§2A1.1 First Degree Murder: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023
In fiscal year 2023, 338 people were sentenced in federal court under §2A1.1, and 100 of them received a life sentence. All 338 received a prison term, and the median was 313.1 months (26.1 years). It may be too early to say whether this year is part of a longer pattern.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2A1.1 First Degree Murder › §2A1.1: FY2023
In brief: In fiscal year 2023, 338 people were sentenced in federal court under §2A1.1, and 100 of them received a life sentence. All 338 received a prison term, and the median was 313.1 months (26.1 years). It may be too early to say whether this year is part of a longer pattern.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 338 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023. 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.
100 Life Sentences Among 338 People
Of the 338 people sentenced in fiscal year 2023, 100 received a life sentence. Every person (100%) received a prison term, and the median was 313.1 months (26.1 years).
A quarter received 470 months or more, and a quarter received 180 months or less. These are terms imposed by the court, not time served.
Pleas and Trials
A guilty plea was entered by 239 people (71%), and 99 were convicted after a trial. After a guilty plea the median prison term was 240 months. After a trial it was 470 months, based on 99 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
Of the guilty pleas, 91% had a written plea agreement and 8% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
Below the range at the government's request: 46% (156 people). Within the range: 40% (135). Below the range without a government request: 11% (38). Above the range: 2% (8).
Across all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under §2A1.1, 39% were within the range. For every guideline in fiscal year 2023, the figure was 42%. Fiscal year 2022 had 29% under this guideline, and fiscal year 2024 had 43%.
Mandatory Minimums, Supervised Release, and Money Orders
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 162 of the 337 people with that information recorded (48%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 325 people (96%), with a median term of 60 months, and 3 people (less than 1%) were given supervised release for life.
A fine was ordered for 14 (4%). Restitution was ordered for 110 (33%).
How the Guideline Is Described
The Guidelines Manual titles §2A1.1 "First Degree Murder." The Commission assigns the 338 cases to the offense type Murder. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023.
The approved crosswalk pairs this guideline with Article 118 of the UCMJ. See the comparison posts for that pairing. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. In the federal group, 31% were in the lowest criminal history category and 17% in the highest.
Count and Median in Other Years
Fiscal year 2022 had 286 people with a median prison term of 264 months. Fiscal year 2024 had 344 people with a median of 324 months. The table lists 2016 to 2025.
In total, 2,592 people were sentenced under this guideline across those years. For every guideline in fiscal year 2023, there were 64,124 people and the median prison term was 30 months.
| 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% |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data cover only people who were convicted and sentenced. They do not show the facts of any case, and they cannot explain why the count of people or the median differs from year to year.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A1.1 (338), 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- §2A1.1 First Degree Murder: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2A1.1 First Degree Murder: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2A1.1 First Degree Murder: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- Is Army Murder Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 118, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- Article 118 Sentences in the Air Force: Confinement and Discharges, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- How Has Article 118 Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017? (court-martial data)
- How Much Confinement for an Article 118 Conviction in the Navy-Marine Corps? (court-martial data)
- Article 118 (Murder): Court-Martial Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Article 118 UCMJ: Murder (law firm reference page)
- 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.