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# Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-other-sentences-northern-district-of-alabama/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:02:40.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:02:40.000Z
- Description: Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was the most common result in the "Other" offense category in the Northern District of Alabama: 145 of the 170 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (85%). Prison went to 20 (12%). In all 94 federal districts, 38% of people in this categor
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-alabama/) › Other Offense: Northern District of Alabama

**In brief:** Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was the most common result in the "Other" offense category in the Northern District of Alabama: 145 of the 170 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (85%). Prison went to 20 (12%). In all 94 federal districts, 38% of people in this category were sent to prison.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 170 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Probation Only and Fines Dominate

Probation only went to 145 of the 170 people (85%), and a prison term went to 20 (12%). A fine was ordered for 145 people (85%).

Among the 20 sent to prison, the median prison term was 1 month. A quarter received 4.5 months or more, and a quarter received 0.2 months or less.

In all 94 districts, 9,918 people were sentenced in this category. Of those, 38% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 0.2 months. For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 46 months.

## What "Other" Covers

"Other" is a catch-all offense type used by the U.S. Sentencing Commission for cases that do not fit its named categories. It does not describe one kind of crime.

The most common primary guideline in this district was §2X5.2 (Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline)), with 8 people. Next was §2D2.2 (Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge), with 3.

Single people were sentenced under §2D1.13 (Structuring Chemical Transactions or Creating a Chemical Mixture to Evade Reporting or Recordkeeping Requirements) and §2A5.2 (Interference with Flight Crew Member or Flight Attendant). These cases were 4% of the 4,557 people sentenced in the district.

## Almost All Sentences Were Within the Guideline Range

The guideline range is the range produced by the federal guidelines for a case. For the 151 people with this information, 99% (149) were sentenced within it.

Below the range without a government request was 1 person (less than 1%), and above the range was 1 person (less than 1%). None was below the range at the government's request.

Nationally, 90% of sentences in this category were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 56%.

## Pleas and Plea Agreements

Guilty pleas were entered by 168 of the 170 people (99%), and 2 were convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 7% had a written plea agreement and 46% were straight pleas with no agreement.

Those percentages do not cover every guilty plea, and the records do not show how the rest were classified.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 18 people with that information recorded (6%).

## Supervised Release and Criminal History

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 9 people (5%), with a median term of 12 months. Restitution was ordered for 3 (2%).

On criminal history, 88% were in the lowest category, category I, and 0% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Counts and Medians by Year

The federal fiscal year begins October 1 and ends at the end of September. The records show 85 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 85 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.

The yearly table has between 10 and 23 people each year. Yearly medians are 1.1 months or less in 2016 through 2019 and 23 months in 2020, and the medians for 2022 and 2023 are marked n/a. Each yearly median is based on a small number of people who went to prison.

The records cannot show what conduct led to each case. They count only people who were convicted and sentenced, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 20               | 0.3 months    | 95%            |
| 2017        | 21               | 1 months      | 95%            |
| 2018        | 21               | 1.1 months    | 100%           |
| 2019        | 23               | 0.2 months    | 100%           |
| 2020        | 13               | 23 months     | 100%           |
| 2021        | 10               | 0 months      | 100%           |
| 2022        | 15               | n/a           | 100%           |
| 2023        | 12               | n/a           | 100%           |
| 2024        | 19               | 6 months      | 100%           |
| 2025        | 16               | 2 months      | 100%           |

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Alabama (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Alabama North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Other" (170). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-alabama/) (overview)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-alabama/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-alabama/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-alabama/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-northern-district-of-alabama/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.