Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 79 people were sentenced in the Southern District of Indiana for prison offenses, and all 79 pleaded guilty. 75 of them (95%) received a prison term, with a median of 21 months. For all 94 federal districts, the median in this offense type was 10 months.
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Indiana, FY201 › Prison Offense: Southern District of Indiana
In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 79 people were sentenced in the Southern District of Indiana for prison offenses, and all 79 pleaded guilty. 75 of them (95%) received a prison term, with a median of 21 months. For all 94 federal districts, the median in this offense type was 10 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 79 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.
A High Share in the Highest Criminal History Category
38% of the people in this group were in the highest criminal history category, category VI. Only 5% were in the lowest, category I. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so there is no military counterpart for this measure.
Prison offenses is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's category for crimes such as escape and contraband in a prison. The most common primary guideline was §2P1.2 (Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison), with 46 people. Next was §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape), with 32 people.
Prison Terms
75 of the 79 people (95%) received a prison term, and 3 (4%) received probation only. For all 94 districts, 96% were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 21 months. A quarter received 27 months or more, and a quarter received 14 months or less. The median for all 94 districts was 10 months, so the median in this district was higher.
For all offenses in this district, the median was 70 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 79 people.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 20 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2017 | 6 | 17.5 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2018 | 10 | 22 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 11 | 24 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 19 | 21 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 10 | 19.5 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 6 | 18 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2023 | 5 | 27 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2024 | 2 | 24 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2025 | 6 | 12 months | 6 of 6 |
Sentences Within the Guideline Range
75% of sentences (59 people) were within the advisory guideline range. 4% (3 people) were below it at the government's request, and 18% (14 people) were below it without a government request. 4% (3 people) were above the range.
The within-range share was 63% for all 94 districts and 43% for all offenses in this district.
Pleas
All 79 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none were convicted after a trial. For all 94 districts, 99% pleaded guilty. Because there were no trials here, the records cannot compare plea and trial sentences.
Among those who pleaded guilty, 86% had a written plea agreement and 14% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Supervision and Fines
16 people (20%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 11 people (14%). Restitution was ordered for 0.
Caseload and Yearly Counts
Prison offense cases were 2% of the 4,205 people sentenced in this district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 31 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 48 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
Yearly counts range from 2 to 19 people, and the yearly medians range from 12 to 27 months. With counts this small, the table does not show a trend.
What the Records Cannot Show
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The records do not show whether a prison term was added to a term the person was already serving.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Indiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Indiana South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Prison Offenses" (79). 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 Indiana, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Indiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Southern 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.