> ## 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. # §2A2.1 Assault with Intent to Commit Murder: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-1-assault-with-intent-to-commit-murder-fy2024/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:25:19.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:25:19.000Z - Description: Fiscal year 2024 had 226 federal sentencings under §2A2.1, "Assault with Intent to Commit Murder," which is the largest count for any year in the table. The median prison term was 125 months (10.4 years), and all 226 people received prison. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2A2.1 Assault with Intent to Commit Murder](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-1-assault-with-intent-to-commit-murder/) › §2A2.1: FY2024 **In brief:** Fiscal year 2024 had 226 federal sentencings under §2A2.1, "Assault with Intent to Commit Murder," which is the largest count for any year in the table. The median prison term was 125 months (10.4 years), and all 226 people received 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 226 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/). ## 226 People and a 125-Month Median The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 226 people in fiscal year 2024 whose primary guideline was §2A2.1\. All 226 (100%) received a prison term, and 0 (0%) received probation only. The median prison term was 125 months, which is 10.4 years. A quarter received 207.5 months or more, and a quarter received 96 months or less. 2 people received life sentences. These are terms imposed, not time served. ## Trials, Pleas, and Plea Agreements 203 people (90%) pleaded guilty, and 23 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 120 months. After a trial it was 300 months. Of the guilty pleas, 80% had a written plea agreement and 20% were straight pleas. The trial figure is based on 23 people and does not show how trials end in general. ## How Often a Mandatory Minimum Applied A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 71 of the 226 people (31%). The records do not show how often the minimum was the term actually imposed. ## Guideline Range Results All 226 people had range information. 46% (105) were sentenced within the range. 25% (56) were below it at the government's request, and 24% (55) were below it without a request. 4% (10) were above it. The previous year, 2023, had 39% within the range, and the next year, 2025, had 45%. For all guidelines in 2024, 46% were within the range, which is the same share as here. ## Supervised Release and Financial Orders 225 people (more than 99%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months, and 2 (less than 1%) received it for life. A fine was ordered for 2 (less than 1%). Restitution was ordered for 34 people (15%). ## Criminal History 22% of the group were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 17% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Counting Rules and the Other Years Fiscal year 2024 ran from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024\. Each person is counted under the primary guideline, the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. The Commission placed all 226 cases in its Assault category. Only convicted and sentenced people are included. In 2023 there were 201 people under §2A2.1 with a median of 120 months. In 2025 there were 193 people with a median of 137 months. Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 1,534 people were sentenced, 88% pleaded guilty, and the median was 120 months. For all guidelines in 2024, 61,678 people were sentenced with a median of 30 months. The table lists every year. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 80 | 120.5 months | 86% | | 2017 | 130 | 120 months | 91% | | 2018 | 112 | 136 months | 90% | | 2019 | 169 | 120 months | 89% | | 2020 | 126 | 120 months | 85% | | 2021 | 115 | 120 months | 92% | | 2022 | 182 | 120 months | 87% | | 2023 | 201 | 120 months | 87% | | 2024 | 226 | 125 months | 90% | | 2025 | 193 | 137 months | 83% | ## What the Records Cannot Show They cannot show the facts of the cases or the reasons for any term. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart, so only the federal numbers are reported. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A2.1 (226), 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) - [§2A2.1 Assault with Intent to Commit Murder: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-1-assault-with-intent-to-commit-murder/) (overview) - [§2A2.1 Assault with Intent to Commit Murder: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-1-assault-with-intent-to-commit-murder-fy2023/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2A2.1 Assault with Intent to Commit Murder: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-1-assault-with-intent-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.