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# Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-other-sentences-southern-district-of-mississippi/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:15:05.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:15:05.000Z
- Description: Of the 20 people sentenced in the Southern District of Mississippi under the Commission's "Other" offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2024, 10 (50%) received a prison term and 9 (45%) received probation only. The median prison term for those sent to prison was 10.5 months. Sentences were within the
- 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 Mississippi, F](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-mississippi/) › Other Offense: Southern District of Mississippi

**In brief:** Of the 20 people sentenced in the Southern District of Mississippi under the Commission's "Other" offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2024, 10 (50%) received a prison term and 9 (45%) received probation only. The median prison term for those sent to prison was 10.5 months. Sentences were within the guideline range for 89% of those with the information.

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 20 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/).

## Prison or Probation?

The sentence was prison for 10 of the 20 people (50%) and probation only for 9 (45%). Probation only means no prison or other confinement.

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 10.5 months. A quarter received 6.1 months or less, and a quarter received 15.2 months or more.

Across all 94 districts, 38% of people in this type were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 0.2 months. For all offenses in the Southern District of Mississippi, the median was 48 months. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

## What Is in the Category Called Other?

"Other" is a category the U.S. Sentencing Commission uses for cases that do not fit its named offense types. It is not one kind of crime, so the numbers describe a mixed group.

The most common primary guideline here was §2D2.2 (Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge), with 12 cases. Another 2 cases used §2D1.12 (Unlawful Possession, Manufacture, Distribution, Transportation, Exportation, or Importation of Prohibited Flask, Equipment, Chemical, Product, or Material).

## Sentences Matched the Guideline Range Most of the Time

Of the 18 people with this information, 16 (89%) had a sentence within the guideline range. One person (6%) was below the range at the government's request, and one (6%) was above the range. None was below the range without a government request (0%).

Across all 94 districts, 90% of sentences in this type were within the range. That is about the same as the district's 89%. For all offenses in the district, the within-range share was 69%.

A mandatory minimum applied to 0 of the 19 people with that information recorded (0%).

## Guilty Pleas and Agreements

All 20 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. The rate was 98% for this type across all 94 districts and 97% for all offenses in the district.

Among guilty pleas, 90% had a written plea agreement, and 5% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Release, Fines, and Criminal History

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 9 people (45%), with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 18 people (90%). Restitution was ordered for 1 person (5%).

In the lowest criminal history category, category I, were 56% of the people. In the highest, category VI, were 6%.

## Counts by Fiscal Year

These cases were less than 1% of the 3,361 people sentenced in the district. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 12 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 8 people. A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends the following September.

In the table, fiscal year 2018 has the most people, 7, with a median of 10.5 months. Other years have 1 to 3 people, and some show "n/a" where no median prison term is available. These groups are too small to show trends.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 2                | n/a           | 2 of 2         |
| 2017        | 1                | 0.1 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2018        | 7                | 10.5 months   | 7 of 7         |
| 2019        | 2                | 6.3 months    | 2 of 2         |
| 2021        | 3                | 32 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2023        | 2                | 9.5 months    | 2 of 2         |
| 2024        | 3                | n/a           | 3 of 3         |

## Limits of the Records

The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. The records do not explain why one person received prison and another probation.

Keesler AFB, Mississippi, is a military installation in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court, and these figures are federal only.

### 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 "Other" (20). 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](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 Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-mississippi/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-southern-district-of-mississippi/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-southern-district-of-mississippi/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-southern-district-of-mississippi/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-southern-district-of-mississippi/) (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.