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# Federal Murder Sentences in the Western District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-murder-sentences-western-district-of-oklahoma/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:10:39.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:10:39.000Z
- Description: 13 people were sentenced for murder offenses in the Western District of Oklahoma in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. All 13 received a prison term, with a median of 300 months (25 years), compared with 240 months across all 94 federal districts. 4 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 Western District of Oklahoma, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-oklahoma/) › Murder: Western District of Oklahoma

**In brief:** 13 people were sentenced for murder offenses in the Western District of Oklahoma in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. All 13 received a prison term, with a median of 300 months (25 years), compared with 240 months across all 94 federal districts. 4 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 13 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/).

## Prison Terms and Life Sentences

13 of 13 people (100%) were sent to prison, and 0 received probation only. The median prison term was 300 months, or 25 years. A quarter received 470 months or more, and a quarter received 262 months or less. 4 people received a life sentence.

In all 94 districts, the offense type "Murder" had 3,754 people, more than 99% sent to prison, and a median of 240 months. The median in this district was higher. For all offenses in the district, the median was 46 months.

## Second Degree and First Degree Murder Guidelines

Murder is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The most common primary guidelines were §2A1.2 (Second Degree Murder) with 6 people and §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder) with 5\. §2A1.5 (Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder) had 1, and §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) had 1.

Murder cases were less than 1% of the 4,661 people sentenced in the district over fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The Commission's records for this group begin in fiscal year 2020.

## Sentences Above the Guideline Range

62% of sentences (8 people) were within the guideline range. 38% (5 people) were above the range. 0 sentences were below the range, with or without a government request.

In all districts, 39% of murder sentences were within the range, and for all offenses in this district the figure was 50%. Sentences above the range were more common here than the within-range and below-range groups.

## Pleas and Trials

8 of 13 people (62%) pleaded guilty, and 5 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 78% pleaded guilty. The plea share here was lower, and a larger share went to trial.

The median prison term was 281 months after a guilty plea and 470 months after a trial, based on 5 people. Among the 8 guilty pleas, 6 had a written plea agreement and 2 were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Mandatory Minimums, Supervised Release, and Restitution

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 3 of the 13 people with that information recorded (23%).

13 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 60 months. No fine was ordered (0, or 0%), and restitution was ordered for 7 people (54%).

38% of the people were in the lowest criminal history category I, and 0% were in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Counts by Year

Yearly counts run from 1 to 4 people. The medians in the table range from 237 months in 2020 to 470 months in 2022 and 2025, but each of those years rests on 1 to 4 people. The table does not show a trend. The fiscal year runs from October 1 to the following September.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2020        | 4                | 237 months    | 2 of 4         |
| 2021        | 2                | 366 months    | 1 of 2         |
| 2022        | 1                | 470 months    | 0 of 1         |
| 2023        | 2                | 385 months    | 2 of 2         |
| 2024        | 3                | 300 months    | 2 of 3         |
| 2025        | 1                | 470 months    | 1 of 1         |

## What the Records Cannot Show

These numbers start at sentencing, so cases that ended in acquittal or dismissal are absent.

Sentence lengths are the lengths ordered, not the time served after credits or release.

Federal court and military court are separate systems. Altus AFB, Fort Sill, and Tinker AFB are in this district, but a court-martial there is not a case in this federal court.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Oklahoma (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Oklahoma West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Murder" (13). 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 Western District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-oklahoma/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-oklahoma/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-oklahoma/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-western-district-of-oklahoma/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Oklahoma, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-oklahoma/) (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.