Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025
Of the 257 people sentenced for prison offenses in the District of Arizona in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 253 (98%) received a prison term, and the median was 8 months. Criminal history was unusual in this group: 18% were in the highest category (VI), and 4% were in the lowest category.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025 › Prison Offense: District of Arizona
In brief: Of the 257 people sentenced for prison offenses in the District of Arizona in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 253 (98%) received a prison term, and the median was 8 months. Criminal history was unusual in this group: 18% were in the highest category (VI), and 4% were in the lowest category.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 257 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.
Criminal History in This Group
The records place each person in a criminal history category, from category I (lowest) to category VI (highest). In this group, 4% were in category I and 18% were in category VI.
Category VI is the group with the most extensive prior record. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this detail has no military counterpart.
Prison Terms
Of the 257 people, 253 (98%) received a prison term, and 4 (2%) received probation only.
The median prison term was 8 months. A quarter received 13 months or more, and a quarter received 5 months or less. For all 94 federal districts, 96% of 4,976 people were sent to prison, and the median was 10 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 9 months. These are the terms imposed by the court, not time served.
What Prison Offenses Means
"Prison Offenses" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's category for crimes such as escape and contraband. It is assigned by the primary sentencing guideline.
In this district, §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape) was the primary guideline for 236 people. Another 15 were sentenced under §2P1.2 (Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison). These cases were less than 1% of the 47,716 people sentenced in the district.
Within the Guideline Range for Most
The range was recorded for 253 people. Of those, 74% (188) were sentenced within it. Another 13% (33) were below it at the government's request, and 11% (29) were below it without a request. About 1% (3) were above it.
For all districts, 63% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 35% were. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 257 people with that information recorded.
Pleas and Other Orders
Of the 257 people, 256 (more than 99%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 95% had a written plea agreement and 5% did not.
Supervised release followed prison for 190 people (74%), with a median term of 36 months. No fine was ordered (0%), and restitution was ordered for 1 person (less than 1%).
Counts Fell Over the Period
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 151 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 106. The yearly count was 50 in fiscal year 2016 and 10 in fiscal year 2025. Yearly medians ranged from 4 months to 13 months.
The records give no reason for the lower counts. The installations in this district that appear in this site's court-martial data are Davis-Monthan AFB, Fort Huachuca, Luke AFB, and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. Their courts-martial are tried in military courts, and these federal figures do not describe them.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 50 | 11 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 46 | 8 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 31 | 10 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 24 | 13 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 18 | 8 months | 94% |
| 2021 | 13 | 4 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 21 | 8 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 25 | 8 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 19 | 8 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 10 | 6.5 months | 100% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Arizona (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Arizona") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Prison Offenses" (257). 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 Arizona, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Possession Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Arizona, 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.