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# Federal Murder Sentences in the District of Utah, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-murder-sentences-district-of-utah/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:37:55.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:37:55.000Z
- Description: 10 people were sentenced in the District of Utah for murder offenses in fiscal years 2017 to 2025, and all 10 (100%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 324 months (27 years), and 2 people received a life sentence. 5 people pleaded guilty and 5 were convicted after a trial.
- 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 Utah, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-utah/) › Murder: District of Utah

**In brief:** 10 people were sentenced in the District of Utah for murder offenses in fiscal years 2017 to 2025, and all 10 (100%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 324 months (27 years), and 2 people received a life sentence. 5 people pleaded guilty and 5 were convicted after a trial.

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 10 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 10 people under the offense type "Murder" in this district. All 10 (100%) were sent to prison, and 2 received a life sentence.

The median prison term was 324 months (27 years). A quarter received 457.5 months or more, and a quarter received 244.8 months or less. For all 94 districts, the median was 240 months, so the Utah median was higher. For all offenses in the District of Utah, it was 30 months.

Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2017        | 1                | 470 months    | 0 of 1         |
| 2018        | 2                | 303.5 months  | 2 of 2         |
| 2019        | 1                | 420 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2021        | 1                | 240 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2023        | 1                | 300 months    | 0 of 1         |
| 2024        | 3                | 240 months    | 1 of 3         |
| 2025        | 1                | 470 months    | 0 of 1         |

## Trials Were as Common as Guilty Pleas

5 of 10 people (50%) pleaded guilty, and 5 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 78% of murder cases ended in a guilty plea. For all offenses in the District of Utah, the figure was 99%.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 259 months. After a trial, it was 470 months, based on 5 people. That is a higher median after a trial, but the groups are small and the records do not show why the terms differed.

All 5 guilty pleas had a written plea agreement.

## Mandatory Minimums

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 5 of the 10 people with that information recorded (50%). A mandatory minimum is a prison term set by statute that a court generally cannot go below.

The records do not show which of the 5 people received a mandatory minimum.

## Guidelines and Their Ranges

"Murder" is the Commission's offense type, which groups several guidelines. The most common primary guideline was §2A1.2 (Second Degree Murder), with 6 people. The next was §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder), with 4 people.

Of the 10 people with guideline information, 30% (3) were sentenced within the range. Another 40% (4) were sentenced below the range at the government's request, and 20% (2) were below it without a government request. 10% (1) was above the range. In all districts, 39% of murder sentences were within the range.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution

8 people (80%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 60 months. No fine was ordered. Restitution was ordered for 3 people (30%).

On criminal history, 20% were in the lowest category, category I, and 10% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## How Large Is This Group?

Murder cases were less than 1% of the 7,061 people sentenced in the District of Utah in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. There were 4 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 6 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The yearly table has 1 to 3 people per year, so individual yearly medians describe a few cases and do not show a trend.

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. It does not show charges that ended in acquittal or dismissal.

## Military Courts and What the Records Leave Out

Hill AFB, Utah, is in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court, and this post reports federal numbers on their own.

The records do not describe the facts of any case, and they cannot explain why one term was longer than another.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Utah (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Utah") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Murder" (10). 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 Utah, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-utah/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Utah, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-utah/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Utah, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-utah/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Utah, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-utah/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Utah, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-utah/) (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.