Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025
The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 58 people sentenced for prison offenses in the Southern District of Georgia, with fiscal years 2016 to 2024 represented. All 58 pleaded guilty, 55 received a prison term, and the median prison term was 6 months. For all 94 districts, the median was 10 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY201 › Prison Offense: Southern District of Georgia
In brief: The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 58 people sentenced for prison offenses in the Southern District of Georgia, with fiscal years 2016 to 2024 represented. All 58 pleaded guilty, 55 received a prison term, and the median prison term was 6 months. For all 94 districts, the median was 10 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 58 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.
Every Case Ended in a Guilty Plea
All 58 people (100%) pleaded guilty. No one in this group was convicted after a trial. Across all 94 districts, 99% of people in this offense type pleaded guilty.
Among the guilty pleas, 95% had a written plea agreement and 5% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The Commission's data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. Dismissals and acquittals are not counted.
Short Prison Terms
Of the 58 people, 55 (95%) received a prison term. 3 people (5%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
The median prison term among those sent to prison was 6 months. A quarter received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 4 months or less. The terms are the ones imposed, not time served.
For all 94 districts together, 96% were sent to prison and the median was 10 months. For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 48 months.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 20 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 1 | 3 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 4 | 17.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2019 | 2 | 19.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 17 | 4 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 7 | 12 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2022 | 4 | 12 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2023 | 2 | 13.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2024 | 1 | 30 months | 1 of 1 |
What Prison Offenses Means Here
"Prison Offenses" is the Commission's offense type, based on the primary sentencing guideline. The most common guidelines in this district were §2P1.2 (Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison), with 15 people, and §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape), with 14 people.
These cases were 1% of the 4,115 people sentenced in the district across fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Sentences Mostly Within the Guideline Range
Sentences within the guideline range were 91% of the cases (53 people). Below the range at the government's request were 3% (2 people), and below the range without a government request were 2% (1 person). Above the range were 3% (2 people).
Across all districts, 63% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 71%.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 57 people with that information recorded (0%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 40 people (69%). The median term was 36 months.
A fine was ordered for 8 people (14%). Restitution was ordered for no one (0%).
In criminal history, 3% were in the lowest category I and 22% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 27 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 31. The yearly table shows counts from 1 person to 20 people, with 2016 and 2020 the largest.
Several years have only 1 or 2 people, so a median for those years describes 1 or 2 sentences. The yearly figures do not show a trend.
Limits of the Records
The records show what courts imposed, not the facts of any case. They cannot show why prison terms in this group were shorter than those for the district overall.
Fort Gordon and Fort Stewart are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Georgia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Georgia South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Prison Offenses" (58). 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 Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Georgia, 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.