Federal Murder Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025
All 157 people sentenced for murder offenses in the District of Puerto Rico in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and 18 received a life sentence. The median prison term was 240 months (20 years), the same as in all 94 federal districts. After a trial, the median was 470 months, compa
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–202 › Murder: District of Puerto Rico
In brief: All 157 people sentenced for murder offenses in the District of Puerto Rico in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and 18 received a life sentence. The median prison term was 240 months (20 years), the same as in all 94 federal districts. After a trial, the median was 470 months, compared with 216 months after a guilty plea.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 157 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.
Trial and Plea Medians
Of the 157 people, 130 (83%) pleaded guilty and 27 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 216 months after a guilty plea and 470 months after a trial, based on 27 people.
The records do not show how the trial and plea cases differed in other ways. The gap between the medians describes groups of cases and does not show the effect of going to trial.
For all districts, 78% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, the plea share was 98%. Every guilty plea (100%) in this district had a written plea agreement.
Prison for Everyone Sentenced
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type is "Murder." All 157 people (100%) received prison, and none received probation only. A life sentence was imposed on 18.
The median prison term was 240 months. A quarter received 328 months or more, and a quarter received 168 months or less. Across all districts, 3,754 people were sentenced for murder, with the same median of 240 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 60 months. These are terms imposed, not time served.
First and Second Degree Murder Guidelines
The most common primary guideline was §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder), used for 146 people. The other was §2A1.2 (Second Degree Murder), used for 11.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 66 of the 157 people with that information recorded (42%). Murder cases were 2% of the 9,794 people sentenced in the district.
Below the Range at the Government's Request
Of the 157 people, 90 (57%) were sentenced below the guideline range at the government's request. Within the range were 41 (26%), below it without a government request were 21 (13%), and above it were 5 (3%).
For all districts, 39% of murder cases were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 54%. Murder sentences here were within the range less often than both figures.
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
Supervised release followed prison for 156 people (more than 99%), and the median term was 60 months. The court ordered no fines and ordered restitution for 54 people (34%).
On criminal history, 55% were in category I, the lowest, and 6% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Fiscal Year
In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 57 people were sentenced here, and in fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 100 were. The fiscal year starts October 1 and ends at the end of September.
Yearly counts range from 3 in 2018 to 30 in 2019. Yearly medians range from 192 months to 470 months. A year with 3 people can move a median a great deal, so the table is not a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 18 | 237 months | 83% |
| 2017 | 6 | 211 months | 4 of 6 |
| 2018 | 3 | 470 months | 1 of 3 |
| 2019 | 30 | 240 months | 80% |
| 2020 | 15 | 320 months | 67% |
| 2021 | 12 | 194 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 23 | 216 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 20 | 192 months | 90% |
| 2024 | 18 | 252 months | 78% |
| 2025 | 12 | 211 months | 75% |
What the Records Leave Out
This data set lists only convicted, sentenced people. Acquittals, dismissals, and the circumstances of each death are not part of it.
Military courts, and not this district court, try courts-martial. The numbers above are federal numbers.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Puerto Rico (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Puerto Rico") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Murder" (157). 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 Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Puerto Rico, 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.