> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Stalking and Harassment Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-stalking-harassing-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:15:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:15:00.000Z - Description: 12 people were sentenced under the "Stalking/Harassing" offense type in the Northern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and each of the 12 received a prison term. The median was 20.5 months. For all 94 districts the median was 24 months, and 89% of people were sent to prison. - 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 Northern District of Mississippi, F](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-mississippi/) › Stalking and Harassment: Northern District of Mississippi **In brief:** 12 people were sentenced under the "Stalking/Harassing" offense type in the Northern District of Mississippi in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and each of the 12 received a prison term. The median was 20.5 months. For all 94 districts the median was 24 months, and 89% of people were sent to prison. 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 12 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/). ## Which Guidelines Were Behind These Cases Threatening or harassing communications account for most of this group. §2A6.1 (Threatening or Harassing Communications) was the primary guideline for 10 of the 12 people, and §2A6.2 (Stalking or Domestic Violence) was the primary guideline for the other 2. The offense type is a grouping the U.S. Sentencing Commission assigns from the main guideline at sentencing. These cases were less than 1% of the 1,573 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. ## Length of Prison Terms The middle sentence was 20.5 months. At the upper end, a quarter of the terms were 30 months or longer. At the lower end, a quarter were 9 months or shorter. The national median for this offense type was 24 months, which is longer than the district's. The median for all offenses in this district was 36 months, which is longer than both. These are the terms imposed, not time served. ## Plea and Trial Sentences 10 people (83%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. Nationally in this offense type, 92% pleaded guilty. In the district's cases overall, 98% did. After a guilty plea the median prison term was 18.5 months. After a trial it was 28 months, based on 2 people. The records cannot show whether the trial itself had any bearing on the sentence. ## Against the Guideline Range 6 of the 12 sentences (50%) were inside the guideline range. 4 (33%) were below it without a government request, and 2 (17%) were below it at the government's request. None was above it. The share inside the range was 47% nationally and 45% for the district as a whole, so it was about the same as both. No mandatory minimum was recorded for any of the 12 people. ## Supervised Release and Other Terms All 12 people were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 36 months. One person was ordered to pay a fine (8%). No restitution was ordered. 50% of the group was in criminal history Category I, the lowest. 8% was in Category VI, the highest. Court-martial files have no matching field. ## Yearly Numbers Are Tiny The district sentenced 6 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 6 more in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. No year has more than 3 people. In fiscal year 2019, the 3 people had a median of 0 months. That figure and the other yearly medians cannot be read as a trend. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 1 | 21 months | 1 of 1 | | 2017 | 1 | 34 months | 1 of 1 | | 2018 | 1 | 16 months | 1 of 1 | | 2019 | 3 | 0 months | 3 of 3 | | 2020 | 2 | 33 months | 1 of 2 | | 2023 | 2 | 15 months | 2 of 2 | | 2024 | 1 | 20 months | 0 of 1 | | 2025 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 | ## What Cannot Be Learned From These Records Cases that ended in acquittal or dismissal are not in the data, and neither are the facts of any case or the names of those involved. Columbus AFB, Mississippi, is within the district. The base's cases are tried in military courts, and nothing here connects them to these federal sentences. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Mississippi (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Mississippi North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Stalking/Harassing" (12). 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. ## 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 Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-obscenity-other-sex-offenses-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (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.