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# §2A1.3 Voluntary Manslaughter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-3-voluntary-manslaughter-fy2019/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:29:44.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:29:44.000Z
- Description: In fiscal year 2019, 56% of the 27 people sentenced in federal court under §2A1.3, "Voluntary Manslaughter," received a sentence within the guideline range (15 people). The median prison term was 96 months (8 years). The 1 person convicted at trial and the people who pleaded guilty had similar terms
- 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: FY2019

**In brief:** In fiscal year 2019, 56% of the 27 people sentenced in federal court under §2A1.3, "Voluntary Manslaughter," received a sentence within the guideline range (15 people). The median prison term was 96 months (8 years). The 1 person convicted at trial and the people who pleaded guilty had similar terms: 90 months and 96 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 27 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019\. 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/).

## Most Sentences Were Within the Range

The Guidelines Manual calculates a sentencing range for each case. In fiscal year 2019, 15 of 27 sentences (56%) were within it. In 6 cases (22%), the sentence was above the range. In 3 (11%), it was below the range at the government's request, and in 3 more (11%), it was below without a request.

Over all years of this guideline, 46% of sentences were within the range. For every guideline in fiscal year 2019, 51% were. The 56% in this year is higher than both. The previous year had 43% within the range, and the next had 67%.

## The Median Prison Term

All 27 people (100%) were sentenced to prison. The median was 96 months. A quarter of the group received 76 months or less, and a quarter received 126 months or more.

The median for all years of this guideline is 99 months. For everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019, the median was 21 months. Fiscal year 2019 ran from October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019.

The median is a middle value. The sheet also reports the figures that a quarter of the group stayed under and a quarter met or exceeded.

| 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%            |

## Pleas and the One Trial

A total of 26 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 96 months, and the trial conviction carried 90 months. With a single trial case, these figures cannot be compared in any firm way.

Among the guilty pleas, 88% had a written plea agreement and 12% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Mandatory Minimums, Restitution, and Fines

A mandatory minimum applied to 2 of the 26 people with that information recorded (8%). Restitution was ordered for 12 people (44%), and a fine for 1 (4%).

All 27 people were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months.

## Criminal History and Neighboring Years

Category I, the lowest criminal history category, held 30% of the group, and category VI, the highest, held 11%. Court-martial files have no criminal history field.

In fiscal year 2018, 23 people were sentenced under this guideline, with a median of 83 months. In fiscal year 2020, 12 people were, with a median of 100.5 months.

The 2020 group is much smaller than the 2019 group, so the next year's higher within-range share rests on fewer cases.

## Scope

The Commission filed these 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 data omit acquittals and dismissals, and terms are those imposed, not time served.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A1.3 (27), 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)
- [§2A1.3 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 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-3-voluntary-manslaughter-fy2018/) (previous or next fiscal year)
- [§2A1.3 Voluntary Manslaughter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-3-voluntary-manslaughter-fy2020/) (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.