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# §2A1.3 Voluntary Manslaughter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-3-voluntary-manslaughter-fy2025/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:29:50.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:29:50.000Z
- Description: In fiscal year 2025, 45 people were sentenced in federal court under §2A1.3, "Voluntary Manslaughter." A total of 44 (98%) received a prison term, with a median of 111.5 months (9.3 years), and 1 person (2%) received probation only. Across all years of this guideline, more than 99% were sent to pris
- 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: FY2025

**In brief:** In fiscal year 2025, 45 people were sentenced in federal court under §2A1.3, "Voluntary Manslaughter." A total of 44 (98%) received a prison term, with a median of 111.5 months (9.3 years), and 1 person (2%) received probation only. Across all years of this guideline, more than 99% were sent to prison.

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 45 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](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/).

## One Probation-Only Sentence

In fiscal year 2025, 44 of 45 people received a prison term, and 1 received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.

Across all years of this guideline, more than 99% were sent to prison. One person is a small basis for any claim about a change, and the records do not show the facts of that case or the reason for the sentence.

## Length of Prison Terms

The median prison term among those sent to prison was 111.5 months. A quarter received 72 months or less, and a quarter received 180 months or more. The median over all years of this guideline is 99 months.

The previous year, 2024, had a median of 109 months. For everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2025, under every guideline, the median was 24 months. Fiscal year 2025 ran from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025.

| 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 Trials

Of the 45 people, 43 (96%) pleaded guilty and 2 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 107 months after a guilty plea and 138.5 months after a trial. The trial number rests on 2 people.

Among the guilty pleas, 93% had a written plea agreement and 7% were straight pleas. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 4 of the 45 people (9%).

A straight plea is a guilty plea without a written agreement with the government. Written agreements covered 93% of guilty pleas this year.

## Where Sentences Fell Against the Range

The Guidelines Manual calculates a range for each case. In 21 cases (47%), the sentence was within it. In 18 (40%), it was above it. In 4 (9%), it was below the range at the government's request, and in 2 (4%), it was below without a request.

For all years of this guideline, 46% were within the range, and for every guideline in fiscal year 2025, 51% were. The previous year had 48% within the range.

The records do not show why sentences were above or below the range.

## Supervised Release and Other Orders

Supervised release was ordered for 39 people (87%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (2%), and restitution for 19 (42%).

Category I, the lowest criminal history category, held 58% of the group, and category VI, the highest, held 4%. Court-martial files have no criminal history field.

Supervised release is the period of court supervision after prison, and restitution is money ordered paid to a victim.

## What the Numbers Leave Out

The Commission filed these cases under Manslaughter. The approved crosswalk pairs this guideline with Article 119 of the UCMJ, and the comparison posts cover that pairing. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and prison terms are imposed terms, not time served.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A1.3 (45), 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 2024](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-3-voluntary-manslaughter-fy2024/) (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.