Federal Murder Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025
The Western District of North Carolina sentenced 43 people for murder offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. All 43 received a prison term, and 17 received a life sentence. The median prison term was 420 months, or 35 years, compared with 240 months in all 94 districts.
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In brief: The Western District of North Carolina sentenced 43 people for murder offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. All 43 received a prison term, and 17 received a life sentence. The median prison term was 420 months, or 35 years, compared with 240 months in all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 43 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.
Life Sentences and Long Terms
Of the 43 people, 17 received a life sentence. Every person in the group received a prison term, and none received probation only.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 420 months. A quarter received 470 months or more, and a quarter received 225 months or less.
In all 94 districts, more than 99% of people in this offense type were sent to prison, and the median was 240 months. The median in this district was higher. For all offense types in the district, the median was 57 months.
Guilty Pleas, Trials, and Plea Agreements
A total of 29 people (67%) pleaded guilty, and 14 were convicted after a trial. The rate for all districts in this offense type was 78%, and the rate for all offense types in this district was 96%.
The median prison term was 360 months after a guilty plea and 470 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 14 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. Among guilty pleas, 97% had a written plea agreement and 3% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
On the guideline range, 23 people (53%) were sentenced within it. Another 10 (23%) were below the range at the government's request, and 4 (9%) were below it without a government request. A total of 6 (14%) were above the range.
In all districts, 39% of murder sentences were within the range. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 18 of the 43 people (42%).
Which Guidelines Applied
"Murder" is the Commission's offense category, assigned from the primary sentencing guideline. Here, §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder) was used in 33 cases and §2A1.2 (Second Degree Murder) in 7. Another 2 used §2A1.5 (Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder), and 1 used §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).
Murder cases were less than 1% of the 4,904 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Yearly Counts Are Very Small
The district sentenced 27 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 16 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Fiscal years 2019, 2022, and 2023 each had only 1 person, and the table has no row for fiscal year 2024.
The yearly medians range from 168 months in fiscal year 2023 to 470 months in fiscal years 2017 and 2021. These come from groups of 1 to 14 people, so they do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 190 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2017 | 6 | 470 months | 2 of 6 |
| 2018 | 14 | 294 months | 64% |
| 2019 | 1 | 210 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 7 | 420 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2021 | 3 | 470 months | 0 of 3 |
| 2022 | 1 | 365 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2023 | 1 | 168 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 420 months | 4 of 4 |
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 39 people (91%), and the median term was 60 months. A total of 2 people (5%) received supervised release for life. No fine was ordered, and restitution was ordered for 18 (42%).
In criminal history, 44% were in the lowest category (category I) and 5% were in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
What the Records Cannot Show
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served, and the data does not describe the facts of any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Murder" (43). 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 Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, 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.