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# Federal Robbery Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:33:04.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:33:04.000Z
- Description: 140 of the 141 people sentenced for robbery offenses in the District of South Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 120 months (10 years), higher than the 90 months for robbery in all 94 districts. A mandatory minimum applied to 70 of the 141 people (50%).
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-south-carolina/) › Robbery: District of South Carolina

**In brief:** 140 of the 141 people sentenced for robbery offenses in the District of South Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 120 months (10 years), higher than the 90 months for robbery in all 94 districts. A mandatory minimum applied to 70 of the 141 people (50%).

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 141 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## A Mandatory Minimum Applied to 70 People

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 70 of the 141 people with that information recorded (50%). A mandatory minimum is a prison term set by statute that a court generally cannot go below.

Robbery cases were 2% of the 6,874 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type is "Robbery," and all 141 people had §2B3.1 (Robbery) as the primary guideline.

## Prison Terms

140 people (more than 99%) received a prison term, and 1 (less than 1%) received probation only. The median prison term was 120 months. A quarter received 168.5 months or more, and a quarter received 76.8 months or less.

For all 94 districts, 99% of the 14,845 people in this offense type were sent to prison, with a median of 90 months. For all offenses in the District of South Carolina, the median was 48.2 months.

These are the terms imposed, not time served.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 9                | 60 months     | 9 of 9         |
| 2017        | 27               | 125 months    | 93%            |
| 2018        | 22               | 103 months    | 100%           |
| 2019        | 30               | 135 months    | 100%           |
| 2020        | 11               | 144 months    | 100%           |
| 2021        | 4                | 115.5 months  | 4 of 4         |
| 2022        | 7                | 121 months    | 7 of 7         |
| 2023        | 12               | 130 months    | 100%           |
| 2024        | 9                | 130 months    | 7 of 9         |
| 2025        | 10               | 123.5 months  | 100%           |

## Trials and Guilty Pleas

137 of 141 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. The rate was 95% in all districts and 98% for all offenses in the district.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 120 months. After a trial, it was 384 months, based on 4 people. The trial group is very small, and the records do not explain the difference.

77% of guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 23% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Against the Guideline Range

Of the 141 people with this information, 43% (61) were within the range. 24% (34) were below it at the government's request, and 17% (24) were below it without a government request. 16% (22) were above the range.

Within-range sentences were more common than the 40% for robbery in all districts, and less common than the 47% for all offenses in the district. Sentences above the range were 16% here.

## Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History

140 people (more than 99%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 94 people (67%). No fine was ordered.

On criminal history, 23% were in the lowest category, category I, and 20% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Yearly Counts

There were 88 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 53 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The yearly table shows 4 people in fiscal year 2021 and 30 in fiscal year 2019\. Medians range from 60 months in fiscal year 2016, based on 9 people, to 144 months in fiscal year 2020, based on 11 people.

Groups of this size do not support a trend, and the records do not show what drove any change.

## Installations and Limits

Joint Base Charleston, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and Shaw AFB lie within this district. Courts-martial are heard in military courts, not in this court, and this post reports federal numbers alone.

The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included, and the facts of individual cases are not part of the data.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Carolina") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (141). 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.

**Mandatory minimum sentences.** Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.

## Related Analysis

- [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-south-carolina/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.