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# Federal Murder Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-murder-sentences-district-of-nebraska/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:07:20.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:07:20.000Z
- Description: 11 people were sentenced for murder offenses in the District of Nebraska in fiscal years 2018 to 2025, and all 11 received a prison term. The median prison term was 360 months, compared with 240 months for murder in all 94 federal districts. 4 received a life sentence.
- 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 Nebraska, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-nebraska/) › Murder: District of Nebraska

**In brief:** 11 people were sentenced for murder offenses in the District of Nebraska in fiscal years 2018 to 2025, and all 11 received a prison term. The median prison term was 360 months, compared with 240 months for murder in all 94 federal districts. 4 received a life sentence.

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 11 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/).

## Prison Terms and Life Sentences

All 11 people (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. The median was 360 months, or 30 years. A quarter received 470 months or more, and a quarter received 210 months or less. 4 people received a life sentence.

For murder in all districts, the median was 240 months. For all offenses in the District of Nebraska, it was 57 months. The count here is small, so a single case can move the median.

## Guilty Pleas and Trials

7 of the 11 people (64%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 78% pleaded guilty for this offense type, and for all offenses in this district the figure was 97%.

The median prison term was 240 months after a guilty plea and 470 months after a trial, based on 4 people. Among the 7 who pleaded guilty, 6 had a written plea agreement and 1 had none.

## First and Second Degree Murder

"Murder" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. 7 cases used §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder) and 4 used §2A1.2 (Second Degree Murder) as the primary guideline.

These cases were less than 1% of the 4,887 people sentenced in the district. The period for this offense type is fiscal years 2018 to 2025, and the table lists only the years that had cases.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2018        | 3                | 180 months    | 3 of 3         |
| 2020        | 1                | 470 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2021        | 5                | 470 months    | 2 of 5         |
| 2023        | 1                | 360 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2025        | 1                | 300 months    | 0 of 1         |

## Years With Cases

The fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends at the close of September. Fiscal year 2021 had 5 people, with a median of 470 months and 2 of 5 pleading guilty. Fiscal years 2020, 2023, and 2025 each had 1 person, and fiscal year 2018 had 3 people with a median of 180 months.

3 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 8 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. With counts like these, the table shows no trend.

## Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums

8 people (73%) were sentenced within the guideline range, and 3 (27%) were below it at the government's request. None were below it without a government request, and none were above it. In all districts, 39% were within the range.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2 of the 11 people (18%).

## Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History

All 11 people were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 60 months. No fines or restitution were ordered.

36% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 0% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## What the Records Cannot Show

Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted, so acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

Offutt AFB, Nebraska, is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Nebraska (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Nebraska") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Murder" (11). 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 Nebraska, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-nebraska/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-nebraska/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-nebraska/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-nebraska/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-nebraska/) (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.