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# Manslaughter: Federal Sentences vs. Marine Corps Courts-Martial
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-manslaughter-vs-marine-corps/
- Published: 2026-11-03T01:39:22.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T01:39:22.000Z
- Description: The Marine Corps had 11 courts-martial that ended in a manslaughter conviction under Article 119, with trial dates from 2018 to 2025. The median confinement was 62.5 months (5.2 years). In federal court, the median prison term for 737 people sentenced for manslaughter in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 wa
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Murder and Manslaughter](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-murder-manslaughter-vs-courts-martial/) › Manslaughter: Marine Corps

**In brief:** The Marine Corps had 11 courts-martial that ended in a manslaughter conviction under Article 119, with trial dates from 2018 to 2025\. The median confinement was 62.5 months (5.2 years). In federal court, the median prison term for 737 people sentenced for manslaughter in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 was 63 months (5.2 years). These medians are about the same, but the Marine Corps count is small.

Updated November 2, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 · Military Trial Results

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 737 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, compared with court-martial results from this site's Military Trial Results data (updated November 2, 2026). 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/).

## What Marine Corps Manslaughter Convictions Looked Like

The court-martial records list 11 Marine Corps convictions for manslaughter under Article 119\. All 11 were at a general court-martial, the highest trial level.

Of the 11, 10 had a sentence recorded that included confinement (91%). The median adjudged confinement was 62.5 months, and a quarter of the sentences were 80.2 months or more.

Of the 10 enlisted members convicted, 9 received a punitive discharge (90%). That was 7 dishonorable discharges and 2 bad-conduct discharges.

## The Federal Numbers for the Same Offense

The U.S. Sentencing Commission data covers 737 people sentenced under the federal guidelines for voluntary manslaughter (§2A1.3) or involuntary manslaughter (§2A1.4). The years are fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

Of the 737, 708 received a prison term (96%) and 24 received probation only (3%). Among those sent to prison, the median term was 63 months. A quarter received 108 months or more, and a quarter received 35.8 months or less.

|                                    | Marine Corps courts-martial          | Federal court, FY2016–FY2025 |
| ---------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ---------------------------- |
| Convictions or people sentenced    | 11                                   | 737                          |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 91%                                  | 96%                          |
| Median confinement or prison       | 62.5 months                          | 63 months                    |
| A quarter received this or more    | 80.2 months                          | 108 months                   |
| Pleaded guilty                     | 4 of 9 with a plea recorded (4 of 9) | 93%                          |
| Mandatory minimum applied          | See the caveats                      | 4%                           |

## Guilty Pleas and Trials

Federal court was mostly guilty pleas. In all, 686 of the 737 people (93%) pleaded guilty, and 51 were convicted after a trial. The median federal prison term was 63 months after a guilty plea and 90 months after a trial.

Among Marine Corps convictions, a plea was recorded for 9, and 4 of those 9 were guilty pleas. The median confinement was 76.5 months after a guilty plea and 46 months in contested cases that ended in conviction. Each group has only 4 cases with confinement, so these medians can change a great deal with one case.

## How the Marine Corps Compares With the Other Services

The Army had 12 manslaughter convictions with a median confinement of 69 months. The Air Force had 7 with a median of 60 months, and the Navy had 8 with a median of 36 months.

The Marine Corps median of 62.5 months is within that range. With counts between 7 and 12 per service, the differences among services are not reliable on their own.

| Service      | Convictions, 2016–2025 | With confinement | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | Guilty pleas (where recorded) |
| ------------ | ---------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------ | ----------------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| Army         | 12                     | 100%             | 69 months          | 92%                           | 91%                           |
| Air Force    | 7                      | 7 of 7           | 60 months          | 7 of 7                        | 2 of 6                        |
| Navy         | 8                      | 6 of 8           | 36 months          | 6 of 8                        | 4 of 7                        |
| Marine Corps | 11                     | 91%              | 62.5 months        | 90%                           | 4 of 9                        |

## How the Sentences Related to the Guidelines

Federal judges are guided by a sentencing range. Of the 737 people, 333 (45%) were sentenced within the range, and 218 (30%) were sentenced above it. Another 88 (12%) were below it at the government's request, and 98 (13%) were below it without that request.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 28 people (4%). Restitution was ordered for 363 (49%), and 693 (94%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. Court-martial records do not have comparable fields.

## What the Records Cannot Show

Court-martial sentences are as adjudged at trial, before any clemency or appeal. Federal terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

The federal data has a criminal history field, and 57% of those sentenced were in the lowest category. Court-martial records have no such field, so the groups cannot be matched on prior record. The records also do not show the facts of any case or why a sentence was set where it was.

### How We Counted

Marine Corps courts-martial with trial dates in 2016 to 2025 ending in a conviction for manslaughter (Article 119) (11). Federal: 737 people sentenced under guideline §2A1.3 (voluntary manslaughter) or §2A1.4 (involuntary manslaughter), fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (U.S. Sentencing Commission).

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

**Who is in each set of numbers.** The federal sentencing numbers come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They count only people who were convicted and sentenced in federal district court. People whose cases were dismissed or who were acquitted are not in them. The military numbers come from court-martial results, which include acquittals. To compare acquittal or dismissal rates, the federal side uses a different source: the Federal Judicial Center's case data, which counts every defendant whose case ended.

**Different cases reach each system.** Federal prosecutors bring a narrow set of cases. In fiscal year 2024, immigration and drug trafficking cases were 59% of everyone sentenced in federal court (36,664 of 61,678). Many crimes that the military prosecutes, such as most assaults, most sexual assaults between adults, and drug use, are usually state crimes for civilians and reach federal court only in special situations, such as on federal land or in Indian Country. A federal case and a court-martial for the same crime can involve different kinds of facts.

**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.

**Offense categories do not line up exactly.** Each comparison uses a federal offense group chosen to match the military article as closely as possible (see the crosswalk). Some matches are close; others are partial. The post says which federal guideline or statute was used and why it is not an exact match.

**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.

**Military confinement credit and parole.** For military sentences adjudged after 2004, good conduct time is 5 days for each month of confinement, about 16%. Military prisoners can also earn up to 8 more days a month for work and programs and up to 2 days a month for special acts, with a limit of 15 days a month in total. Military prisoners can be considered for parole by their service's clemency and parole board. The military numbers in this post are the confinement adjudged at trial, not the time served.

**Military sentences include punishments federal sentences do not.** A court-martial sentence can include a punitive discharge (bad-conduct discharge, dishonorable discharge, or dismissal for officers), reduction in rank, and forfeiture of pay. These have no federal counterpart. A comparison of months of confinement leaves them out. A short confinement term combined with a dishonorable discharge is a heavier sentence than the months alone show.

**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.

**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.

## 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)
- [Murder and Manslaughter: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-murder-manslaughter-vs-courts-martial/) (overview)
- [Manslaughter: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-manslaughter-vs-army/)
- [Manslaughter Charges: How Often Federal Trials and Courts-Martial End in Acquittal](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-manslaughter-acquittal-rate-vs-courts-martial/)
- [Guilty Pleas in Manslaughter Cases: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-manslaughter-guilty-plea-rate-vs-courts-martial/)
- [Manslaughter Convictions of Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Courts-Martial Compared With Federal Court](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-manslaughter-junior-enlisted-vs-federal-court/)
- [Manslaughter Convictions of NCOs (E-5 to E-9): Courts-Martial Compared With Federal Court](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-manslaughter-ncos-vs-federal-court/)
- [Manslaughter: Sentences After a Guilty Plea vs. After Trial, Federal Court and Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-manslaughter-plea-vs-trial-sentences/)
- [Navy-Marine Corps Article 119 Cases by the Numbers, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-119-trend-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Manslaughter Conviction?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-119-sent-2017-2025/) (court-martial data)
- [Article 119 (Manslaughter): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-119-courts-martial/) (court-martial data)
- [Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-courts-martial/) (court-martial data)
- [Article 119 UCMJ: Voluntary and Involuntary Manslaughter](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-119/?ref=bodiesburied.com) (law firm reference page)
- [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.