> ## 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. # Article 127 Plus General Article: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 127 and 134 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-127-and-article-134-charged-together/ - Published: 2026-10-30T08:16:24.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T08:16:24.000Z - Description: From 2015–2026, 12 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial charged both Article 127 (extortion) and Article 134 (general article). The median confinement was 2.4 years, compared with 1.6 years in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 127. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 127, Article 134 [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 127](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-127-courts-martial/) › With Article 134 **Short answer:** From 2015–2026, 12 Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial charged both Article 127 (extortion) and Article 134 (general article). The median confinement was 2.4 years, compared with 1.6 years in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 127\. 90% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, against 88% in that comparison group. Based on 12 cases · 2015–2026 · Army, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Median Confinement of 2.4 Years All 11 convictions in this group included confinement (100%). The median term was 2.4 years. In all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 127, the median was 1.6 years, so the terms here were longer. These are sentences as adjudged at trial. They come before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence also covers every charge in the case, not only extortion. ## Other Charges in the Same Cases Article 134 (general article) appears in all 12 cases by definition of this group. The next most common charges were Article 80 (attempt) in 4 cases, Article 120b (child sexual abuse) in 3, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 3, and Article 128 (assault) in 2. Because several of these cases also charged sexual offenses, the confinement figures reflect those charges as well as the extortion count. ## Punitive Discharges 9 of the 10 convicted enlisted members received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (90%). That is about the same as the 88% in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 127\. 7 of the 9 were dishonorable discharges. A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge for enlisted members. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation. ## Court Level and Rank 11 of the 12 cases were tried at a general court-martial (92%), compared with 70% in all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 127\. A special court-martial is limited to 1 year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 55% of the accused and NCOs 45%. No officers appear. Across all Army, Navy, and Marine Corps cases charging Article 127, junior enlisted members were 69%. ## Cases by Year The cases were tried between February 2015 and February 2026, never more than 2 in a single year. The yearly counts were 1 in 2015, 2 in 2018, 1 in 2019, 1 in 2021, 2 in 2022, 1 in 2023, 1 in 2024, 2 in 2025, and 1 in the partial year 2026\. None were recorded in 2016, 2017, or 2020. ## Rules and Limits The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, and brought in written plea agreements and judge-alone special courts-martial. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. The records give trial dates rather than offense dates, so they cannot show which rules applied to each case. Only courts-martial are counted here. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, the evidence, and the plea terms are not in the records. This sheet also gives no plea or verdict counts. Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Army, Navy, and Marine Corps courts-martial that charged both Article 127 and Article 134 (12 cases). Air Force cases are left out because Air Force records rarely list the charges in acquittals. Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com. ## Related Analysis - [Article 127 (Extortion): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-127-courts-martial/) (hub) - [Article 134 (General Article): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-134-courts-martial/) (hub) - [How Has Article 127 Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-127-trend-2017-2025/) - [How Much Confinement for an Article 127 Conviction in the Navy-Marine Corps?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-127-sent-2017-2025/) - [AWOL Plus Disrespect: Courts-Martial Charging Articles 86 and 89](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-86-and-article-89-charged-together/) - [Articles 107 and 115 in the Same Case: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-107-and-article-115-charged-together/) - [Articles 107 and 120 in the Same Case: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-107-and-article-120-charged-together/) - [Articles 107 and 120c in the Same Case: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-107-and-article-120c-charged-together/) - [Articles 107 and 128 in the Same Case: What the Records Show](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-107-and-article-128-charged-together/) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members) **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.