Murder Sentences: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
The median prison term for people sentenced in federal court for murder was 292 months (24.3 years), in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median adjudged confinement for 40 murder convictions under Article 118 in courts-martial with trial dates from 2016 to 2025 was 198 months (16.5 years). The federal
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In brief: The median prison term for people sentenced in federal court for murder was 292 months (24.3 years), in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median adjudged confinement for 40 murder convictions under Article 118 in courts-martial with trial dates from 2016 to 2025 was 198 months (16.5 years). The federal median is higher, and the federal group is far larger: 3,243 people.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 3,243 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, compared with court-martial results from this site's Military Trial Results data (updated November 2, 2026). 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.
Median Sentences Side by Side
In federal court, 3,243 people were sentenced under the guideline for first degree murder (§2A1.1) or second degree murder (§2A1.2). Of them, 3,239 received a prison term. Among those sent to prison, a quarter received 470 months or more, and a quarter received 180 months or less.
Courts-martial produced 40 convictions for murder under Article 118. Of the 40, 38 had confinement (95%). A quarter of the sentences were 329.8 months or more, and 7 were confinement for life.
| Courts-martial, 2016–2025 | Federal court, FY2016–FY2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 40 | 3,243 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 95% | more than 99% |
| Median confinement or prison | 198 months | 292 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 329.8 months | 470 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 19 of 34 with a plea recorded (56%) | 77% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 44% |
Life Sentences and Mandatory Minimums
In federal court, 683 people received a life sentence. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,434 (44%). Court-martial records do not show whether a mandatory minimum applied, so that row cannot be compared.
Under the federal guidelines, 1,304 sentences (40%) were within the range. Another 1,366 (42%) were below the range at the government's request, 411 (13%) were below it without a request, and 160 (5%) were above it.
Sentences After a Plea and After a Trial
Federal guilty pleas were 2,482 of 3,243 (77%), and 761 people were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 240 months after a guilty plea and 470 months after a trial.
Among court-martial convictions, a plea was recorded for 34, and 19 of them were guilty pleas (56%). The median confinement was 215.9 months after a guilty plea, with 15 cases, and 83.9 months in contested cases that ended in conviction, with 11 cases.
Each Service and Each Year
The service medians differ a great deal. The Air Force median was 287.8 months for 10 convictions, and the Army median was 215.9 months for 14. The Navy median was 95.9 months for 12 convictions, and the Marine Corps median was 56.5 months for 4.
Over time, the court-martial median for trials in 2016 to 2019 was 101.9 months, and for trials in 2020 to 2025 it was 203.9 months. Federal yearly medians ranged from 240 months in fiscal year 2021 to 336 months in fiscal year 2017.
| Service | Convictions, 2016–2025 | With confinement | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) | Guilty pleas (where recorded) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 14 | 100% | 215.9 months | 79% | 77% |
| Air Force | 10 | 100% | 287.8 months | 100% | 2 of 6 |
| Navy | 12 | 92% | 95.9 months | 70% | 50% |
| Marine Corps | 4 | 3 of 4 | 56.5 months | 3 of 3 | 1 of 3 |
Federal Year-by-Year Data
The federal group was largest in fiscal years 2023 and 2024, with 448 and 449 people sentenced. The guilty plea share was 87% in fiscal year 2021 and 69% in fiscal year 2017.
These shifts happened across years, and the records cannot show what caused any of them.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 276 | 248 months | 78% |
| 2017 | 291 | 336 months | 69% |
| 2018 | 281 | 300 months | 75% |
| 2019 | 305 | 276 months | 77% |
| 2020 | 253 | 247 months | 73% |
| 2021 | 221 | 240 months | 87% |
| 2022 | 366 | 243 months | 84% |
| 2023 | 448 | 300 months | 74% |
| 2024 | 449 | 300 months | 76% |
| 2025 | 353 | 300 months | 74% |
What Each Set of Records Counts
The Sentencing Commission data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. The court-martial figures also cover convictions only.
Federal prison terms are terms imposed, not time served. Court-martial confinement is as adjudged at trial, before any clemency or appeal. Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30, and the court-martial numbers use trial dates.
Federal records include criminal history, with 36% in the lowest category and 15% in the highest. Court-martial records have no such field. The records do not show the facts of any case, and they cannot say what sentence another case would receive.
How We Counted
Courts-martial: convictions for murder (Article 118) with trial dates in 2016 to 2025 (40). Federal: everyone sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under guideline §2A1.1 (first degree murder) or §2A1.2 (second degree murder) (3,243), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's individual data files.
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
Who is in each set of numbers. The federal sentencing numbers come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They count only people who were convicted and sentenced in federal district court. People whose cases were dismissed or who were acquitted are not in them. The military numbers come from court-martial results, which include acquittals. To compare acquittal or dismissal rates, the federal side uses a different source: the Federal Judicial Center's case data, which counts every defendant whose case ended.
Different cases reach each system. Federal prosecutors bring a narrow set of cases. In fiscal year 2024, immigration and drug trafficking cases were 59% of everyone sentenced in federal court (36,664 of 61,678). Many crimes that the military prosecutes, such as most assaults, most sexual assaults between adults, and drug use, are usually state crimes for civilians and reach federal court only in special situations, such as on federal land or in Indian Country. A federal case and a court-martial for the same crime can involve different kinds of facts.
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.
Offense categories do not line up exactly. Each comparison uses a federal offense group chosen to match the military article as closely as possible (see the crosswalk). Some matches are close; others are partial. The post says which federal guideline or statute was used and why it is not an exact match.
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.
Military confinement credit and parole. For military sentences adjudged after 2004, good conduct time is 5 days for each month of confinement, about 16%. Military prisoners can also earn up to 8 more days a month for work and programs and up to 2 days a month for special acts, with a limit of 15 days a month in total. Military prisoners can be considered for parole by their service's clemency and parole board. The military numbers in this post are the confinement adjudged at trial, not the time served.
Military sentences include punishments federal sentences do not. A court-martial sentence can include a punitive discharge (bad-conduct discharge, dishonorable discharge, or dismissal for officers), reduction in rank, and forfeiture of pay. These have no federal counterpart. A comparison of months of confinement leaves them out. A short confinement term combined with a dishonorable discharge is a heavier sentence than the months alone show.
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.
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.
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)
- Murder and Manslaughter: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025 (overview)
- Murder Charges: How Often Federal Trials and Courts-Martial End in Acquittal
- Guilty Pleas in Murder Cases: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
- Murder Convictions of Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Courts-Martial Compared With Federal Court
- Murder Convictions of NCOs (E-5 to E-9): Courts-Martial Compared With Federal Court
- Murder: Sentences After a Guilty Plea vs. After Trial, Federal Court and Courts-Martial
- Murder: Federal Sentences vs. Air Force Courts-Martial
- Is Army Murder Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 118, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- Article 118 Sentences in the Air Force: Confinement and Discharges, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- How Has Article 118 Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017? (court-martial data)
- How Much Confinement for an Article 118 Conviction in the Navy-Marine Corps? (court-martial data)
- Article 118 (Murder): Court-Martial Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Article 118 UCMJ: Murder (law firm reference page)
- 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.