Federal Robbery Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025
All 103 people sentenced for robbery offenses in the Northern District of Alabama in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median prison term was 109 months (9.1 years), compared with 90 months for robbery in all 94 federal districts. A mandatory minimum applied to 48 of the 103 peop
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY201 › Robbery: Northern District of Alabama
In brief: All 103 people sentenced for robbery offenses in the Northern District of Alabama in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median prison term was 109 months (9.1 years), compared with 90 months for robbery in all 94 federal districts. A mandatory minimum applied to 48 of the 103 people (47%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 103 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.
Long Prison Terms for Every Person Sentenced
Prison was ordered for 103 of the 103 people (100%), and no one received probation only.
The median prison term was 109 months. A quarter received 155 months or more, and a quarter received 57 months or less.
In all 94 districts, 14,845 people were sentenced for robbery. Of those, 99% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 90 months. For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 46 months.
Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum prison term, which is a minimum set by statute, applied to 48 of the 103 people (47%).
The records show how often a minimum applied. They do not show which statute applied or how it affected the final sentence.
Trial and Plea Results
Guilty pleas were entered by 99 of the 103 people (96%), and 4 were convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 87% had a written plea agreement and 13% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 101 months. After a trial it was 198.5 months, based on 4 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
The trial group is small. The records cannot show whether the facts of the trial cases differed from those of the plea cases.
Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the range calculated under the federal guidelines for each case. Within that range were 57% (59) of the 103 sentences.
Below the range at the government's request were 18% (19), and below the range without a government request 17% (17). Above the range were 8% (8).
Nationally, 40% of robbery sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 56%.
What the Commission's Robbery Category Contains
"Robbery" is the offense type that the U.S. Sentencing Commission assigns from each case's primary guideline. In this district, 99 people were sentenced under §2B3.1 (Robbery), and 3 under §2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline)).
Robbery cases were 2% of the 4,557 people sentenced in the district across fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 101 people (98%), with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 57 (55%), and no fine was ordered (0%).
On criminal history, 21% were in the lowest category, category I, and 24% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts Are Small
The federal fiscal year begins October 1 and ends at the end of September. The records show 41 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 62 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
The yearly table shows 1 person in 2017 and 22 in 2019. Yearly medians range from 76 months in 2019 to 183 months in 2023, and the 2023 row has 5 people, 2 of whom pleaded guilty.
These figures do not show a trend. The records count only people who were convicted and sentenced, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 105.5 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2017 | 1 | 151 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2018 | 12 | 87 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 22 | 76 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 18 | 115.5 months | 94% |
| 2021 | 16 | 78.1 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 13 | 139 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 5 | 183 months | 2 of 5 |
| 2024 | 4 | 120 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 6 | 88.5 months | 6 of 6 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Alabama (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Alabama North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (103). 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 Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Alabama, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern 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.