Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025
60 people were sentenced for prison offenses in the Southern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The leading guideline was §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape), with 27 people. The median prison term was 12 months, compared with 10 months in all 94 districts.
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In brief: 60 people were sentenced for prison offenses in the Southern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The leading guideline was §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape), with 27 people. The median prison term was 12 months, compared with 10 months in all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 60 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.
Escape, Contraband, and Riot Guidelines
"Prison Offenses" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's category for crimes tied to detention facilities. The primary guidelines listed in the sheet are below.
§2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape) applied to 27 people. §2P1.2 (Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison) applied to 17. §2P1.3 (Engaging In, Inciting or Attempting to Incite a Riot Involving Persons in a Facility for Official Detention) applied to 12.
These cases were 2% of the 3,361 people sentenced in the district.
Prison Terms
58 of the 60 people (97%) received a prison term, and 1 (2%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For all districts, 96% were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 12 months. A quarter received 25.5 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less. For every offense type in this district, the median was 48 months.
Guideline Range Positions
73% of the 60 people (44) were sentenced within the guideline range. The figure for all districts was 63%.
12% (7) were below the range without a government request, and 10% (6) were below it at the government's request. 5% (3) were above it.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 59 people with that information recorded.
Pleas and Trials
58 of the 60 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. For all districts the rate was 99%.
The median prison term was 12 months after a guilty plea and 5 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 2 people. Among the pleas, 78% had a written plea agreement and 22% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Release, Fines, and Prior Record
41 people (68%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 24 (40%), and restitution for 12 (20%).
10% were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 10% were in category VI, the highest.
Counts by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 have 31 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 have 29. The year 2016 has 12 people with a median of 77.5 months, and 2018 has 11 with a median of 6 months.
After 2018, no year has more than 7 people. These small groups do not show a trend, and the fiscal year ends each September.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 77.5 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 1 | 120 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 11 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 7 | 2 months | 5 of 7 |
| 2020 | 2 | 8 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 3 | 15 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 6 | 10 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2023 | 7 | 12 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2024 | 6 | 16 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2025 | 5 | 12 months | 5 of 5 |
What the Data Leaves Out
The Commission data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. It has no acquittals or dismissals, and it reports imposed terms, not time served.
Keesler AFB, Mississippi, appears in this site's court-martial data and is 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 Mississippi (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Mississippi South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Prison Offenses" (60). 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 Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Southern District of Mississippi, 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.