Federal Robbery Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025
104 people were sentenced for robbery in the Southern District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 120 months (10 years), higher than the 90 months for robbery in all 94 federal districts together. 102 of the 104 pleaded guilty, and 59% had a mandatory minimum prison
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY20 › Robbery: Southern District of Illinois
In brief: 104 people were sentenced for robbery in the Southern District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 120 months (10 years), higher than the 90 months for robbery in all 94 federal districts together. 102 of the 104 pleaded guilty, and 59% had a mandatory minimum prison term.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 104 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.
A Median of 10 Years
102 of the 104 people (98%) received a prison term, and 1 (less than 1%) received probation only. The median prison term was 120 months. A quarter received 180 months or more, and a quarter received 87 months or less.
For comparison, the median for all offenses in this district was 71 months. The Commission records the term imposed, not the time served.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 13 | 114 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 13 | 140 months | 85% |
| 2018 | 6 | 64 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2019 | 16 | 162 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 19 | 108 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 14 | 146 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 7 | 140 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2023 | 5 | 127 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2024 | 8 | 128 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2025 | 3 | 87 months | 3 of 3 |
Mandatory Minimums Applied in Most Cases
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 61 of the 104 people (59%). A mandatory minimum sets a floor that a judge generally cannot go below.
53 sentences (51%) were within the range. 23 (22%) were below it at the government's request, and 11 (11%) were below it without that request. 17 (16%) were above it.
Across all districts, 40% of robbery sentences were within the range, and 99% of people were sent to prison.
Pleas and 2 Trials
102 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 120 months after a guilty plea and 164 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 2 people and should not be read as a pattern.
64% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 36% were straight pleas. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission's data.
Criminal History and Guidelines
30% of the people were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 13% were in the highest, category VI.
The primary guideline was §2B3.1 (Robbery) for 102 people. §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) applied to 2. Robbery cases were 4% of the 2,576 people sentenced in the district.
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Fines
101 people (97%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 87 people (84%), and a fine for 14 (13%).
Small Yearly Counts in the Table
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 48 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 56. Individual years range from 3 to 19 people, so each yearly median in the table is based on a small group. The highest yearly median was 162 months in fiscal year 2019, with 16 people. The lowest was 64 months in fiscal year 2018, with 6 people. The most recent year, fiscal year 2025, has 3 people and a median of 87 months. The records cannot show whether these differences reflect changes in cases or only the small numbers.
The records do not show what happened in any robbery or whether a weapon was involved. Scott AFB, Illinois, appears in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of Illinois (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Illinois South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (104). 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 Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Southern District of Illinois, 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.