Federal Murder Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025
All 65 people sentenced for murder offenses in the Central District of California in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and 9 of them received a life sentence. The median prison term was 240 months (20 years), the same as in all 94 federal districts. A guilty plea was entered by 49 of
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2 › Murder: Central District of California
In brief: All 65 people sentenced for murder offenses in the Central District of California in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and 9 of them received a life sentence. The median prison term was 240 months (20 years), the same as in all 94 federal districts. A guilty plea was entered by 49 of the 65 (75%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 65 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.
Every Sentence Included Prison
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Murder" groups cases sentenced under the murder guidelines, including conspiracy and solicitation. In this district, 65 people were sentenced in the period, and all 65 (100%) received prison. None received probation only.
The median prison term was 240 months. A quarter received 360 months or more, and a quarter received 126 months or less. A life sentence was imposed on 9 people. These are terms imposed, not time served.
In all 94 districts, 3,754 people were sentenced for murder, and the median was also 240 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 37 months.
Guidelines Used in These Cases
The most common primary guideline was §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder), used for 31 people. Next were §2A1.5 (Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder) with 20, §2A1.2 (Second Degree Murder) with 9, and §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) with 2.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 29 of the 65 people (45%). Murder cases were less than 1% of the 9,958 people sentenced in the district.
Plea Rates and the Trial Gap
Of the 65 people, 49 (75%) pleaded guilty and 16 were convicted after a trial. The plea share was 78% in all districts and 95% for all offenses in this district.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 210 months. After a trial, it was 263 months, based on 16 people. The records do not describe how those cases differed in other ways.
Every guilty plea (100%) had a written plea agreement.
Guideline Range Positions
Of the 65 people, 24 (37%) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 22 (34%) were below it at the government's request, 16 (25%) were below it without a government request, and 3 (5%) were above it.
For all districts, 39% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 29% were. Murder sentences here were within the range more often than the district's overall figure and less often than the national figure for this type.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for all 65 people (100%), with a median term of 60 months. Supervised release for life was ordered for 2 people (3%).
A fine was ordered for 2 (3%) and restitution for 16 (25%). On criminal history, 35% were in category I, the lowest, and 17% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Fiscal Year Counts Show Few Cases Before 2024
The district sentenced 17 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 48 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The fiscal year runs from October 1 to the end of September.
Each year before 2024 had 6 or fewer people, and then 2024 had 16 and 2025 had 11. Yearly medians range from 108 months to 470 months. With counts this small, one year cannot be called a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 108 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2017 | 5 | 288 months | 3 of 5 |
| 2018 | 2 | 165 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2019 | 5 | 144 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2020 | 5 | 470 months | 3 of 5 |
| 2021 | 5 | 144 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2022 | 6 | 228.6 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2023 | 5 | 336 months | 3 of 5 |
| 2024 | 16 | 240 months | 69% |
| 2025 | 11 | 300 months | 91% |
What the Records Do Not Cover
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, and the facts of each case are not described.
Fort Irwin, Twentynine Palms, and Vandenberg SFB are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Central District of California (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "California Central") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Murder" (65). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.
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)
- Federal Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- 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.