Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025
A total of 20 people were sentenced for prison offenses in the Northern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. All 20 pleaded guilty and all 20 received a prison term, with a median of 12 months. In all 94 districts the median was 10 months.
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In brief: A total of 20 people were sentenced for prison offenses in the Northern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. All 20 pleaded guilty and all 20 received a prison term, with a median of 12 months. In all 94 districts the median was 10 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 20 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.
Who Is in the Prison Offenses Category
"Prison Offenses" is an offense type used by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. In this district it covers 20 people, which is less than 1% of the 3,763 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Most of the cases, 15 people, had §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape) as the primary guideline. The other 5 had §2P1.2 (Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison).
Prison Terms
Every person in this group received a prison term. For this offense type in all districts, 96% were sent to prison.
The median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 21 months or more, and a quarter received 8 months or less. The median for all districts was 10 months, and the median for all offenses in the district was 24 months.
No mandatory minimum applied to any of the 20 people.
Pleas and Plea Agreements
All 20 people pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. The guilty plea rate in all districts was 99%.
Among the guilty pleas, 30% had a written plea agreement and 70% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
A total of 14 sentences (70%) were within the guideline range. In all districts the share was 63%, and for all offenses in the district it was 53%.
In 2 cases (10%) the sentence was below the range at the government's request, 2 (10%) were below it without a request, and 2 (10%) were above it. The guideline range is advisory, and the data does not say what led to a sentence above or below it.
Criminal History and Orders After Prison
On criminal history, 10% were in the lowest category, category I, and 35% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 8 people (40%). The median supervised release term was 36 months, and the rest had none ordered. No fine and no restitution was ordered.
Counts by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 7 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 13. No year has more than 4 people, and fiscal year 2019 has no row.
The yearly medians run from 6 months to 30 months. Each is based on 1 to 4 people, so the records do not support calling any change a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2017 | 1 | 8 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 3 | 8 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2020 | 2 | 14.8 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 3 | 6 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 4 | 18 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2023 | 2 | 18 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 1 | 30 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 6 months | 1 of 1 |
What the Records Cannot Show
These numbers describe 20 people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included, and each prison term is the term imposed, not the time served. Fort Drum, New York, is an installation in this district. Its courts-martial are tried in military courts, so they are outside this federal data.
The records do not show the facts of any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Prison Offenses" (20). 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 New York, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of New York, 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.