§2A1.4 Involuntary Manslaughter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024
Fiscal year 2024 had the largest count in the table for §2A1.4: 60 people, of whom 8 were convicted after a trial. 52 (87%) pleaded guilty. 56 people (93%) were sentenced to prison, and the median prison term was 32 months (2.7 years).
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2A1.4 Involuntary Manslaughter › §2A1.4: FY2024
In brief: Fiscal year 2024 had the largest count in the table for §2A1.4: 60 people, of whom 8 were convicted after a trial. 52 (87%) pleaded guilty. 56 people (93%) were sentenced to prison, and the median prison term was 32 months (2.7 years).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 60 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024. 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 series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
60 People and 8 Trial Convictions
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 60 people in fiscal year 2024 whose primary guideline was §2A1.4. The Guidelines Manual titles it "Involuntary Manslaughter." The table shows 60 as the highest yearly count for fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
52 of the 60 (87%) pleaded guilty, and 8 were convicted after a trial. For this guideline across all years, 94% pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 30 months after a guilty plea and 44.5 months after a trial. The trial group is small, so the comparison is limited.
83% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 17% were straight pleas.
| 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% |
Prison Terms
56 people (93%) were sentenced to prison, and 2 (3%) received probation only. The median prison term among those sent to prison was 32 months. A quarter received 50.2 months or more, and a quarter received 26.2 months or less.
Fiscal year 2023 had a median of 37 months, and fiscal year 2025 had 46 months. Supervised release followed for 52 people (87%), with a median term of 36 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 57 people with that information recorded.
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
27 people (45%) were within the range. 14 (23%) were above it, 11 (18%) were below it at the government's request, and 8 (13%) were below it without a request.
For this guideline across all years, 45% were within the range. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2024, 46% were. Fiscal year 2023 had 43% and fiscal year 2025 had 31%.
Restitution, Fines, and Criminal History
Restitution was ordered for 22 people (37%), and a fine for 2 (3%). Dollar amounts are not in the records.
75% 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.
Federal Totals and Article 119
Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 412 people were sentenced under §2A1.4, and 93% went to prison. All guidelines combined in fiscal year 2024 covered 61,678 people, with a median prison term of 30 months.
The approved crosswalk pairs this guideline with Article 119 of the UCMJ, and the comparison posts cover it. This post gives the federal numbers only.
Limits
Fiscal year 2024 ran from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024. The Commission files the 60 cases under the offense type Manslaughter and counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The records do not describe individual cases or the reasons for sentences. Counts of 8 trial convictions in one year are small, and one year does not set a trend.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A1.4 (60), 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- §2A1.4 Involuntary Manslaughter: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2A1.4 Involuntary Manslaughter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2A1.4 Involuntary Manslaughter: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- Guilty Pleas in Army Manslaughter Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (court-martial data)
- Navy-Marine Corps Article 119 Cases by the Numbers, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Manslaughter Conviction? (court-martial data)
- Article 119 (Manslaughter): Court-Martial Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Article 119 UCMJ: Voluntary and Involuntary Manslaughter (law firm reference page)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.