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# §2A1.4 Involuntary Manslaughter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-4-involuntary-manslaughter-fy2017/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:28:52.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:28:52.000Z
- Description: In fiscal year 2017, 43 people were sentenced under §2A1.4. 4 of them (9%) received probation only, and the other 39 (91%) were sentenced to prison. The median prison term was 37 months (3.1 years).
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2A1.4 Involuntary Manslaughter](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-4-involuntary-manslaughter/) › §2A1.4: FY2017

**In brief:** In fiscal year 2017, 43 people were sentenced under §2A1.4\. 4 of them (9%) received probation only, and the other 39 (91%) were sentenced to prison. The median prison term was 37 months (3.1 years).

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 43 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/).

## Probation Only for 4 People

In fiscal year 2017, some people sentenced under §2A1.4 received no prison term at all. The Guidelines Manual titles this guideline "Involuntary Manslaughter." Of the 43 people with it as the primary guideline, 4 (9%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.

The remaining 39 people (91%) were sentenced to prison. The median prison term was 37 months, and a quarter of them received 60 months or more. A quarter received 30 months or less.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 41               | 36 months     | 95%            |
| 2017        | 43               | 37 months     | 98%            |
| 2018        | 38               | 37 months     | 97%            |
| 2019        | 47               | 37 months     | 94%            |
| 2020        | 26               | 38 months     | 88%            |
| 2021        | 28               | 18 months     | 96%            |
| 2022        | 39               | 41 months     | 97%            |
| 2023        | 42               | 37 months     | 90%            |
| 2024        | 60               | 32 months     | 87%            |
| 2025        | 48               | 46 months     | 96%            |

## Release Conditions and Mandatory Minimums

Supervised release was ordered for 39 people (91%), and the median term was 36 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 41 people with that information recorded.

The prison terms are the terms imposed by the court. Time served may differ, and the records do not show actual release dates.

## Pleas, a Single Trial, and Plea Agreements

42 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 37 months. The trial conviction carried 96 months. A single sentence is not enough to compare outcomes by plea type, and the Commission's data cannot show what a trial changed in any one case.

Among the guilty pleas, 79% included a written plea agreement and 21% did not.

## Sentences Above, Within, and Below the Range

The most common position was within the guideline range, at 42% (18 people). 12 people (28%) were above the range. 8 (19%) were below it without a government request, and 5 (12%) were below it at the government's request.

In fiscal year 2016, 44% were within the range. In fiscal year 2018, 61% were. All guidelines combined had 49% within the range in fiscal year 2017.

## Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History

Restitution was ordered for 26 people (60%), and no one received a fine. 60% of the group were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 2% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Comparison Numbers and the Article 119 Pairing

The approved crosswalk pairs this guideline with Article 119 of the UCMJ. This post gives federal numbers only, and the comparison posts set court-martial and federal numbers side by side.

Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 412 people were sentenced under §2A1.4, 93% went to prison, and 94% pleaded guilty. In fiscal year 2017, all guidelines combined covered 66,873 people, with a median prison term of 24 months.

## What the Records Leave Out

Fiscal year 2017 ran from October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017\. The Commission files the 43 cases under the offense type Manslaughter and counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are missing from the data. Fiscal year 2016 had 41 people and fiscal year 2018 had 38\. Individual cases are not described.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2017 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A1.4 (43), 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)
- [§2A1.4 Involuntary Manslaughter: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-4-involuntary-manslaughter/) (overview)
- [§2A1.4 Involuntary Manslaughter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-4-involuntary-manslaughter-fy2016/) (previous or next fiscal year)
- [§2A1.4 Involuntary Manslaughter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-4-involuntary-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.