Federal Murder Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
All 19 people sentenced for murder offenses in the Middle District of Pennsylvania received a prison term. The median prison term was 300 months (25 years), and 8 people received a life sentence. The data for this offense type covers fiscal years 2017 to 2025.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY › Murder: Middle District of Pennsylvania
In brief: All 19 people sentenced for murder offenses in the Middle District of Pennsylvania received a prison term. The median prison term was 300 months (25 years), and 8 people received a life sentence. The data for this offense type covers fiscal years 2017 to 2025.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 19 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.
Prison Terms and Life Sentences
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Murder" has 19 people in this district, in fiscal years 2017 to 2025. All 19 (100%) received a prison term. None received probation only.
The median prison term was 300 months (25 years). A quarter received 470 months or more, and a quarter received 127 months or less. In addition, 8 people received a life sentence. The prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Comparison With All 94 Districts
Across all 94 federal districts, 3,754 people were sentenced under this offense type. In that group, more than 99% were sent to prison and the median prison term was 240 months. The median in this district, 300 months, is higher.
Guilty pleas were 78% across all districts. In this district they were 74%: 14 of 19 people pleaded guilty, and 5 were convicted after a trial. Sentences within the guideline range were 39% across all districts and 37% here.
Plea and Trial Sentences
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 223 months. After a trial it was 470 months, based on 5 people.
Among guilty pleas, 100% had a written plea agreement. With 5 people convicted at trial, the comparison is limited, and the data does not show what each person was charged with or what other terms applied.
Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 13 of the 19 people (68%).
Against the guideline range, 7 people (37%) were sentenced within it. Another 6 (32%) were below it at the government's request. A further 4 (21%) were below it without a government request. 2 (11%) were above it.
Which Guidelines Applied
The offense type is the Commission's category. Most of these cases, 18 people, fell under §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder). One fell under §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).
Murder cases were less than 1% of the 4,067 people sentenced in the district over the period. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 46 months, guilty pleas were 95%, and sentences within the guideline range were 47%.
Supervision, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 18 people (95%), with a median term of 60 months. A fine was ordered for 10 (53%), and restitution for 8 (42%).
In criminal history, 5% were in the lowest category and 53% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and Limits
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 11 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 8 people. The table lists only the years with cases, each with from 1 to 5 people. Counts this small do not show a trend.
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. It does not describe the facts of any case.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2 | 281 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 4 | 385 months | 1 of 4 |
| 2019 | 5 | 108 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2023 | 4 | 470 months | 3 of 4 |
| 2024 | 3 | 470 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2025 | 1 | 144 months | 1 of 1 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Murder" (19). 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 Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 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.