The 2023 Military Sentencing Reform: What the Data Shows So Far
It may be too early to tell what the 2023 military sentencing reform changed. The median adjudged confinement for all court-martial convictions was 5.9 months for trials in 2022 and 2023 and 5.9 months for trials in 2024 and 2025. Some offenses show longer or shorter medians in the later period, and
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In brief: It may be too early to tell what the 2023 military sentencing reform changed. The median adjudged confinement for all court-martial convictions was 5.9 months for trials in 2022 and 2023 and 5.9 months for trials in 2024 and 2025. Some offenses show longer or shorter medians in the later period, and the records cannot show whether the reform caused any of the differences.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 256,606 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2022 to 2025, compared with court-martial results from this site's Military Trial Results data (updated November 2, 2026). 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.
Why It May Be Too Early to Tell
For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone under sentencing parameters. A court-martial tried in 2024 or 2025 for an earlier offense is still sentenced under the old rules.
Courts-martial tried in 2024 and 2025 therefore mix old-rule and new-rule cases, and the records cannot tell them apart. The reform's effect on any one case depends on when the offense was committed, which the trial-date records do not show.
This post compares trial dates in 2022 and 2023 with trial dates in 2024 and 2025. It does not isolate the reform, and the comparison should be read as a description of a period.
All Offenses Together
Court-martial records show 1,812 convictions with trial dates in 2022 and 2023: Army 838, Air Force 368, Navy 289, and Marine Corps 317. They show 1,825 convictions with trial dates in 2024 and 2025: Army 818, Air Force 350, Navy 283, and Marine Corps 374.
Confinement was included in 1,526 of the 1,812 convictions in the earlier period (84%) and 1,460 of the 1,825 in the later period (80%). The median adjudged confinement was 5.9 months in both. A quarter received 17.7 months or more in the earlier period and 18 months or more in the later period.
Confinement for life was adjudged in 3 convictions in the earlier period and 2 in the later period.
Discharges, Officers, and Court Type
Of the 1,696 enlisted members convicted in 2022 and 2023, 1,147 received a punitive discharge (68%): 359 dishonorable discharges and 788 bad-conduct discharges. Of the 1,674 enlisted members convicted in 2024 and 2025, 1,054 did (63%): 347 dishonorable discharges and 707 bad-conduct discharges.
Among officers, 97 were convicted and 43 were dismissed in the earlier period. In the later period, 127 were convicted and 62 were dismissed.
General courts-martial handled 1,042 of the 1,812 convictions in the earlier period (58%) and 973 of the 1,825 in the later period (53%). The later period had a lower share of general courts-martial.
Offense by Offense
Combined figures can hide changes in the mix of offenses, so the table compares the offense groups listed. For each, it gives the median confinement in courts-martial and the median federal prison term in fiscal years 2022 to 2023 and 2024 to 2025. The number of convictions is in parentheses.
Federal medians are far higher than court-martial medians in each group. They count different people, since federal court takes a narrower set of cases, and they should not be read as a comparison of severity.
| Offense | Courts-martial 2022–2023 (convictions) | Courts-martial 2024–2025 (convictions) | Federal FY2022–2023 | Federal FY2024–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child Pornography | 23 months (145) | 18 months (173) | 96 months | 97 months |
| Sexual Abuse of an Adult | 18 months (248) | 26 months (130) | 71 months | 82 months |
| Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement | 35.5 months (116) | 66 months (128) | 120 months | 121 months |
| Drug Distribution | 5.9 months (87) | 5.9 months (42) | 70 months | 72 months |
| Theft and Fraud | 3.4 months (124) | 3 months (136) | 21 months | 20 months |
| Aggravated Assault | 11.7 months (58) | 6 months (49) | 42 months | 40 months |
Which Offenses Moved
The median confinement for child sexual abuse and enticement was 35.5 months in 2022 and 2023 and 66 months in 2024 and 2025. For sexual abuse of an adult, it was 18 months and then 26 months. Both medians were higher in the later period.
The median was lower in the later period for child pornography (images of child exploitation) at 23 months and then 18 months, and for aggravated assault at 11.7 months and then 6 months. Theft and fraud were 3.4 months and then 3 months. Drug distribution was 5.9 months in both periods.
Each court-martial group has between 42 and 248 convictions. A median from a group this small can change a good deal when a few cases are different.
Federal Medians in the Same Periods
Federal medians were nearly the same in both periods for most offenses. Child pornography was 96 months and then 97 months. Child sexual abuse and enticement was 120 and then 121. Drug distribution was 70 and then 72.
Sexual abuse of an adult was 71 months and then 82. Theft and fraud was 21 and then 20, and aggravated assault was 42 and then 40.
The records do not show the reasons for these federal figures, and the federal system is not under the military reform.
What the Records Cannot Show
Changes in the same period as the reform are not evidence that the reform caused them. Case mix, charging decisions, and the offenses tried in each period also changed, and the records do not measure those factors.
A fair reading is that the data so far shows no clear change in overall confinement and some changes in particular offenses. More trials under the new rules would be needed before the data could say more.
How We Counted
Courts-martial ending in a conviction with trial dates in 2022 and 2023 compared with 2024 and 2025; federal people sentenced in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 compared with 2024 and 2025 (U.S. Sentencing Commission), for the offenses in the table.
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.
Military confinement credit and parole. For military sentences adjudged after 2004, good conduct time is 5 days for each month of confinement, about 16%. Military prisoners can also earn up to 8 more days a month for work and programs and up to 2 days a month for special acts, with a limit of 15 days a month in total. Military prisoners can be considered for parole by their service's clemency and parole board. The military numbers in this post are the confinement adjudged at trial, not the time served.
Military sentences include punishments federal sentences do not. A court-martial sentence can include a punitive discharge (bad-conduct discharge, dishonorable discharge, or dismissal for officers), reduction in rank, and forfeiture of pay. These have no federal counterpart. A comparison of months of confinement leaves them out. A short confinement term combined with a dishonorable discharge is a heavier sentence than the months alone show.
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.
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)
- Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials?
- Guilty Pleas in Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial, Year by Year
- Child Pornography Sentences: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Federal Law Has No Crime of Drug Use: How Article 112a Cases Compare
- Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025
- Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Cases vs. Article 120 Courts-Martial
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Federal Cases vs. Article 120b Courts-Martial
- Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 Courts-Martial
- UCMJ and Court-Martial Changes: A Dated Timeline, 2006–2026 (court-martial data)
- 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.