§2A1.1 First Degree Murder: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025
In fiscal year 2025, the median prison term for the 258 of 259 people sentenced to prison in federal court under §2A1.1 was 360 months (30 years). 72 people received a life sentence. After a guilty plea the median was 292 months, and after a trial it was 470 months.
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In brief: In fiscal year 2025, the median prison term for the 258 of 259 people sentenced to prison in federal court under §2A1.1 was 360 months (30 years). 72 people received a life sentence. After a guilty plea the median was 292 months, and after a trial it was 470 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 259 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 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 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.
A 360-Month Median in Fiscal Year 2025
The median prison term was 360 months (30 years). A quarter of those sent to prison received 470 months or more, and a quarter received 216 months or less. 1 person (less than 1%) received probation only.
72 people received a life sentence. The median in fiscal year 2024 was 324 months, and across fiscal years 2016 to 2025 it was 300 months. Terms are those imposed, not time served.
Pleas Compared With Trial Convictions
Of the 259 people, 179 (69%) pleaded guilty and 80 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 292 months. After a trial it was 470 months, based on 80 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
Among guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The plea and trial groups differ in size and in the cases they contain. The records cannot show how much of the gap in median terms comes from the plea itself.
How Sentences Related to the Guideline Range
Below the range at the government's request: 43% (111 people). Within the range: 40% (104). Below the range without a government request: 14% (36). Above the range: 3% (8).
For all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under §2A1.1, 39% were within the range. For every guideline in fiscal year 2025, it was 51%. Fiscal year 2024 had 43% within the range under this guideline.
Mandatory Minimums and Supervised Release
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 116 of the 258 people with that information recorded (45%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 244 people (94%), with a median term of 60 months. 4 people (2%) received supervised release for life.
The records do not name the statute behind each minimum or show how a minimum affected any one sentence.
Fines and Restitution
A fine was ordered for 9 people (3%). Restitution was ordered for 106 (41%).
The Guideline and the Counting Rules
The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual titles §2A1.1 "First Degree Murder," and the Commission's offense type for these 259 cases is Murder. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.
The approved crosswalk pairs this guideline with Article 118 of the UCMJ, and the comparison posts cover that pairing. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. In the federal group, 41% were in the lowest criminal history category and 11% in the highest.
Prior Years and All Cases
Fiscal year 2024 had 344 people under this guideline. The table lists 2016 to 2025, and 2,592 people were sentenced under §2A1.1 across those years.
For every guideline in fiscal year 2025, there were 66,662 people and the median prison term was 24 months. The records do not show why the figures change from year to year.
| 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 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A1.1 (259), 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 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.