> ## 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, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-1-assault-with-intent-to-commit-murder/ - Published: 2026-11-03T01:39:44.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:39:44.000Z - Description: Of 1,534 people sentenced under §2A2.1, Assault with Intent to Commit Murder; Attempted Murder, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 1,533 received a prison term. The median was 120 months (10 years), and 16 received a life sentence. A mandatory minimum applied to 477 (31%). - 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 **In brief:** Of 1,534 people sentenced under §2A2.1, Assault with Intent to Commit Murder; Attempted Murder, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 1,533 received a prison term. The median was 120 months (10 years), and 16 received a life sentence. A mandatory minimum applied to 477 (31%). Updated November 2, 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 1,534 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 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/). ## Long Prison Terms Were the Rule Everyone but 1 person received a prison term. The one exception received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term was 120 months, or 10 years. A quarter received 210 months or more, and a quarter received 92 months or less. A total of 16 people received a life sentence. These are terms imposed, not time served. ## What Does Guideline §2A2.1 Cover? The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual titles §2A2.1 "Assault with Intent to Commit Murder; Attempted Murder." The U.S. Sentencing Commission files the cases under Assault. The count includes only cases where §2A2.1 was the primary guideline, which is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. It covers people who were convicted and sentenced. ## Trials and Guilty Pleas A total of 1,347 people (88%) pleaded guilty, and 187 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 120 months after a guilty plea and 255 months after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 79% had a written plea agreement and 21% were straight pleas. The records cannot show whether the trial cases differed in ways other than the plea. ## Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 477 people (31%). The sentence position is known for 1,533 people. Within the guideline range was 41% (634). Below the range at the government's request was 29% (444), and below the range without a government request was 25% (384). Above the range was 5% (71). ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution Supervised release after prison was ordered for 1,513 people (99%), with a median term of 36 months. Supervised release for life went to 8, which is less than 1%. A fine was ordered for 40 people (3%), and restitution for 218 (14%). In criminal history, 19% were in category I, the lowest, and 20% were in category VI, the highest. ## Changes Over the Years The count was 491 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 1,043 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The median prison term was 120 months in both periods. Yearly medians were at or near 120 months in most years. The exceptions were 136 months in 2018, 125 months in 2024, and 137 months in 2025\. The count of people sentenced was 80 in 2016 and 226 in 2024. The share who pleaded guilty was lowest in 2025 at 83%. The table lists each 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 The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so the numbers are federal only. The data cannot show the facts of any case, whether anyone was hurt, or how much of a term was actually served. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2A2.1 (1,534), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's 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) - [§2A3.5 Failure to Register as a Sex Offender: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a3-5-failure-to-register-as-a-sex-offender/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2A1.1 First Degree Murder: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a1-1-first-degree-murder/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2A2.4 Obstructing or Impeding Officers: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a2-4-obstructing-or-impeding-officers/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2A6.1 Threatening or Harassing Communications: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2a6-1-threatening-or-harassing-communications/) (same guideline chapter part) - [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.