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# §2A1.2 Second Degree Murder: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-2-second-degree-murder/
- Published: 2026-11-03T01:39:50.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T01:39:50.000Z
- Description: All 651 people sentenced under guideline §2A1.2, Second Degree Murder, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 234 months (19.5 years), and 29 people received a life sentence.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › §2A1.2

**In brief:** All 651 people sentenced under guideline §2A1.2, Second Degree Murder, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 234 months (19.5 years), and 29 people received a life sentence.

Updated November 2, 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 651 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 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](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/).

## Every Sentence Included Prison

Guideline §2A1.2 is titled "Second Degree Murder" in the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual. The U.S. Sentencing Commission classifies all 651 people in this group as Murder cases.

All 651 received a prison term, and none received probation only. The median was 234 months. A quarter received 324 months or more, and a quarter received 168 months or less. In addition, 29 people received a life sentence.

## Plea or Trial

A guilty plea was entered by 575 people (88%). The other 76 were convicted after a trial. Among those who pleaded guilty, 95% had a written plea agreement and 5% did not.

The median prison term was 216 months after a guilty plea and 360 months after a trial. All 76 people convicted at trial were sent to prison, so that median covers the full trial group. The records do not show how the cases differed in their facts, so the difference between the plea and trial medians says nothing about the reason for it.

## The Guideline Range

A sentence within the range went to 299 of the 650 people with range information (46%). Below the range at the government's request: 158 (24%). Below the range without that request: 71 (11%).

Above the range: 122 (19%). Sentences above the range were more common than sentences below it without a government request. The records show only which side of the range a sentence fell on, not by how much.

## Mandatory Minimums and Supervised Release

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 106 people (16%).

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 632 (97%), with a median term of 60 months. One person received supervised release for life.

A fine was ordered for 29 people (4%) and restitution for 245 (38%). In criminal history, 45% were in the lowest category and 11% in the highest.

## Changes From Year to Year

In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 190 people were sentenced and the median prison term was 216 months. In fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 461 people were sentenced and the median was 235 months.

The yearly count was 27 in 2020 and 110 in 2023\. The yearly median ranged from 180 months in 2019 to 262 months in 2023\. The share who pleaded guilty ranged from 83% to 100%. The records cannot show why the yearly counts rose in the later years.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 52               | 210 months    | 88%            |
| 2017        | 46               | 229.5 months  | 87%            |
| 2018        | 47               | 259 months    | 83%            |
| 2019        | 45               | 180 months    | 96%            |
| 2020        | 27               | 210 months    | 93%            |
| 2021        | 45               | 210 months    | 100%           |
| 2022        | 80               | 218 months    | 85%            |
| 2023        | 110              | 262 months    | 84%            |
| 2024        | 105              | 210 months    | 90%            |
| 2025        | 94               | 251 months    | 87%            |

## How the Military Fits In

This guideline is part of the approved pairing with Article 118 of the UCMJ. The comparison posts in this series set the federal numbers beside the court-martial numbers for that offense.

This post reports federal figures only.

## Limits of the Data

Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.

Prison terms are those imposed, not time served. The records do not show the facts of any case.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A1.2 (651), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's 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)
- [§2A3.5 Failure to Register as a Sex Offender: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a3-5-failure-to-register-as-a-sex-offender/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [§2A1.1 First Degree Murder: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-1-first-degree-murder/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [§2A2.4 Obstructing or Impeding Officers: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-4-obstructing-or-impeding-officers/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a6-1-threatening-or-harassing-communications/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [§2A2.1 Assault with Intent to Commit Murder: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-1-assault-with-intent-to-commit-murder/) (same guideline chapter part)
- [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.