Federal Robbery Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025
60 people were sentenced for robbery in the Middle District of Alabama in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 59 (98%) received a prison term, and the median was 114 months, or 9.5 years. That is higher than the 90 months for all 94 districts, and 9 people were convicted after a trial.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016– › Robbery: Middle District of Alabama
In brief: 60 people were sentenced for robbery in the Middle District of Alabama in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 59 (98%) received a prison term, and the median was 114 months, or 9.5 years. That is higher than the 90 months for all 94 districts, and 9 people were convicted after a trial.
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.
Guilty Pleas Were Less Common Than in All Districts
51 of the 60 people (85%) pleaded guilty, and 9 were convicted after a trial. For all districts, 95% of robbery cases ended in a guilty plea, so pleas were less common here. The rate for all offenses in this district was 94%, which is also higher than the robbery rate.
The median prison term was 105.5 months after a guilty plea and 180 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 9 people.
Among the guilty pleas, 84% had a written plea agreement and 16% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Prison Terms
The median for the 59 people sent to prison was 114 months. A quarter received 162 months or more, and a quarter received 71 months or less. 1 person received a life sentence.
For all districts, 99% of people sentenced for robbery went to prison. For all offenses in this district, the median was 46 months.
Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 29 of the 60 people (48%).
The records do not show which statute set each minimum.
Guideline Range
23 sentences (38%) were within the guideline range. 15 (25%) were below the range without a government request, and 14 (23%) were below it at the government's request. 8 sentences (13%) were above the range.
For all districts, 40% of robbery sentences were within the range, which is about the same as here.
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
59 people (98%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 33 people (55%), and no fines were ordered.
In criminal history, 38% were in the lowest category, category I, and 18% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
The Guideline and Yearly Counts
All 60 cases had §2B3.1 (Robbery) as the primary guideline, and robbery cases were 3% of the 2,037 people sentenced in the district.
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 25 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 35 people. Yearly counts range from 3 to 10 people. The medians range from 66 months to 240 months, and the guilty plea share ranges from 40% in 2017 to every person in several years. With counts this small, the table does not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 9 | 66 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2017 | 10 | 156 months | 40% |
| 2018 | 3 | 240 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 3 | 87 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2020 | 4 | 82 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2021 | 10 | 84 months | 90% |
| 2022 | 3 | 92 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 7 | 108 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2024 | 8 | 143.5 months | 7 of 8 |
| 2025 | 3 | 108 months | 3 of 3 |
Maxwell AFB and Limits of the Data
Maxwell AFB, Alabama, is in this district and appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission data, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Alabama (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Alabama Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (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.
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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Alabama, 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.