> ## 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. # §2E1.4 Use of Interstate Commerce Facilities in the Commission of Murder-For-Hire: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2e1-4-use-of-interstate-commerce-facilities-in-the/ - Published: 2026-11-03T01:40:08.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:40:08.000Z - Description: Prison was ordered for 79 of 82 people (96%) sentenced under §2E1.4, murder-for-hire using interstate commerce facilities, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 87 months (7.2 years). - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › §2E1.4 **In brief:** Prison was ordered for 79 of 82 people (96%) sentenced under §2E1.4, murder-for-hire using interstate commerce facilities, in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The median prison term was 87 months (7.2 years). 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 82 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/). ## The Murder-For-Hire Guideline The Guidelines Manual titles §2E1.4 "Use of Interstate Commerce Facilities in the Commission of Murder-For-Hire." The title ties the guideline to murder-for-hire that uses interstate commerce facilities. The Sentencing Commission counted 82 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 with this as the primary guideline, listed under Extortion/Racketeering. ## A Median of 7.2 Years Prison was ordered for 79 people (96%), and probation only for 2 (2%). The median prison term was 87 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 120 months or more, and a quarter received 61 months or less. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 11 people (13%). A median is the middle value when the prison terms are put in order. For the 79 people sent to prison, the middle term was 87 months. These are long terms, and the highest quarter began at 120 months. ## Pleas and Trials Guilty pleas numbered 76 of 82 (93%), and 6 people were convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 86% had a written plea agreement and 14% were straight pleas. The median prison term was 87 months after a guilty plea and 120 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 6 people. Plea and trial medians differ, but only 6 people were convicted at trial. The records do not show whether trial cases involved different facts from the cases that ended in a plea. ## How Sentences Compared With the Range The sentence was within the guideline range for 35 people (43%). It was below the range at the government's request for 29 (35%) and without a request for 15 (18%). It was above the range for 3 (4%). The records show these counts only. They do not show what moved a sentence below the range. Sentences below the range were common: 29 at the government's request and 15 without one. The records show how often this happened but not why. ## Supervised Release and Money Orders Supervised release followed prison for 78 people (95%), with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 13 (16%), and a fine for 6 (7%). In criminal history, 63% were in the lowest category I and 10% were in the highest (VI). ## Little Change Across Periods Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 39 people and a median prison term of 92 months. Fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 43 people and a median of 87 months. The yearly medians go from 63 months in 2020 to 120 months in 2018\. Each year has 5 to 11 people. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 11 | 66 months | 100% | | 2017 | 11 | 87 months | 100% | | 2018 | 11 | 120 months | 91% | | 2019 | 6 | 92 months | 6 of 6 | | 2020 | 6 | 63 months | 5 of 6 | | 2021 | 7 | 106 months | 5 of 7 | | 2022 | 9 | 93.5 months | 8 of 9 | | 2023 | 6 | 90.5 months | 6 of 6 | | 2024 | 10 | 85.5 months | 90% | | 2025 | 5 | 84.5 months | 5 of 5 | ## What Cannot Be Read From This Data The data counts only convicted and sentenced people. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so only federal figures are given. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2E1.4 (82), 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) - [§2E3.1 Gambling Offenses: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2e3-1-gambling-offenses/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2E1.1 Unlawful Conduct Relating to Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2e1-1-unlawful-conduct-relating-to-racketeer-influenced-and/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2E4.1 Unlawful Conduct Relating to Contraband Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2e4-1-unlawful-conduct-relating-to-contraband-cigarettes-and/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2E2.1 Making or Financing an Extortionate Extension of Credit: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2e2-1-making-or-financing-an-extortionate-extension-of/) (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.