Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025
48% of the 96 people sentenced for prison offenses in the Eastern District of Missouri in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 were in the highest criminal history category (VI), and 1% were in the lowest. 95 (99%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months. All 96 pleaded guilty.
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In brief: 48% of the 96 people sentenced for prison offenses in the Eastern District of Missouri in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 were in the highest criminal history category (VI), and 1% were in the lowest. 95 (99%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months. All 96 pleaded guilty.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 96 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 Was Mostly in the Higher Categories
Criminal history category is a score in the sentencing guidelines that reflects a person's prior record. In this group, 48% were in the highest category (VI), and 1% were in the lowest category.
Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this measure has no military counterpart. The records here do not show how the category affected any individual sentence.
Prison Terms
95 of the 96 people (99%) received a prison term, and 1 (1%) received probation only. For all 94 districts, 96% were sent to prison.
The median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 18 months or more, and a quarter received 8 months or less. For all districts, the median was 10 months. For all offenses in the Eastern District of Missouri, it was 46 months.
The share of people sent to prison was about the same in this district and in all districts together. The median prison term here was a little higher than the national median, and the records do not show why.
One Guideline Covers Nearly Every Case
"Prison Offenses" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, assigned from the primary guideline in each case. §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape) was the primary guideline for 94 of the 96 people.
These cases were 1% of the 9,425 people sentenced in the district.
Pleas and Mandatory Minimums
All 96 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none were convicted after a trial. The rate for all districts was 99%. Among guilty pleas, 99% had a written plea agreement and 1% were straight pleas.
With no trials, the data has no trial sentences to compare. A mandatory minimum is a prison term set by statute, and it applied to 0 of the 96 people (0%). Guideline ranges, by contrast, were recorded for all 96.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Within the range were 55 sentences (57%). Below it at the government's request were 14 (15%), and below it without a request were 25 (26%). Above it were 2 (2%).
For all districts, 63% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 42% were.
Supervised Release, Yearly Counts, and Limits
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 91 people (95%), with a median term of 24 months. No fine and no restitution was ordered (0% for each).
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 32 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 64. Yearly counts range from 3 to 21, and yearly medians run from 7.2 months to 24 months. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 11 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 3 | 15 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 10 | 14.5 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 8 | 15 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2020 | 11 | 9.7 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 7 | 8.9 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2022 | 9 | 24 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2023 | 21 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 8 | 12 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2025 | 8 | 7.2 months | 8 of 8 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Missouri (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Missouri East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Prison Offenses" (96). 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 Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Eastern District of Missouri, 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.