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# Federal Murder Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-murder-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:14:59.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:14:59.000Z
- Description: In the Northern District of Mississippi, 15 people were sentenced for murder offenses in fiscal years 2017 to 2025, and every one was sent to prison. The median term was 200 months (16.7 years), lower than the 240 months for all 94 districts. 2 of the 15 received a life sentence.
- 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 Mississippi, F](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-mississippi/) › Murder: Northern District of Mississippi

**In brief:** In the Northern District of Mississippi, 15 people were sentenced for murder offenses in fiscal years 2017 to 2025, and every one was sent to prison. The median term was 200 months (16.7 years), lower than the 240 months for all 94 districts. 2 of the 15 received a life sentence.

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 15 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/).

## Sentence Lengths

The 15 prison terms had a median of 200 months, or 16.7 years. The upper quarter began at 270 months, and the lower quarter ended at 138 months. 2 people were sentenced to life.

Nationally, the median in this offense type was 240 months, which is higher. In the district's cases for all offenses, the median was 36 months. A term here is the sentence imposed and says nothing about time served.

## Murder Is Broader Than First Degree Murder

The U.S. Sentencing Commission places a person in the "Murder" offense type according to the main guideline used at sentencing. That group covers several guidelines.

For 9 people the guideline was §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder). For 4 it was §2A1.5 (Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder). For 1 it was §2A1.2 (Second Degree Murder), and for 1 it was §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).

These 15 people were less than 1% of all 1,573 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## Pleas Versus Trials

12 people (80%) pleaded guilty and 3 were convicted after a trial. The national share of guilty pleas in this offense type was 78%, close to the district's figure. The district's share for all offenses was 98%.

Plea cases had a median of 200 months and trial cases a median of 470 months. The trial median comes from only 3 people. All of the guilty pleas had written agreements.

## The Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums

The largest group, 7 people (47%), was sentenced below the range at the government's request. 6 people (40%) were sentenced within the range, and 2 (13%) below it without such a request. Nobody was above the range.

The national share within the range was 39%, and the district's share for all offenses was 45%. A mandatory minimum applied to 3 of the 15 (20%).

## Release Terms and Criminal History

All 15 people were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median of 60 months. Restitution was ordered for 1 person (7%), and no fine was ordered.

20% of the group was in criminal history Category I, and 33% was in Category VI. The court-martial system keeps no criminal history field.

## Why the Yearly Table Is Sparse

6 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 9 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The table lists only years that have at least 1 person.

Fiscal year 2024 had 6 people and a median of 220 months. The other listed years had 1 or 3 people each. The yearly medians run from 84 months to 470 months and form no trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2017        | 3                | 470 months    | 1 of 3         |
| 2018        | 3                | 200 months    | 3 of 3         |
| 2020        | 1                | 96 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2022        | 1                | 84 months     | 1 of 1         |
| 2024        | 6                | 220 months    | 6 of 6         |
| 2025        | 1                | 180 months    | 0 of 1         |

## Limits of This Data

The Commission records only people who were convicted and sentenced, so charges that ended in acquittal or dismissal do not appear. The records also leave out the facts of each case.

Columbus AFB, Mississippi, is in the district. A court-martial there is a military proceeding and is not counted in these federal numbers.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Mississippi (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Mississippi North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Murder" (15). 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 Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Mississippi, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-obscenity-other-sex-offenses-sentences-northern-district-of-mississippi/) (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.