Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025
Of 19 people sentenced for prison offenses in the Northern District of Indiana, 18 (95%) received a prison term, with a median of 11.5 months. In criminal history, 53% were in the highest category and 5% were in the lowest. The median for all 94 federal districts was 10 months.
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In brief: Of 19 people sentenced for prison offenses in the Northern District of Indiana, 18 (95%) received a prison term, with a median of 11.5 months. In criminal history, 53% were in the highest category and 5% were in the lowest. The median for all 94 federal districts was 10 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 19 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 High in This Group
Among these 19 people, 53% were in the highest category, category VI, and 5% were in the lowest, category I. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this measure applies only to federal data.
The Commission's "Prison Offenses" offense type is the group counted here. The first line of the sheet gives the period as fiscal years 2016 to 2024, and the yearly table ends with fiscal year 2024.
Prison Terms
18 of the 19 people (95%) received a prison term, and 1 (5%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. In all 94 districts, 96% were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 11.5 months. A quarter received 15 months or more, and a quarter received 6.1 months or less. The national median was 10 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 51 months.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 19 people.
Guidelines Used
Of the 19 cases, 18 were sentenced under §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape). The other case was sentenced under §2P1.2 (Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison).
Sentences Within the Guideline Range
Most sentences, 74% (14 people), were within the guideline range. Another 11% (2 people) were below the range at the government's request, and 16% (3 people) were below it with no such request. None was above the range.
In all 94 districts, 63% of sentences in this category were within the range. For all offenses in the Northern District of Indiana, the figure was 47%. The within-range share here was higher than both.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 15 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2017 | 1 | 15 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 1 | 6 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 3 | 6 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2021 | 4 | 8.6 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 3 | 15 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 2 | 14.5 months | 2 of 2 |
Pleas and Plea Agreements
All 19 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Nationally, 99% pleaded guilty. Among the guilty pleas, 89% had a written plea agreement and 11% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Supervised Release and Other Orders
A term of supervised release was ordered for 16 people (84%). The median supervised release term was 24 months. The court ordered neither fines nor restitution for any of the 19 people.
Yearly Counts and Limits
Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, this offense type made up less than 1% of the 3,085 people sentenced in the district. The earlier period, fiscal years 2016 to 2019, had 4 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 15 people.
The yearly table lists 1 to 4 people per year, with medians from 6 months to 15 months. Counts like these cannot support a claim about a trend. The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Indiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Indiana North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Prison Offenses" (19). 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 Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Northern District of Indiana, 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.