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# Federal Murder Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-murder-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:33:11.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:33:11.000Z
- Description: All 52 people sentenced for murder offenses in the District of South Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 120 months (10 years), lower than the 240 months for murder in all 94 districts. 4 people received a life sentence, and 48 of the 52 (92%) pleaded guilty.
- 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 South Carolina, FY2016–](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-south-carolina/) › Murder: District of South Carolina

**In brief:** All 52 people sentenced for murder offenses in the District of South Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 120 months (10 years), lower than the 240 months for murder in all 94 districts. 4 people received a life sentence, and 48 of the 52 (92%) pleaded guilty.

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 52 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

The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 52 people under the offense type "Murder." All 52 (100%) were sent to prison, and 4 received a life sentence.

The median prison term was 120 months. A quarter received 245.5 months or more, and a quarter received 60 months or less. The median for all districts was 240 months. For all offenses in the District of South Carolina, it was 48.2 months.

These are terms imposed, not time served. The yearly table shows medians from 63 months in fiscal year 2024 to 262 months in fiscal year 2021, and it has no rows for fiscal years 2017 and 2022.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 3                | 120 months    | 3 of 3         |
| 2018        | 4                | 215 months    | 4 of 4         |
| 2019        | 6                | 120 months    | 5 of 6         |
| 2020        | 1                | 0 months      | 1 of 1         |
| 2021        | 1                | 262 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2023        | 19               | 204 months    | 89%            |
| 2024        | 11               | 63 months     | 100%           |
| 2025        | 7                | 72 months     | 6 of 7         |

## More Cases in Fiscal Years 2020 to 2025

There were 13 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 39 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The table lists 19 people in fiscal year 2023 and 1 each in fiscal years 2020 and 2021.

The records do not show what drove the change in counts. Murder cases were less than 1% of the 6,874 people sentenced in the district.

## Guilty Pleas Compared With Trials

48 of 52 people (92%) pleaded guilty, and 4 were convicted after a trial. For murder in all districts, 78% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 98%.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 120 months. After a trial, it was 470 months, based on 4 people. The trial group is very small, and the records do not explain the gap.

85% of guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 15% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Guidelines and Mandatory Minimums

The offense type is a Commission category. For 26 people, the primary guideline was §2A1.2 (Second Degree Murder). For 15, it was §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder). For 10, it was §2A1.5 (Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder), and for 1, it was §2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline)).

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 14 of the 52 people with that information recorded (27%).

## Against the Guideline Range

Of the 52 people with this information, 48% (25) were sentenced below the range at the government's request. 21% (11) were below it without a government request, and 31% (16) were within the range. None were above the range.

In all districts, 39% of murder sentences were within the range. In this district, murder sentences within the range were lower than that figure.

## Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History

51 people (98%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 16 people (31%), and no fine was ordered.

On criminal history, 42% were in the lowest category, category I, and 10% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Limits of the Data

Joint Base Charleston, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and Shaw AFB lie within this district. Courts-martial are heard in military courts, not in this federal court.

The Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. It does not describe the facts of any case or show charges that ended in acquittal or dismissal.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Carolina") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Murder" (52). 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 South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-south-carolina/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of South Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-south-carolina/) (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.