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# Federal Murder Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-murder-sentences-district-of-delaware/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:13:20.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:13:20.000Z
- Description: Only 10 people were sentenced for murder offenses in the District of Delaware in fiscal years 2016 to 2024, and all 10 received a prison term. The median was 330 months (27.5 years), compared with 240 months in all 94 districts, and 4 people received a life sentence. 4 of the 10 were convicted after
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-delaware/) › Murder: District of Delaware

**In brief:** Only 10 people were sentenced for murder offenses in the District of Delaware in fiscal years 2016 to 2024, and all 10 received a prison term. The median was 330 months (27.5 years), compared with 240 months in all 94 districts, and 4 people received a life sentence. 4 of the 10 were convicted after a trial.

Updated November 4, 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 10 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/).

## Life Sentences and Long Terms in 10 Cases

The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 10 people sentenced in the District of Delaware under its offense type "Murder" for fiscal years 2016 to 2024\. The category is the Commission's own, and only people who were convicted and sentenced are included.

All 10 (100%) received a prison term. 4 received a life sentence. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 330 months, or 27.5 years. A quarter received 470 months or more, and a quarter received 182 months or less.

Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

## Delaware Compared With All Districts

In all 94 districts, 3,754 people were sentenced for murder. More than 99% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 240 months. Delaware's median of 330 months is higher, but a group of 10 is too small to treat as a pattern.

Murder cases were 1% of the 925 people sentenced in the district. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 27 months.

The most common primary guideline was §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder), used for 8 people. §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) applied to 1, and §2A1.5 (Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder) applied to 1.

## Trials and Guilty Pleas

6 of the 10 people (60%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 78% pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in Delaware the rate was 96%. Trials were therefore more common in these murder cases than in the other groups.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 184 months. After a trial it was 470 months, based on 4 people. All 6 guilty pleas had a written plea agreement.

The records cannot show whether the longer trial terms came from the trial itself or from the facts and charges of the cases.

## Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 4 of the 10 people (40%).

50% of the sentences (5 people) were within the guideline range. 40% (4 people) were below the range at the government's request, and 10% (1 person) were below it without a request. None were above the range. For all districts, 39% were within the range.

## Supervised Release, Money Orders, and Criminal History

7 people (70%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 60 months. Restitution was ordered for 8 people (80%), and a fine for 1 (10%).

30% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 0% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 3                | 470 months    | 0 of 3         |
| 2022        | 3                | 300 months    | 3 of 3         |
| 2023        | 3                | 188 months    | 2 of 3         |
| 2024        | 1                | 118 months    | 1 of 1         |

## Why the Year Counts Say Little

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 3 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 7\. The table lists only 4 years, with 1 to 3 people in each. A yearly median such as 470 months in 2016 or 118 months in 2024 is the result of very few sentences and is not a trend.

Dover AFB, Delaware is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court, and these federal numbers are reported on their own.

The records do not show the facts of any case or why any sentence was chosen. They also leave out people who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Delaware (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Delaware") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Murder" (10). 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](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)
- [Federal Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-delaware/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-delaware/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-delaware/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-delaware/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Delaware, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-delaware/) (same district, other offense type)
- [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.