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# Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-other-sentences-southern-district-of-illinois/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:16:05.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:16:05.000Z
- Description: The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Other" covered 42 people in the Southern District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 30 (71%) received a prison term, with a median of 43.5 months (3.6 years). In all 94 federal districts together, 38% of people in this category were sent to pris
- 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 Southern District of Illinois, FY20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-illinois/) › Other Offense: Southern District of Illinois

**In brief:** The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Other" covered 42 people in the Southern District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 30 (71%) received a prison term, with a median of 43.5 months (3.6 years). In all 94 federal districts together, 38% of people in this category were sent to prison, with a median of 0.2 months.

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 42 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/).

## What the "Other" Category Contains

The Commission assigns each case to an offense type. "Other" is the Commission's own label for this group. In this district, the most common primary guidelines were all drug-related.

§2D1.11 (Unlawfully Distributing, Importing, Exporting or Possessing a Listed Chemical) applied to 29 people. §2D2.2 (Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge) applied to 12, and §2D3.1 (Regulatory Offenses Involving Registration Numbers) to 1.

These cases were 2% of the 2,576 people sentenced in the district. The all-district numbers for this category may cover a different mix of guidelines than the ones named here.

## Prison, Probation, and Median Terms

9 of the 42 people (21%) received probation only, and 30 (71%) were sent to prison. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 43.5 months. A quarter received 76 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less.

The median for all offenses in this district was 71 months. Terms are those imposed, not time served.

## A Concentration in Early Years

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 36 of the people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 6\. Fiscal year 2016 alone has 18 people in the table, with a median of 63 months.

Several years have no median because only 1 or 2 people were sentenced. The records do not say why the count dropped, and they cannot show whether charging or reporting changed.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 18               | 63 months     | 100%           |
| 2017        | 5                | 46.5 months   | 5 of 5         |
| 2018        | 7                | 30 months     | 7 of 7         |
| 2019        | 6                | 8.8 months    | 6 of 6         |
| 2020        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |
| 2021        | 2                | n/a           | 2 of 2         |
| 2022        | 2                | 24 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2025        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |

## Pleas and the Guideline Range

All 42 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. 71% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 29% were straight pleas. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced.

20 sentences (48%) were within the guideline range. 7 (17%) were below it at the government's request, and 14 (33%) were below it without that request. 1 (2%) was above it. In all districts, 90% of sentences in this category were within the range.

## Mandatory Minimums, Criminal History, and Conditions

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 42 people (2%). 31% of the people were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 2% were in the highest, category VI.

29 people (69%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 31 (74%), and restitution for 1 (2%).

## Limits

The records do not describe the substances or the facts of any case. Scott AFB, Illinois, appears in this site's court-martial data, but courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Illinois (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Illinois South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Other" (42). 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 Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-illinois/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-southern-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-southern-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-southern-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sexual-abuse-sentences-southern-district-of-illinois/) (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.