> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Murder Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-murder-sentences-middle-district-of-north-carolina/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:02:12.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:02:12.000Z - Description: The Middle District of North Carolina sentenced 14 people for murder in fiscal years 2017 to 2024, and 2 of them received a life sentence. The median prison term was 370 months (30.8 years), compared with 240 months in all 94 districts. Of the 14, 12 (86%) 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 Middle District of North Carolina, ](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-middle-district-of-north-carolina/) › Murder: Middle District of North Carolina **In brief:** The Middle District of North Carolina sentenced 14 people for murder in fiscal years 2017 to 2024, and 2 of them received a life sentence. The median prison term was 370 months (30.8 years), compared with 240 months in all 94 districts. Of the 14, 12 (86%) 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 14 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: 370 Months at the Median Nobody in this group received probation only. All 14 went to prison, and the median term was 370 months. The longest quarter of terms were 420 months or more, and the shortest quarter were 260.2 months or less. For murder cases in all 94 districts, the median was 240 months, which is shorter. Across every offense in this district, the median was 60 months. The 370-month figure is a term imposed, not time served. ## Pleas and Trials in a Group of 14 In all, 12 of the 14 people pleaded guilty, which is 86%. That is lower than the 98% for all offenses in this district, and higher than the 78% for murder nationally. The other 2 people were convicted at trial. Their median was 470 months, and the median for the pleas was 328.5 months. Because only 2 people went to trial, these medians do not show how trials and pleas compare in general. Every guilty plea (100%) included a written plea agreement. ## First Degree Murder Was the Usual Guideline The Commission's "Murder" offense type is assigned from each case's primary guideline. §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder) was used for 13 people, and §2A1.2 (Second Degree Murder) for 1. Murder was less than 1% of the 3,816 people sentenced in the district over fiscal years 2016 to 2025. ## Range Calculated Under the Guidelines Of the 14 sentences, 7 (50%) were within the calculated guideline range. Nationally the share was 39%. In 5 cases (36%), the person was sentenced below the range at the government's request, 1 (7%) below it without such a request, and 1 (7%) above it. A mandatory minimum applied to 3 people (21%). ## After Prison Supervised release was ordered for all 14 (100%), with a median term of 48 months. Restitution went to 6 people (43%), and no one was fined. Criminal history category I, the lowest, covered 7% of the group, and category VI, the highest, covered 0%. ## Few Years Represented The table lists only 5 fiscal years. Fiscal year 2021 was the largest, with 5 people. The district counted 4 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 10 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Yearly medians go from 60 months to 470 months, but groups of 1 to 5 people cannot show a trend. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2017 | 4 | 385 months | 4 of 4 | | 2021 | 5 | 360 months | 4 of 5 | | 2022 | 1 | 240 months | 1 of 1 | | 2023 | 3 | 470 months | 2 of 3 | | 2024 | 1 | 60 months | 1 of 1 | ## What the Records Cannot Show The data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. It excludes acquittals and dismissals, and it gives no facts about the circumstances of any case. It also does not show how many murder charges were brought in this district, only how many ended in a sentence under the murder guidelines. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Murder" (14). 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 Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-middle-district-of-north-carolina/) (overview) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-middle-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-middle-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Robbery Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-middle-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-middle-district-of-north-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.