> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2A1.5 Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-5-conspiracy-or-solicitation-to-commit-murder-fy2021/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:29:35.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:29:35.000Z - Description: The median prison term for the 22 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021 under §2A1.5, "Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder," was 144 months (12 years). That is the highest yearly median in the table for this guideline. In this year, people who pleaded guilty had a higher medi - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2A1.5 Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-5-conspiracy-or-solicitation-to-commit-murder/) › §2A1.5: FY2021 **In brief:** The median prison term for the 22 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021 under §2A1.5, "Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder," was 144 months (12 years). That is the highest yearly median in the table for this guideline. In this year, people who pleaded guilty had a higher median (171 months) than the 3 people convicted at trial (120 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 22 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021\. 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 Median in the Yearly Table All 22 people (100%) received a prison term. The median was 144 months. A quarter of the group received 102 months or less, and a quarter received 199.5 months or more. The median for all fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under this guideline is 120 months, and the median for everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021, under every guideline, was 29 months. Fiscal year 2021 ran from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021. In the previous fiscal year, 2020, the median was 120 months. In the next, 2022, it was also 120 months. The group of 22 is small, so the 144 months should not be read as a trend. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 38 | 120 months | 87% | | 2017 | 49 | 108 months | 80% | | 2018 | 24 | 120 months | 79% | | 2019 | 46 | 124.7 months | 74% | | 2020 | 34 | 120 months | 94% | | 2021 | 22 | 144 months | 86% | | 2022 | 27 | 120 months | 89% | | 2023 | 23 | 78 months | 96% | | 2024 | 43 | 120 months | 81% | | 2025 | 33 | 106 months | 76% | ## Pleas and Trials Compared In fiscal year 2021, the median prison term after a guilty plea was 171 months. The median after a trial was 120 months. The records do not show why the plea median is the higher figure. The trial figure covers only 3 people. A total of 19 people (86%) pleaded guilty, which is higher than the 83% for all years of this guideline. Every guilty plea (100%) had a written plea agreement, and 0% were straight pleas. ## Sentences and the Guideline Range The Guidelines Manual calculates a range for each case. Here, 6 sentences (27%) were within it. A total of 4 (18%) were below it at the government's request, and 11 (50%) were below it without a request. One sentence (5%) was above it. The share below the range without a request is the largest share in this year's data. The records do not show why judges chose those sentences. For all years of this guideline, 30% of sentences were within the range, and for all guidelines in fiscal year 2021, 43% were. ## Mandatory Minimums, Fines, and Restitution A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 22 people (9%). No fine was ordered (0%), and restitution was ordered for 1 person (5%). All 22 were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 36 months. ## Criminal History and the Crosswalk In the lowest criminal history category, category I, were 36% of the group. In the highest, category VI, were 27%. Court-martial files have no criminal history field. The Commission filed these cases under Murder. The approved crosswalk pairs this guideline with no court-martial offense, so this post covers the federal figures alone. ## What Is Not in the Records The data count only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are absent, and the prison terms are terms imposed rather than time served. The 22 cases cannot show the facts behind any sentence. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A1.5 (22), 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) - [§2A1.5 Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-5-conspiracy-or-solicitation-to-commit-murder/) (overview) - [§2A1.5 Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-5-conspiracy-or-solicitation-to-commit-murder-fy2020/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2A1.5 Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-5-conspiracy-or-solicitation-to-commit-murder-fy2022/) (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/) - [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.