> ## 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 Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-prison-offenses-sentences-northern-district-of-iowa/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:06:18.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:06:18.000Z - Description: In the Northern District of Iowa, 78 people were sentenced for prison offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and the median prison term was 12.5 months. For all 94 federal districts the median was 10 months. In this district, 76% were sentenced within the guideline range, compared with 63% across al - 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 Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-iowa/) › Prison Offense: Northern District of Iowa **In brief:** In the Northern District of Iowa, 78 people were sentenced for prison offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and the median prison term was 12.5 months. For all 94 federal districts the median was 10 months. In this district, 76% were sentenced within the guideline range, compared with 63% across all 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 78 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/). ## What Prison Offenses Means in This Data "Prison Offenses" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's category for cases such as escape and contraband. In the Northern District of Iowa, the primary guideline was §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape) for 73 of the 78 people. The other cases had §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact), 1, and §2P1.2 (Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison), 1\. These cases were 2% of the 3,479 people sentenced in the district over the period. ## Prison Terms Of the 78 people, 76 (97%) received a prison term, and 2 (3%) received probation only. The median prison term was 12.5 months. A quarter received 21.8 months or more, and a quarter received 8 months or less. In all districts, 4,976 people were sentenced in this offense type, 96% were sent to prison, and the median was 10 months. For all offenses in the Northern District of Iowa, the median was 60 months. The terms are those imposed, not time served. ## Position Against the Guideline Range A total of 76% (59) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 6% (5) were below the range at the government's request, and 8% (6) were below it without a government request. 10% (8) were above the range. The all-district figure for within the range was 63%. For all offenses in this district, it was 53%. ## Pleas and Plea Agreements A total of 77 people (99%) pleaded guilty, and 1 person was convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 13 months after a guilty plea and 12 months after a trial. The trial figure is a single case, so it cannot be compared with the plea figure. Among guilty pleas, 39% had a written plea agreement, and 61% were straight pleas with no agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 77 people with that information recorded (0%). ## Criminal History None of the people (0%) were in the lowest category I, and 31% were in the highest category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this post reports federal numbers on their own. ## Counts by Fiscal Year The group has 24 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 54 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The yearly table shows counts of 2 to 12 people. The median prison term was 8 months in 2016, 21 months in 2022, and 15 months in 2025. These counts are too small to show a trend. A fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September. The records do not explain why the yearly medians differ. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 7 | 8 months | 7 of 7 | | 2017 | 9 | 8 months | 9 of 9 | | 2018 | 2 | 15 months | 2 of 2 | | 2019 | 6 | 12.5 months | 6 of 6 | | 2020 | 8 | 9.5 months | 7 of 8 | | 2021 | 10 | 12 months | 100% | | 2022 | 9 | 21 months | 9 of 9 | | 2023 | 12 | 15 months | 100% | | 2024 | 10 | 18.5 months | 100% | | 2025 | 5 | 15 months | 5 of 5 | ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Limits Supervised release after prison was ordered for 71 people (91%), with a median term of 36 months. No fine (0) and no restitution (0) was ordered. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, and it does not show the facts of any case. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Iowa (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Iowa North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Prison Offenses" (78). 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 Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-iowa/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-iowa/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-iowa/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-northern-district-of-iowa/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Iowa, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-iowa/) (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.