Federal Murder Sentences in the Western District of Texas, FY2016–2025
80 people were sentenced for murder offenses in the Western District of Texas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 288 months (24 years), and 19 people received a life sentence. 81% pleaded guilty, which is higher than the 78% for all 94 districts.
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In brief: 80 people were sentenced for murder offenses in the Western District of Texas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 288 months (24 years), and 19 people received a life sentence. 81% pleaded guilty, which is higher than the 78% for all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 80 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.
Prison Terms and Life Sentences
79 of the 80 people (99%) received a prison term, and 1 (1%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 288 months (24 years). A quarter received 470 months or more, and a quarter received 184 months or less.
19 people received a life sentence. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Murder Guidelines in These Cases
The Commission's offense type is "Murder", and it labels the district "Texas West". The most common primary guideline was §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder), with 71 people.
§2A1.5 (Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder) had 5, §2A1.2 (Second Degree Murder) had 3, and §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) had 1. These cases were less than 1% of the 76,480 people sentenced in the district.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
65 of 80 people (81%) pleaded guilty, and 15 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 240 months. After a trial it was 470 months, based on 15 people.
89% of guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 11% were straight pleas with no agreement. Across all 94 districts, 3,754 people were sentenced for murder, and the median prison term was 240 months.
Government Requests for Lower Sentences
39 people (49%) were sentenced below the guideline range at the government's request. 31 (39%) were within the range, 7 (9%) were below it without a government request, and 3 (4%) were above it.
In all 94 districts, 39% were within the range. The same figure for all offense types in this district was 77%.
A mandatory minimum applied to 31 of the 80 people (39%).
Supervised Release and Other Terms
79 people (99%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 60 months. 1 person (1%) received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 23 (29%), and restitution for 19 (24%).
28% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 18% were in the highest.
Counts by Year
In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 43 people were sentenced. In fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 37 people were sentenced. The yearly table has between 3 and 15 people a year.
The share who pleaded guilty ranged from 67% in fiscal year 2016 to 3 of 6 in fiscal year 2024. With groups this small, a few cases change both the median and the plea share.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 240 months | 67% |
| 2017 | 4 | 470 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2018 | 15 | 240 months | 73% |
| 2019 | 12 | 260 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 4 | 390 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2021 | 5 | 276 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2022 | 3 | 470 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 11 | 200 months | 82% |
| 2024 | 6 | 251 months | 3 of 6 |
| 2025 | 8 | 300 months | 6 of 8 |
Limits
Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission's data. The records give no details of any case. Courts-martial for the district's installations are tried in military courts and are outside these figures.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Murder" (80). 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 Texas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Texas, 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.