Federal Robbery Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025
All 51 people sentenced for robbery in the Middle District of Georgia in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 72 months (6 years). Across all 94 federal districts, the median prison term for robbery was 90 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016– › Robbery: Middle District of Georgia
In brief: All 51 people sentenced for robbery in the Middle District of Georgia in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 72 months (6 years). Across all 94 federal districts, the median prison term for robbery was 90 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 51 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.
Every Robbery Sentence Included Prison
51 of the 51 people (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. The median prison term was 72 months (6 years).
A quarter received 142 months or more, and a quarter received 46 months or less. The spread between those figures is wide, and the records do not explain it. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
The District Against the Nation
Across all 94 districts, 14,845 people were sentenced for robbery. 99% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 90 months. The median in this district was lower than the national median.
Robbery cases were 1% of the 4,094 people sentenced in the district over the period. The median prison term for all offenses in the district was 51 months, so the robbery median was higher than the district's overall median.
Every one of the 51 cases had §2B3.1 (Robbery) as the primary guideline.
Within the Guideline Range More Often Than Nationally
71% of the sentences (36) were within the guideline range. 16% (8) were below the range at the government's request, and 10% (5) were below the range without a government request. 4% (2) were above the range.
Nationally, 40% of robbery sentences were within the range. The within-range share here was higher, at 71%. For all offenses in the district, it was 66%.
Trials Were Followed by Longer Terms
45 of the 51 people (88%) pleaded guilty, and 6 were convicted after a trial. Nationally, 95% pleaded guilty, so trials were more common here than in the national group.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 70 months. After a trial it was 146 months, based on 6 people. The group is small, and the records do not show whether the cases differed in other ways.
Among guilty pleas, 67% had a written plea agreement and 33% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Mandatory Minimums, Supervised Release, and Restitution
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 11 of the 51 people (22%). All 51 (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months.
Restitution was ordered for 35 people (69%). No fine was ordered.
Criminal History Was Spread Widely
29% of the people were in criminal history category I, the lowest. 25% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so this measure has no military counterpart.
Counts and Medians by Fiscal Year
The district sentenced 28 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 23 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The count was 11 in fiscal year 2016 and 1 in fiscal year 2025. A fiscal year runs from October 1 to the end of the following September.
Yearly medians ranged from 48 months to 124 months. Most years had 4 or 5 people, so one year's median should not be read as a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 11 | 108 months | 82% |
| 2017 | 7 | 105 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2018 | 5 | 57 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2019 | 5 | 48 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2020 | 4 | 83 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2021 | 5 | 72 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2022 | 5 | 63 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2023 | 4 | 124 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2024 | 4 | 62 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2025 | 1 | 97 months | 1 of 1 |
What These Records Leave Out
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. The records also do not describe the facts of any case.
Fort Benning, Moody AFB, and Robins AFB are 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 Middle District of Georgia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Georgia Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (51). 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 Georgia, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Georgia, 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.