> ## 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 2024 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-5-conspiracy-or-solicitation-to-commit-murder-fy2024/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:29:39.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:29:39.000Z - Description: In fiscal year 2024, 43 people were sentenced in federal court under §2A1.5, "Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder." The median prison term was 120 months (10 years). A total of 2 people received life sentences, and 3 received supervised release for life. - 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: FY2024 **In brief:** In fiscal year 2024, 43 people were sentenced in federal court under §2A1.5, "Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder." The median prison term was 120 months (10 years). A total of 2 people received life sentences, and 3 received supervised release for life. 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 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](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/). ## Group Size Compared With Nearby Years The yearly table lists a group size for each fiscal year from 2016 to 2025 under this guideline. Fiscal year 2024 had 43 people. Fiscal year 2023 had 23 people, and fiscal year 2025 had 33\. The count in 2024 is higher than in either neighboring year. Fiscal year 2024 ran from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024\. For everyone sentenced in federal court that year, under every guideline, the count was 61,678 people. This guideline's cases were a very small part of that total, and the Commission classed them all as Murder. | 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% | ## Prison and Life Sentences All 43 people (100%) received a prison term, and 2 of them received life sentences. The median was 120 months, the same as the median across all years of this guideline. A quarter of the group received 91 months or less, and a quarter received 177.5 months or more. The median for all guidelines in fiscal year 2024 was 30 months. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 5 of the 43 people (12%). ## Trial Convictions A total of 35 people (81%) pleaded guilty, and 8 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 120 months after a guilty plea and 164 months after a trial. Across all years of this guideline, 83% pleaded guilty. Among the guilty pleas, 86% had a written plea agreement and 14% were straight pleas. The 8 trial convictions are a small group, and the sheet does not show what the cases involved. ## Where Sentences Fell Against the Range Sentences were within the calculated range for 18 people (42%). That share is higher than the 22% in the previous year and the 30% for all years of this guideline. It is lower than the 46% for all guidelines in fiscal year 2024. In 16 cases (37%), the sentence was below the range at the government's request. In 9 (21%), it was below the range without a request. No sentence was above the range. ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution All 43 people were ordered to serve supervised release. The median term was 36 months, and 3 people (7%) received it for life. Fines were ordered for 4 people (9%), and restitution for 3 (7%). Criminal history category I, the lowest, covered 44% of the group, and category VI, the highest, covered 19%. Court-martial files have no criminal history field. ## What the Records Leave Out The crosswalk pairs this guideline with no court-martial offense, so this post reports federal figures only. The data omit acquittals and dismissals. The prison terms are terms imposed, not time served, and the records do not show the facts or reasons behind any sentence. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A1.5 (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. **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 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-5-conspiracy-or-solicitation-to-commit-murder-fy2023/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2A1.5 Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-5-conspiracy-or-solicitation-to-commit-murder-fy2025/) (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.