Federal Murder Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025
In the Central District of Illinois, 21 people were sentenced for murder offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 21 received a prison term. The median prison term was 240 months (20 years), and 3 people received a life sentence. Only 6 of the 21 (29%) pleaded guilty, while 15 were convicted a
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In brief: In the Central District of Illinois, 21 people were sentenced for murder offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 21 received a prison term. The median prison term was 240 months (20 years), and 3 people received a life sentence. Only 6 of the 21 (29%) pleaded guilty, while 15 were convicted after a trial.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 21 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.
How Many Murder Cases Went to Trial in This District?
Most federal defendants plead guilty. Murder cases in this district were different. Of the 21 people sentenced, 6 (29%) pleaded guilty and 15 were convicted after a trial.
Across all 94 federal districts, 78% of people sentenced for the Commission's "Murder" offense type pleaded guilty. In this district, guilty pleas were less common for murder than that national figure. Guilty pleas were also less common than for all offenses in the district, where 94% pleaded guilty.
The counts are small, so the comparison describes these 21 people and does not show a pattern.
What Were the Prison Terms?
Every one of the 21 people received a prison term, and none received probation only. The median prison term was 240 months. A quarter received 444 months or more, and a quarter received 168 months or less. Prison terms here are the terms imposed, not the time actually served.
The median for all 94 districts in this offense type is also 240 months. The median for all offenses in the Central District of Illinois is 70 months, which is lower than the murder median.
The plea and trial groups differ widely. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 71.3 months. After a trial it was 348 months, based on 15 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The records cannot show whether the difference comes from the charges, the evidence, or the sentencing choices in each case.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 1 | 470 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2018 | 1 | 470 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 13 | 336 months | 0% |
| 2021 | 4 | 17.3 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 2 | 289 months | 1 of 2 |
Which Guidelines Applied?
The Sentencing Commission groups federal cases into offense types. "Murder" is the Commission's category, and it covers more than one guideline. The most common primary guideline was §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder), used in 19 cases. The other was §2A1.5 (Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder), used in 2 cases.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 12 of the 21 people with that information recorded (57%).
Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the federal guidelines. Of the 21 sentences, 7 (33%) were within the range. Another 10 (48%) were below the range without a government request, and 4 (19%) were below the range at the government's request. None was above the range.
Across all 94 districts, 39% of murder sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure is 36%.
Supervision, Fines, and Criminal History
All 21 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 0 people. Restitution was ordered for 1 (5%).
In criminal history, 5% were in the lowest category, category I, and 29% were in the highest, category VI. Among the 6 guilty pleas, 5 had a written plea agreement and 1 was a straight plea with no agreement.
How Large Is This Group, and What Is Missing?
Murder cases were less than 1% of the 2,440 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The district had 2 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 19 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data, so the records cannot show how many murder prosecutions ended without a conviction. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so the criminal history figures have no counterpart in military records.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Central District of Illinois (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Illinois Cent") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Murder" (21). 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 Illinois, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, 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.