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# §2A1.1 First Degree Murder: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-1-first-degree-murder-fy2016/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:07:12.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:07:12.000Z
- Description: In fiscal year 2016, 224 people were sentenced in federal court with §2A1.1 as the primary guideline. The median prison term was 264 months (22 years). After a guilty plea the median was 216 months, and after a trial it was 470 months.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2A1.1 First Degree Murder](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-1-first-degree-murder/) › §2A1.1: FY2016

**In brief:** In fiscal year 2016, 224 people were sentenced in federal court with §2A1.1 as the primary guideline. The median prison term was 264 months (22 years). After a guilty plea the median was 216 months, and after a trial it was 470 months.

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 224 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2016\. 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/).

## Pleas Compared With Trials

Of the 224 people, 170 (76%) pleaded guilty and 54 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 216 months. After a trial it was 470 months, based on 54 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.

The records cannot show whether the difference comes from the plea itself or from differences between the cases. Among guilty pleas, 85% had a written plea agreement and 14% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Length of Prison Terms and Life Sentences

A prison term was given to 223 of the 224 people (more than 99%), and no one received probation only. The median prison term was 264 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 470 months or more, and a quarter received 144 months or less.

In addition, 57 people received a life sentence. Prison terms in the data are those imposed, not time served.

## Mandatory Minimums

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 120 of the 224 people with that information recorded (54%). A mandatory minimum is a lowest sentence set by statute. It limits what a court may impose unless an exception applies.

## Position Against the Guideline Range

Below the range at the government's request: 50% (113 people). Within the range: 38% (86). Below the range without a government request: 9% (20). Above the range: 2% (5).

For all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under §2A1.1, 39% of sentences were within the range. For everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2016, 49% were within the range.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 197 people (88%), with a median term of 60 months. 8 people (4%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 15 (7%). Restitution was ordered for 63 (28%).

## About §2A1.1 and the Military Pairing

§2A1.1 is titled "First Degree Murder" in the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual, and the Commission's offense type for the 224 cases is Murder. Fiscal year 2016 began October 1, 2015 and ended September 30, 2016.

This guideline is paired in the approved crosswalk with Article 118 of the UCMJ. The comparison posts cover that pairing. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. In this federal group, 36% were in the lowest criminal history category and 16% in the highest.

## Other Years and All Cases

Fiscal year 2017 had 245 people under this guideline, a median prison term of 360 months, and 49% of sentences within the range. The table lists 2016 to 2025.

Across those years, 2,592 people were sentenced under §2A1.1, and the median prison term was 300 months. For every guideline in fiscal year 2016, there were 67,742 people and the median prison term was 24 months. Only people convicted and sentenced are counted.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 224              | 264 months    | 76%            |
| 2017        | 245              | 360 months    | 65%            |
| 2018        | 234              | 324 months    | 74%            |
| 2019        | 260              | 300 months    | 74%            |
| 2020        | 226              | 300 months    | 71%            |
| 2021        | 176              | 246 months    | 84%            |
| 2022        | 286              | 264 months    | 83%            |
| 2023        | 338              | 313.1 months  | 71%            |
| 2024        | 344              | 324 months    | 72%            |
| 2025        | 259              | 360 months    | 69%            |

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2016 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A1.1 (224), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.

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](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)
- [§2A1.1 First Degree Murder: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-1-first-degree-murder/) (overview)
- [§2A1.1 First Degree Murder: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-1-first-degree-murder-fy2017/) (previous or next fiscal year)
- [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/)
- [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/)
- [Is Army Murder Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 118, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-118-trend-2021-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Article 118 Sentences in the Air Force: Confinement and Discharges, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-118-sent-2016-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [How Has Article 118 Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-118-trend-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [How Much Confinement for an Article 118 Conviction in the Navy-Marine Corps?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-118-sent-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Article 118 (Murder): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-118-courts-martial/) (court-martial data)
- [Article 118 UCMJ: Murder](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-118/?ref=bodiesburied.com) (law firm reference page)
- [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.