenses in the District of Massachusetts in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 8 (80%) went to prison. Their median prison term was 70.5 months (5.9 years), while the median across all 94 districts was 24 months. The terms varied from 15.5 months at the low quart
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2 › National Defense Offense: District of Massachusetts
In brief: Of 10 people sentenced for national defense offenses in the District of Massachusetts in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 8 (80%) went to prison. Their median prison term was 70.5 months (5.9 years), while the median across all 94 districts was 24 months. The terms varied from 15.5 months at the low quarter to 195 months at the high quarter.
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.
Terms That Varied Widely
A quarter of the 8 prison terms were 15.5 months or less, and a quarter were 195 months or more. The median fell between them at 70.5 months.
The same offense type in all districts included 2,236 people, 84% of whom went to prison. The median across every offense type in this district was 30 months. In this district, 1 person (10%) received probation only.
Export Control and Related Guidelines
"National Defense" is the Sentencing Commission's name for this group. Within it, 3 people were under §2M5.2 (Exportation of Arms, Munitions, or Military Equipment or Services Without Required Validated Export License), and 2 were under §2M5.1 (Evasion of Export Controls).
One person was under §2M5.3 (Providing Material Support or Resources to Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global Terrorists, or For a Terrorist Purpose), and 1 was under §2M6.1 (Unlawful Activity Involving Nuclear Material, Weapons, or Facilities, Biological Agents, Toxins, or Delivery Systems, Chemical Weapons, or Other Weapons of Mass Destruction). The group was less than 1% of the 4,847 people sentenced in this district.
Guilty Pleas and 1 Trial
A total of 9 people (90%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 97% pleaded guilty. Every one of the 9 pleas included a written plea agreement.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 33 months, and the single trial conviction carried 336 months. One case cannot support a conclusion about trials.
Sentences Below the Range
No sentence was inside the guideline range. A lower sentence came with a government request for 3 people (30%) and without one for 6 (60%). Another 1 (10%) was above the range.
Across all districts, 36% were inside the range, and across all offenses in this district, 29% were. No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 10.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release followed prison for 7 people (70%), with a median term of 36 months. Another 2 (20%) were given supervised release for life. Fines were ordered for 4 people (40%), and no restitution was ordered.
For criminal history, 80% were in the lowest category and 20% in the highest. The court-martial system has no such field.
Single-Digit Years
The district sentenced 3 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 7 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Fiscal years begin October 1.
No year has more than 3 people. The 2021 median was 4 months and the 2018 median was 288 months, based on 2 people. These are separate small groups, and the table does not show a pattern.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 108 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 2 | 288 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2020 | 1 | 18 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 3 | 4 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 1 | 33 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 180 months | 1 of 1 |
What Cannot Be Learned Here
Acquittals and dismissals are not part of this data, which includes only sentenced people. The prison terms are those imposed, not time served, and the records give no information about the conduct in any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Massachusetts (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Massachusetts") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "National Defense" (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 Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, 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.