Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2025
45 people were sentenced in the District of New Hampshire in the offense type "Prison Offenses" in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 44 received a prison term, and the median prison term was 4 months. For this offense type in all 94 districts, the median was 10 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2 › Prison Offense: District of New Hampshire
In brief: 45 people were sentenced in the District of New Hampshire in the offense type "Prison Offenses" in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 44 received a prison term, and the median prison term was 4 months. For this offense type in all 94 districts, the median was 10 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 45 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.
What "Prison Offenses" Means in the Commission's Data
The U.S. Sentencing Commission assigns each sentenced person to an offense type. "Prison Offenses" covers crimes tied to confinement, such as possessing contraband in a prison and escape. In this district, 23 people were sentenced mainly under §2P1.2 (Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison) and 18 under §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape). 1 person was sentenced under §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).
These cases were 3% of the 1,754 people sentenced in the district. The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced.
Prison Terms Were Short Compared With the District's Other Cases
44 of the 45 people (98%) received a prison term. Among them, the median prison term was 4 months. A quarter received 9 months or more, and a quarter received 1.8 months or less.
For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 30 months. For this offense type in all 94 districts, which the Commission counts at 4,976 people, 96% were sent to prison and the median prison term was 10 months. The district's median was lower than that figure.
Every Person Pleaded Guilty
All 45 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 93% had a written plea agreement and 7% were straight pleas with no agreement.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 45 people (0%). A fine was ordered for none, and restitution was ordered for none.
Guideline Range and Supervised Release
47% of sentences (21 people) were within the guideline range. 38% (17) were below the range at the government's request, and 16% (7) were below the range without a government request. None was above the range.
For this offense type in all districts, 63% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in the district, the figure was 31%.
8 people (18%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 36 months.
Criminal History
27% of the group were in the highest criminal history category, category VI. None, 0%, were in the lowest category, category I. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so there is no military figure to set beside these.
Yearly Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 24 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 21. A fiscal year runs October 1 to September 30. The highest yearly count was 13 people in 2017, and several years have 1 or 2 people. The medians in the table, from 0 months in 2021 to 12 months in 2016, therefore describe very small groups. The records cannot show whether they form a pattern.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 | 12 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2017 | 13 | 8 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 5 | 6 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2019 | 4 | 3 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2020 | 9 | 1 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 1 | 8.5 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 2 | 8 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 5 | 4 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2025 | 1 | 9 months | 1 of 1 |
Limits of the Records
The data reports prison terms imposed, not time served. It does not describe the facts of any case, and it does not show whether a person was already in custody on another sentence when these offenses were charged.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Hampshire (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Hampshire") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Prison Offenses" (45). 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 New Hampshire, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of New Hampshire, 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.