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# §2A1.3 Voluntary Manslaughter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-3-voluntary-manslaughter-fy2017/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:29:42.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:29:42.000Z
- Description: The median prison term for the 30 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2017 under §2A1.3, "Voluntary Manslaughter," was 113.5 months (9.5 years). That is the highest yearly median in the table for this guideline. A total of 47% of sentences were above the guideline range, and no mandator
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2A1.3 Voluntary Manslaughter](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-3-voluntary-manslaughter/) › §2A1.3: FY2017

**In brief:** The median prison term for the 30 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2017 under §2A1.3, "Voluntary Manslaughter," was 113.5 months (9.5 years). That is the highest yearly median in the table for this guideline. A total of 47% of sentences were above the guideline range, and no mandatory minimum applied to anyone in the group.

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 30 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2017\. 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/).

## The Highest Yearly Median for This Guideline

All 30 people (100%) received a prison term. The median was 113.5 months. One quarter of the group received 75.8 months or less, and one quarter received 129.2 months or more.

The median across all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under §2A1.3 is 99 months, so 2017 is higher. In the previous year, 2016, it was 108 months. In the next, 2018, it was 83 months. A group of 30 is small, and the records do not show why a median differs from one year to another.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 27               | 108 months    | 96%            |
| 2017        | 30               | 113.5 months  | 93%            |
| 2018        | 23               | 83 months     | 96%            |
| 2019        | 27               | 96 months     | 96%            |
| 2020        | 12               | 100.5 months  | 92%            |
| 2021        | 28               | 91 months     | 96%            |
| 2022        | 40               | 107.5 months  | 88%            |
| 2023        | 43               | 97 months     | 91%            |
| 2024        | 50               | 109 months    | 86%            |
| 2025        | 45               | 111.5 months  | 96%            |

## Where Sentences Fell Against the Range

The guideline range is calculated under the Guidelines Manual for each case. In this year, 10 sentences (33%) were within the range, and 14 (47%) were above it. Below the range were 5 (17%) at the government's request and 1 (3%) without a request.

Over all years of this guideline, 46% of sentences were within the range. For every guideline in fiscal year 2017, 49% were. The previous year had 52% within the range, and the next year had 43%.

The above-range share is the largest category here. The records do not show the reasons for those sentences.

## No Mandatory Minimums

A mandatory minimum is a prison term that the law sets as a floor. It applied to 0 of the 30 people (0%). The Commission's records for this year show no one in the group sentenced under that kind of floor.

Restitution was ordered for 13 people (43%), and no fine was ordered (0%). Supervised release followed prison for all 30 (100%), with a median term of 36 months.

## Pleas and Trials

Of the 30 people, 28 (93%) pleaded guilty and 2 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 105 months. After a trial it was 120 months, a figure that rests on 2 people.

Among the guilty pleas, 89% had a written plea agreement and 11% were straight pleas.

## Criminal History and Year Boundaries

In criminal history, category I, the lowest, held 50% of the group, and category VI, the highest, held 3%. Court-martial files have no matching field.

Fiscal year 2017 ran from October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017\. For everyone sentenced in federal court that year, the median prison term was 24 months.

## Scope and Military Pairing

The Commission filed these 30 cases under Manslaughter. This guideline is paired with Article 119 of the UCMJ in the approved crosswalk, and the comparison posts cover that pairing. The records leave out acquittals and dismissals, and terms are imposed terms, not time served.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2017 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A1.3 (30), 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.

## 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)
- [§2A1.3 Voluntary Manslaughter: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-3-voluntary-manslaughter/) (overview)
- [§2A1.3 Voluntary Manslaughter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-3-voluntary-manslaughter-fy2016/) (previous or next fiscal year)
- [§2A1.3 Voluntary Manslaughter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-3-voluntary-manslaughter-fy2018/) (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/)
- [Guilty Pleas in Army Manslaughter Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-119-plea-2021-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Navy-Marine Corps Article 119 Cases by the Numbers, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-119-trend-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Manslaughter Conviction?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-119-sent-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Article 119 (Manslaughter): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-119-courts-martial/) (court-martial data)
- [Article 119 UCMJ: Voluntary and Involuntary Manslaughter](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-119/?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.