§2D1.10 Endangering Human Life While Illegally Manufacturing a Controlled Substance: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2024, 39 people were sentenced in federal court under §2D1.10, and all 39 pleaded guilty. Of them, 30 (77%) received a prison term, with a median of 29 months (2.4 years). Most sentences were below the guideline range.
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In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2024, 39 people were sentenced in federal court under §2D1.10, and all 39 pleaded guilty. Of them, 30 (77%) received a prison term, with a median of 29 months (2.4 years). Most sentences were below the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 39 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 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.
All Pleaded Guilty
Under guideline §2D1.10, every one of the 39 people sentenced between fiscal years 2016 and 2024 pleaded guilty: 39 of 39 (100%). None went to trial, so the records give no comparison of plea and trial sentences. Among the pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The Sentencing Commission classifies these cases as Drug Trafficking.
What the Title Says
The Guidelines Manual titles §2D1.10 "Endangering Human Life While Illegally Manufacturing a Controlled Substance; Attempt or Conspiracy." The title covers endangering human life during illegal manufacture of a controlled substance, and attempts or conspiracies to do so.
A case is counted when §2D1.10 was the primary guideline, the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
Prison Terms and Probation
Prison went to 30 of the 39 (77%), and probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 8 (21%). The median prison term was 29 months (2.4 years). A quarter received 47.2 months or more, and a quarter received 8.2 months or less. These are imposed terms, not time served.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Range
Only 8% (3) of the 39 sentences were within the guideline range. Below the range at the government's request were 44% (17), and below the range without a government request were 49% (19). None were above the range.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 3 people (8%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release was ordered for 30 people (77%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 1 (3%). Restitution was ordered for 12 (31%).
On criminal history, 49% were in the lowest category, category I, and 0% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Changes Over the Years
Most cases are from the earlier years. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 33 people with a median prison term of 24 months. Fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 6 people with a median prison term of 36 months. The later period has far fewer cases, so its median is based on little.
In the table, fiscal year 2016 had 12 people and fiscal year 2022 had 1 person, with an 84-month median. The records show fewer people sentenced in the later period but cannot show the reason. Fiscal years 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 each had 1 person sentenced, with 84 months in fiscal year 2022 and 48 months in fiscal year 2023.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 33 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 5 | 6 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2018 | 9 | 36 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2019 | 7 | 9 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2020 | 2 | 14 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | 84 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 1 | 48 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 1 | 36 months | 1 of 1 |
Limits
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so no military comparison is made. The Commission data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not counted.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2D1.10 (39), 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- §2D1.1 Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses): Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2D1.2 Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2D2.1 Unlawful Possession: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2D2.2 Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2D1.11 Unlawfully Distributing, Importing, Exporting or Possessing a Listed Chemical: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- 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.