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# Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-prison-offenses-sentences-district-of-montana/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:08:41.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:08:41.000Z
- Description: Of the 10 people sentenced for prison offenses in the District of Montana in fiscal years 2016 to 2022, 9 had a straight guilty plea with no plea agreement (90%). All 10 received a prison term, and the median was 11 months, compared with 10 months in all 94 districts.
- 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 District of Montana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-montana/) › Prison Offense: District of Montana

**In brief:** Of the 10 people sentenced for prison offenses in the District of Montana in fiscal years 2016 to 2022, 9 had a straight guilty plea with no plea agreement (90%). All 10 received a prison term, and the median was 11 months, compared with 10 months in all 94 districts.

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 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](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/).

## Straight Pleas Were the Usual Form

All 10 people pleaded guilty, and none went to trial. Only 10% of those pleas came with a written plea agreement, and 90% were straight pleas with no agreement.

In all 94 districts, 99% of people sentenced for prison offenses pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in Montana the share was 96%. The Montana group's 100% is therefore similar to both, while its use of straight pleas is the notable difference.

## One Guideline, Escape

The Commission's offense type is "Prison Offenses." All 10 cases used one primary guideline, §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape). The group was less than 1% of the 3,524 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## Prison Terms Compared With the Rest of the Country

Every person received a prison term, and none received probation only. The median prison term was 11 months. A quarter received 13.5 months or more, and a quarter received 8.1 months or less.

Across all districts, 4,976 people were sentenced for prison offenses, 96% were sent to prison, and the median was 10 months. The Montana median is higher by a small amount. The median for all offenses in Montana was 40 months.

## Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums

A total of 9 of the 10 sentences (90%) were within the guideline range, and 1 (10%) was below it without a government request. None was above the range or below it at the government's request.

Nationally, 63% of prison offense sentences were within the range, and for all offenses in Montana the share was 33%. No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 10 people.

## Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 9 people (90%), with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 1 person (10%), and no fine was ordered.

None of the group was in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 10% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Counts by Fiscal Year

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 8 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 2 people. The table lists 1 to 3 people per year, and no rows appear for 2020\. Yearly medians such as 15 months in 2017 rest on 2 people and do not show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 1                | 6.5 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2017        | 2                | 15 months     | 2 of 2         |
| 2018        | 2                | 11.7 months   | 2 of 2         |
| 2019        | 3                | 12 months     | 3 of 3         |
| 2021        | 1                | 10 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2022        | 1                | 8 months      | 1 of 1         |

## Limits of the Records

Malmstrom AFB, Montana, is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, so they are not part of these figures.

Each percentage in this post rests on 10 people or fewer, so a single case moves it noticeably. Acquittals and dismissals are not counted, and prison terms are those imposed, not served. The records do not describe the facility or the circumstances.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Montana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Montana") 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](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 District of Montana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-montana/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-montana/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-montana/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-montana/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Assault Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-assault-sentences-district-of-montana/) (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.