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# Federal Murder Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-murder-sentences-northern-district-of-california/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:07:52.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:07:52.000Z
- Description: In the Northern District of California, 108 people were sentenced for murder offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 108 received a prison term. The median prison term was 240 months, the same as in all 94 districts. Of the 108, 72% received a below-range sentence at the government's request.
- 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 Northern District of California, FY](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-california/) › Murder: Northern District of California

**In brief:** In the Northern District of California, 108 people were sentenced for murder offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 108 received a prison term. The median prison term was 240 months, the same as in all 94 districts. Of the 108, 72% received a below-range sentence at the government's request.

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 108 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/).

## Sentences Below the Range at the Government's Request

The guideline range is the range the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines calculate for each case. Among the 108 people, 72% (78) received a sentence below the range at the government's request. A below-range sentence without a government request applied to 5% (5), and 23% (25) were within the range. No one was above it.

In all 94 districts, 39% of murder sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 24%.

## Long Terms and Life Sentences

All 108 (100%) received a prison term, and 15 received a life sentence. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 240 months (20 years). A quarter received 86.2 months or less, and a quarter received 384 months or more.

The median for murder in all districts was also 240 months. The median for all offenses in this district was 30 months. Terms are those imposed, not time served.

## Which Murder Guidelines Applied

"Murder" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, and these cases were 2% of the 4,531 people sentenced in the district. The most common primary guideline was §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder), with 75 cases. Next were §2A1.5 (Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder) with 24, §2A1.2 (Second Degree Murder) with 7, and §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) with 2.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 47 of the 108 people (44%).

## Guilty Pleas and Trials

A total of 91 of 108 (84%) pleaded guilty, and 17 were convicted after a trial. The rate was 78% in all districts and 95% for all offenses in this district. Murder cases here were less often settled by plea than the district's cases as a whole.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 180 months. After a trial it was 470 months, based on 17 people. Among the guilty pleas, 98% had a written plea agreement, and 1% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Supervised Release and Restitution

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 101 (94%), with a median term of 60 months. A total of 4 people (4%) received supervised release for life. No fine was ordered, and restitution was ordered for 51 (47%).

## Counts by Fiscal Year

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 39 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 69 people. The yearly count runs from 2 in 2022 to 28 in 2024\. The yearly median prison term runs from 115 months in 2017 to 384 months in 2021.

A year with 2 or 3 people gives a median that is not reliable, and the table does not show a trend. A fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 8                | 188.5 months  | 6 of 8         |
| 2017        | 16               | 115 months    | 81%            |
| 2018        | 10               | 252 months    | 80%            |
| 2019        | 5                | 144 months    | 5 of 5         |
| 2020        | 9                | 300 months    | 7 of 9         |
| 2021        | 3                | 384 months    | 3 of 3         |
| 2022        | 2                | 265 months    | 2 of 2         |
| 2023        | 17               | 204 months    | 82%            |
| 2024        | 28               | 282 months    | 82%            |
| 2025        | 10               | 255 months    | 100%           |

## Criminal History and Limits

In this group, 23% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 18% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of California (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "California North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Murder" (108). 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 Northern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-california/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-northern-district-of-california/) (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.