Federal Murder Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025
17 people were sentenced in the District of Vermont in the offense type "Murder" in the Commission's data for fiscal years 2018 to 2025. All 17 received a prison term, and 1 received a life sentence. The median prison term was 140 months, or 11.7 years, compared with 240 months for murder in all 94
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025 › Murder: District of Vermont
In brief: 17 people were sentenced in the District of Vermont in the offense type "Murder" in the Commission's data for fiscal years 2018 to 2025. All 17 received a prison term, and 1 received a life sentence. The median prison term was 140 months, or 11.7 years, compared with 240 months for murder in all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 17 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.
Sentences in a Very Small Group
Murder cases were 1% of the 1,619 people sentenced in the district. "Murder" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type for these cases. Here 9 people had §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder) as the primary guideline, 5 had §2A1.2 (Second Degree Murder), and 3 had §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).
All 17 people (100%) received a prison term, and 1 received a life sentence. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 140 months. A quarter received 180 months or more, and a quarter received 85 months or less.
Comparison With All 94 Districts
For murder in all districts, the Commission counts 3,754 people. More than 99% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 240 months. The Vermont median was lower than the national median, and higher than the 18 months for all offenses in the district.
The records do not show what differences in the cases account for this gap.
All Pleaded Guilty
All 17 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Each plea came with a written plea agreement. For murder in all districts, 78% pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in the Vermont district, 99% did.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 5 of the 17 people (29%).
Guideline Range
The guideline range is the recommended sentence calculated under the federal sentencing guidelines. 18% of sentences (3 people) were within it. 65% (11) were below the range at the government's request, and 18% (3) were below the range without a government request. None was above the range.
For murder in all districts, 39% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 21%.
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
16 people (94%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 6 people (35%). No fine was ordered.
47% of the group were in criminal history category I, and 18% were in category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Year
The table covers only the years that have murder cases: 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 7 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 10. A fiscal year runs from October 1 to the end of September. The 7 people in 2018 had a median prison term of 230 months, and later years have 1 to 4 people. Groups this small do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 7 | 230 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2022 | 2 | 69 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 4 | 129 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2024 | 1 | 138 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 140 months | 3 of 3 |
What the Records Cannot Show
The data does not describe the facts of any case, and it includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. It reports terms imposed, not time served. Cases that ended in acquittal or dismissal are not in it.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Vermont (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Vermont") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Murder" (17). 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 Vermont, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Vermont, 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.