> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-prison-offenses-sentences-district-of-south-dakota/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:07:32.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:07:32.000Z - Description: All 92 people sentenced in the U.S. Sentencing Commission's "Prison Offenses" type in the District of South Dakota in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 8 months, compared with 10 months across all 94 federal districts. 88 of the 92 cases used the escape guideline. - 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 South Dakota, FY2016–20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-south-dakota/) › Prison Offense: District of South Dakota **In brief:** All 92 people sentenced in the U.S. Sentencing Commission's "Prison Offenses" type in the District of South Dakota in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 8 months, compared with 10 months across all 94 federal districts. 88 of the 92 cases used the escape guideline. 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 92 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/). ## Escape Was the Main Guideline The Commission's type "Prison Offenses" is made up mostly of escape cases in this district. In this district, the most common primary guideline was §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape), used in 88 cases. §2P1.2 (Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison) was used in 3. The group is 2% of the 5,041 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. ## Short Prison Terms for Everyone Sentenced 92 of the 92 (100%) received a prison term, and 0 received probation only. A quarter received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 5 months or less. Across all 94 districts, 4,976 people were sentenced for this offense type, 96% were sent to prison, and the median was 10 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 36 months. ## Criminal History in the Group 0% of these people were in the lowest criminal history category I, and 23% were in the highest VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so there is nothing to compare this to there. The records give the lowest and highest categories for this group only. ## Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums 70% of sentences (64) were within the advisory guideline range. 8% (7) were below it at the government's request, 23% (21) were below it without a government request, and none was above it. Within-range sentences were more common here than for this offense type across all districts (63%) and for all offenses in this district (57%). No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 92 people. ## Pleas and Trials 91 of 92 (99%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 8 months after a guilty plea and 5 months after a trial, which rests on 1 person. Among guilty pleas, 93% had a written plea agreement and 7% were straight pleas with no agreement. ## Counts Across the Fiscal Years 33 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 59 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The yearly count was 5 in fiscal year 2021 and 15 in fiscal year 2024. Yearly medians range from 4.8 months in fiscal year 2020 to 12 months in fiscal years 2016 and 2024\. Counts of 5 to 15 people make each median fragile. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 8 | 12 months | 8 of 8 | | 2017 | 9 | 8 months | 9 of 9 | | 2018 | 6 | 8 months | 6 of 6 | | 2019 | 10 | 5.7 months | 90% | | 2020 | 6 | 4.8 months | 6 of 6 | | 2021 | 5 | 8 months | 5 of 5 | | 2022 | 13 | 8 months | 100% | | 2023 | 10 | 10.5 months | 100% | | 2024 | 15 | 12 months | 100% | | 2025 | 10 | 8.5 months | 100% | ## After Release and What Is Missing 31 people (34%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 0, and restitution for 1 (1%). Only people convicted and sentenced are counted. Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota is in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Dakota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Dakota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Prison Offenses" (92). 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 South Dakota, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-south-dakota/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-south-dakota/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-south-dakota/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Assault Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-assault-sentences-district-of-south-dakota/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-obscenity-other-sex-offenses-sentences-district-of-south-dakota/) (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.