Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025
All 76 people sentenced for prison offenses in the Southern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 pleaded guilty. 73 of them (96%) received a prison term, and the median was 6.9 months, compared with 10 months across all 94 federal districts. 62% of sentences were below the guideline ran
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY20 › Prison Offense: Southern District of New York
In brief: All 76 people sentenced for prison offenses in the Southern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 pleaded guilty. 73 of them (96%) received a prison term, and the median was 6.9 months, compared with 10 months across all 94 federal districts. 62% of sentences were below the guideline range without a government request.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 76 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.
No Trial Convictions
76 of 76 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. Across all 94 districts, 99% pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in this district the rate was 95%.
22% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 78% were straight pleas with no agreement. Straight pleas were far more common than agreements in this group. With no trial convictions, there is no trial median to compare.
Prison Terms
73 of the 76 people (96%) received a prison term, and 3 (4%) received probation only. The median prison term was 6.9 months. A quarter received 12 months or more, and a quarter received 3 months or less.
In all 94 districts together, 96% were sent to prison and the median was 10 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 33 months. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's rules produce a guideline range for each case. 47 sentences (62%) were below it with no government request, 26 (34%) were within it, and 3 (4%) were below it at the government's request. None were above it.
The within-range share was 63% in all 94 districts together and 22% for all offenses in this district. None of the 68 people with mandatory minimum information recorded had one apply.
Escape and Contraband
"Prison Offenses" is the Commission's offense type for this group. The most common primary guideline was §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape), with 61 people. The other was §2P1.2 (Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison), with 7 people.
These cases were less than 1% of the 12,035 people sentenced in the district over fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Counts by Fiscal Year
The district sentenced 43 people in this offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 33 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Single years ranged from 3 people in fiscal year 2025 to 13 people in fiscal year 2017.
Medians in the table range from 4 months in fiscal year 2023 to 13.5 months in fiscal year 2018. Every person in every year pleaded guilty. The groups are small, and the table does not show a trend. A fiscal year starts October 1.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 10 | 8.5 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 13 | 10.5 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 9 | 13.5 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2019 | 11 | 6.5 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 5 | 9 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2021 | 7 | 4.2 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2022 | 7 | 5.4 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2023 | 7 | 4 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2024 | 4 | 6 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5.8 months | 3 of 3 |
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
58 people (76%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. 2 people (3%) were fined, and no one was ordered to pay restitution.
4% of the people were in the lowest criminal history category (Category I), and 33% were in the highest (VI). The military records on this site have no criminal history measure.
What the Records Cannot Show
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced.
The records do not describe the facilities involved or the facts of any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Prison Offenses" (76). 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 New York, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Southern 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.