Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Northern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025
The Northern District of West Virginia sentenced 101 people for prison offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 99 (98%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months, compared with 10 months across all 94 federal districts. 66% were sentenced below the guideline range at the government's request
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In brief: The Northern District of West Virginia sentenced 101 people for prison offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 99 (98%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months, compared with 10 months across all 94 federal districts. 66% were sentenced below the guideline range at the government's request.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 101 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.
Below the Range at the Government's Request
Of the 100 people with the information, 66% (66) were sentenced below the guideline range at the government's request. Another 4% (4) were below the range without a government request, 27% (27) were within the range, and 3% (3) were above it.
In all districts together, 63% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 57%. Prison offenses were within the range less often than either figure. The records do not show the reasons for the requests.
Prison Terms and Median Length
A total of 99 of 101 people (98%) received a prison term, and 2 (2%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Across all districts, 96% were sent to prison.
The median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 5 months or less. The all-districts median was 10 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 37 months.
These figures are terms the court imposed, not time served.
Contraband and Escape
"Prison Offenses" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The most common primary guideline was §2P1.2 (Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison), with 64 people. Next was §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape), with 12.
These cases were 4% of the 2,879 people sentenced in the district. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced.
Plea Rates and Mandatory Minimums
A total of 100 of 101 people (more than 99%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. All guilty pleas (100%) had a written plea agreement.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 12 months, and the median for the 1 person convicted at trial was also 12 months. A mandatory minimum applied to 0 of the 101 people (0%).
Little Supervised Release, and a High Criminal History Share
Supervised release was ordered for only 6 people (6%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (less than 1%), and restitution for none (0%).
The federal data records criminal history. Of these people, 2% were in category I, the lowest, and 26% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
The district sentenced 38 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 63 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. A fiscal year starts on October 1.
Yearly counts range from 4 to 18, and medians range from 4.5 months to 16 months. Groups this small do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 13 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 12 | 5 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 9 | 6 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2019 | 4 | 16 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2020 | 8 | 12 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2021 | 6 | 12 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2022 | 9 | 12 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2023 | 14 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 18 | 6 months | 94% |
| 2025 | 8 | 4.5 months | 8 of 8 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of West Virginia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "W Virginia North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Prison Offenses" (101). 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 West Virginia, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of West Virginia, 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.