Federal Murder Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025
In the District of Maryland, 230 people were sentenced for murder offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 230 received a prison term. The median was 300 months (25 years), compared with 240 months for murder in all 94 federal districts. A life sentence was imposed on 34 people.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 › Murder: District of Maryland
In brief: In the District of Maryland, 230 people were sentenced for murder offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 230 received a prison term. The median was 300 months (25 years), compared with 240 months for murder in all 94 federal districts. A life sentence was imposed on 34 people.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 230 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.
Prison Terms and Life Sentences
The median prison term was 300 months (25 years). A quarter of the 230 people received 379.5 months or more, and a quarter received 185 months or less. A life sentence was imposed on 34 people.
For murder in all 94 districts, the median was 240 months, and more than 99% were sent to prison. For all offenses in the District of Maryland, the median was 48 months. Murder cases were 4% of the 6,044 people sentenced in the district.
Guilty Pleas Were Common
Of the 230 people, 188 (82%) pleaded guilty, and 42 were convicted after a trial. For murder in all 94 districts, 78% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 95%.
The median prison term was 264 months after a guilty plea and 470 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 42 people. Among guilty pleas, 99% had a written plea agreement and 1% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Sentences Below the Guideline Range
The largest group, 142 people (62%), was sentenced below the guideline range at the government's request. Within the range were 68 (30%), and 17 (7%) were below it without a government request. A total of 3 (1%) were above it.
For murder in all 94 districts, 39% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 31%. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 64 of the 230 people (28%).
Primary Guidelines in Murder Cases
"Murder" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, and cases are placed in it by primary guideline. The most common was §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder), with 220 people. Next was §2A1.5 (Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder), with 7.
Then came §2A1.2 (Second Degree Murder), with 2, and §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact), with 1.
After Prison and Criminal History
All 230 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 60 months. A fine was ordered for 1 person (less than 1%), and restitution for 58 (25%).
In criminal history, 43% were in the lowest category and 10% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts Vary Widely
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 93 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 137. The table shows 43 people in fiscal year 2019 and 8 in fiscal year 2025. The yearly median ranged from 172 months to 324 months, and the share who pleaded guilty ranged from 60% in 2017 to 100% in 2016.
Yearly groups are small, so one year should not be read as a trend. A fiscal year begins October 1 and ends September 30.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 13 | 288 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 20 | 324 months | 60% |
| 2018 | 17 | 321 months | 76% |
| 2019 | 43 | 300 months | 77% |
| 2020 | 18 | 270 months | 94% |
| 2021 | 17 | 300 months | 88% |
| 2022 | 24 | 213 months | 71% |
| 2023 | 40 | 300 months | 80% |
| 2024 | 30 | 294 months | 97% |
| 2025 | 8 | 172 months | 7 of 8 |
What These Records Do Not Show
The data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. The prison terms are the sentences imposed, not time served, and the records say nothing about the facts of any case.
Fort Meade, Maryland, and Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, which are separate from this federal district court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Maryland (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Maryland") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Murder" (230). 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 District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Maryland, 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.