Federal Murder Sentences in the District of Oregon, FY2016–2025
In the District of Oregon, 18 people were sentenced for murder in the years the Commission data covers, fiscal years 2018 to 2025. All 18 received a prison term, and the median prison term was 189 months (15.8 years). 4 received a life sentence.
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Oregon, FY2016–2025 › Murder: District of Oregon
In brief: In the District of Oregon, 18 people were sentenced for murder in the years the Commission data covers, fiscal years 2018 to 2025. All 18 received a prison term, and the median prison term was 189 months (15.8 years). 4 received a life sentence.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 18 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
All 18 people (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. The median prison term was 189 months. A quarter received 350 months or more, and a quarter received 105 months or less. 4 people received a life sentence.
For murder in all 94 federal districts, the median prison term was 240 months. The median for all offenses in the District of Oregon was 32 months. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Which Years Are Covered
The Commission data for this district lists murder sentences only in fiscal years 2018 to 2025, and not in the earlier years of the 2016 to 2025 span used for other offense types. The records do not say why. 2 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 16 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The fiscal year runs October 1 to the end of September.
The table shows 2 to 7 people in each listed year. Medians range from 67.5 months to 415 months, and such small groups do not support any trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2 | 310 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 7 | 140 months | 5 of 7 |
| 2023 | 3 | 198 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 4 | 415 months | 2 of 4 |
| 2025 | 2 | 67.5 months | 2 of 2 |
Trials Compared With Guilty Pleas
14 of 18 people (78%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 137.5 months. After a trial it was 470 months, based on 4 people.
For murder in all districts, guilty pleas were also 78%. For all offenses in this district, they were 98%. All of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement.
Guidelines and Mandatory Minimums
The most common primary guideline was §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder), with 16 people. §2A1.2 (Second Degree Murder) had 2. A mandatory minimum applied to 8 of the 18 people (44%).
Murder cases were less than 1% of the 4,319 people sentenced in the district.
Against the Guideline Range
Within the range: 33% (6 people). Below the range at the government's request: 56% (10). Above the range: 11% (2). None was below the range without a government request.
For all districts, 39% were within the range, and for all offenses in this district, 22%.
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
All 18 were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 60 months. Restitution was ordered for 9 people (50%), and no fine was ordered. By criminal history, 11% were in the lowest category and 11% in the highest.
Court-martial records have no criminal history field. The guideline range is the range calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Supervised release is a period of supervision after the prison term ends. The Commission counts only people convicted and sentenced, so the data says nothing about charges that ended in acquittal or dismissal, and it does not describe any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Oregon (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Oregon") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Murder" (18). 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 Oregon, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Oregon, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Oregon, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Oregon, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Oregon, 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.