Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2025
All 10 people sentenced under the "Prison Offenses" type in the District of Massachusetts in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 pleaded guilty and received a prison term. Their median prison term was 13.5 months. Across all 94 districts the median was 10 months, and 96% were sent to prison.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Massachusetts, FY2016–2 › Prison Offense: District of Massachusetts
In brief: All 10 people sentenced under the "Prison Offenses" type in the District of Massachusetts in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 pleaded guilty and received a prison term. Their median prison term was 13.5 months. Across all 94 districts the median was 10 months, and 96% were sent to prison.
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.
Prison Terms for Prison Offenses
The Sentencing Commission uses "Prison Offenses" as an offense type. In this district, 8 of the 10 cases were under §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape).
The median prison term was 13.5 months, which is higher than the 10 months across all districts and lower than the 30 months for every offense type in this district. A quarter of the terms were 17.2 months or more, and a quarter were 1.9 months or less. No one received probation only.
A Very Small Share of the District's Cases
Across all districts, 4,976 people were sentenced under this type. In this district, the 10 people were less than 1% of the 4,847 sentenced over the period.
With 10 people, the numbers are best read as a list of what happened to each person, not as rates.
Pleas Without Trials
Every person pleaded guilty, as did 99% across all districts. The rate for all offenses in this district was 95%. A straight plea means the person pleaded guilty without a written agreement with the government. Of those pleas, 60% came with a written plea agreement, and 40% were straight pleas.
Sentences Relative to the Range
A total of 5 of the 10 sentences (50%) fell inside the recommended guideline range. A government request for a lower sentence was behind 3 below-range sentences (30%), and 2 (20%) were lower with no request. No sentence was above the range.
Across all districts, 63% were inside the range. For all offenses in this district, 29% were. Among the 9 people with mandatory minimum information recorded, none had one.
Supervised Release and Criminal History
A supervised release term followed prison for 7 people (70%), with a median of 24 months. No fine or restitution was ordered. Supervised release is a period of court supervision after the prison term ends.
None of the 10 was in the lowest criminal history category, and 40% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so the military system offers nothing to compare.
Fiscal Years in the Table
The district sentenced 8 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 2 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Each fiscal year starts on October 1.
The table lists 6 years, with 1 or 2 people in each. Medians range from 1.1 months in 2024 to 21 months in 2018. These are separate small groups, and no pattern can be read from them.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | 12.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 2 | 6 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 2 | 21 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 2 | 7.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 1 | 1.1 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 18 months | 1 of 1 |
What the Data Does Not Show
Only convicted, sentenced people are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are absent. The prison terms are sentences as imposed and not time served. The records do not describe the facts behind any escape case or its circumstances.
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 "Prison Offenses" (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.