Murder and Manslaughter: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025
For murder, the median prison term in federal court was 292 months, compared with a median adjudged confinement of 198 months in courts-martial under Article 118. For manslaughter, the figures were close: 63 months in federal court and 60 months in courts-martial. These numbers cover convictions and
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In brief: For murder, the median prison term in federal court was 292 months, compared with a median adjudged confinement of 198 months in courts-martial under Article 118. For manslaughter, the figures were close: 63 months in federal court and 60 months in courts-martial. These numbers cover convictions and sentences from 2016 to 2025, and the systems handle different kinds of cases.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 3,980 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 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.
What Did Murder Sentences Look Like in Each System?
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 3,243 people sentenced in federal court under the first degree and second degree murder guidelines in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 3,239 received a prison term, and 3 received probation only. The median prison term was 292 months, which is 24.3 years.
Court-martial records show 40 convictions for murder under Article 118 with trial dates from 2016 to 2025. Of the 40, 38 included confinement (95%). The median adjudged confinement was 198 months, which is 16.5 years.
The sentences at the upper end were also higher in federal court. A quarter of the federal prison terms were 470 months or more, compared with 329.8 months or more for courts-martial. In federal court, 683 people received a life sentence. In courts-martial, 7 received confinement for life.
| Courts-martial: Murder | Federal: Murder | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 40 | 3,243 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 95% | more than 99% |
| Median confinement or prison | 198 months | 292 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 329.8 months | 470 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 19 of 34 with a plea recorded (56%) | 77% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 44% |
Why the Murder Numbers Are Hard to Line Up
The federal group is much larger, with 3,243 people against 40 convictions. A median from 40 cases can move a good deal if a few cases are added or removed.
The federal cases are also a particular set. Federal murder cases are mostly Indian Country and federal-enclave cases plus murder in aid of racketeering. Most civilian murders are state crimes and never reach federal court.
Mandatory minimums differ as well. Premeditated murder under Article 118 carries a mandatory minimum of confinement for life with eligibility for parole. The sheet reports a mandatory minimum for 44% of the federal murder group, and the court-martial table points to the caveats for that row.
How Do Pleas and Trials Change the Federal Murder Numbers?
In federal murder cases, 2,482 of 3,243 people (77%) pleaded guilty, and 761 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 240 months. After a trial, it was 470 months.
This compares groups of cases. The records do not show what each person would have received under the other path.
For courts-martial, the records have a plea recorded for 34 murder convictions, and 19 of those (56%) were guilty pleas.
Manslaughter: The Sentences Were Close
Federal courts sentenced 737 people under the voluntary and involuntary manslaughter guidelines. Of those, 708 received a prison term (96%), and 24 received probation only (3%). The median prison term was 63 months, which is 5.2 years. A mandatory minimum applied to 28 people (4%).
Courts-martial recorded 38 convictions for manslaughter under Article 119. Of the 38, 35 included confinement (92%). The median adjudged confinement was 60 months, or 5 years. A quarter received 95.9 months or more, compared with 108 months or more in federal court.
Guilty pleas were more common in federal court: 686 of 737 (93%). In courts-martial, 20 of 33 convictions with a plea recorded (61%) were guilty pleas.
| Courts-martial: Manslaughter | Federal: Manslaughter | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 38 | 737 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 92% | 96% |
| Median confinement or prison | 60 months | 63 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 95.9 months | 108 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 20 of 33 with a plea recorded (61%) | 93% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 4% |
Discharges, Courts, and Pleas in Courts-Martial
Federal sentences have no punitive discharge. In courts-martial, 33 of the 37 enlisted members convicted of manslaughter received a punitive discharge (89%): 20 dishonorable discharges and 13 bad-conduct discharges. For murder, 31 of 37 enlisted members did (84%): 29 dishonorable discharges and 2 bad-conduct discharges.
Among officers, 2 were convicted of murder, and 2 were dismissed. Of the murder convictions, 38 of 40 (95%) were at a general court-martial. For manslaughter, 37 of 38 (97%) were.
Plea status mattered for manslaughter sentences in the court-martial records. The median confinement was 60 months after a guilty plea (19 cases with confinement) and 30 months in contested cases ending in conviction (11 cases with confinement). The federal median was 63 months after a guilty plea and 90 months after a trial.
What These Records Cannot Show
Court-martial sentences are the confinement adjudged at trial, before clemency or appeal. Federal prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The Sentencing Commission data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not in it.
The records do not describe the facts of any case, so they cannot show whether a federal murder case and a court-martial murder case involved similar conduct. Months of confinement also leave out punitive discharges, which have no federal counterpart.
How We Counted
Courts-martial: convictions with trial dates in 2016 to 2025 for murder (Article 118) (40); manslaughter (Article 119) (38). Federal: people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under guideline §2A1.1 (first degree murder) or §2A1.2 (second degree murder) (3,243); guideline §2A1.3 (voluntary manslaughter) or §2A1.4 (involuntary manslaughter) (737) (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.
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.
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.
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.
More Detail
Manslaughter, year by year: 2021.
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)
- Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials?
- Guilty Pleas in Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial, Year by Year
- Child Pornography Sentences: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Federal Law Has No Crime of Drug Use: How Article 112a Cases Compare
- Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025
- Sexual Abuse of an Adult: Federal Cases vs. Article 120 Courts-Martial
- Child Sexual Abuse and Enticement: Federal Cases vs. Article 120b Courts-Martial
- Theft and Fraud by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 Courts-Martial
- Murder Sentences: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Murder: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial
- Murder: Federal Sentences vs. Air Force Courts-Martial
- Murder: Federal Sentences vs. Navy Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Guilty Pleas in Murder Cases: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
- Murder: Sentences After a Guilty Plea vs. After Trial, Federal Court and Courts-Martial
- Murder Charges: How Often Federal Trials and Courts-Martial End in Acquittal
- Murder Convictions of Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Courts-Martial Compared With Federal Court
- Is Army Murder Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 118, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- Article 118 Sentences in the Air Force: Confinement and Discharges, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- How Has Article 118 Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017? (court-martial data)
- How Much Confinement for an Article 118 Conviction in the Navy-Marine Corps? (court-martial data)
- Article 118 (Murder): Court-Martial Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Article 118 UCMJ: Murder (law firm reference page)
- Guilty Pleas in Army Manslaughter Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (court-martial data)
- Navy-Marine Corps Article 119 Cases by the Numbers, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Manslaughter Conviction? (court-martial data)
- Article 119 (Manslaughter): Court-Martial Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Article 119 UCMJ: Voluntary and Involuntary Manslaughter (law firm reference page)
- 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.