18 U.S.C. 1203, Hostage taking: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
None of the 25 federal trials under 18 U.S.C. 1203 that ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 resulted in an acquittal. Across all 128 defendants, 118 (92%) were convicted, and 117 of them received a prison term on this charge. The median term was 164 months (13.7 years), and 9 defendants received life
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In brief: None of the 25 federal trials under 18 U.S.C. 1203 that ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 resulted in an acquittal. Across all 128 defendants, 118 (92%) were convicted, and 117 of them received a prison term on this charge. The median term was 164 months (13.7 years), and 9 defendants received life.
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 128 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The series also draws on the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 659,036 people sentenced 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.
No Acquittals in 25 Trials
The U.S. Code gives this section the heading "Hostage taking". That heading is the only description of the statute used here.
Of the 128 defendants, 25 (20%) went to trial. A jury heard 24 of those cases, and a judge decided 1 as a bench trial. Every one of the 25 trials ended without an acquittal.
The 0% figure describes these 25 trials only. It does not predict how any later trial will end.
Pleas and Dismissals
Guilty pleas ended 93 cases (73%). Dismissals ended 10 (8%).
The Federal Judicial Center count takes in every defendant whose case ended, so dismissed cases are part of the total. A dismissal in these records can include charges dropped on the government's motion, for example after the same defendant pleaded guilty in a separate case.
Each of the 128 cases was a felony at the end of the case. The records show no Class A misdemeanor or petty offense under this section.
Length of Prison Terms
Prison followed conviction in almost every case: 117 of the 118 convicted, or more than 99%, received a prison term on this charge.
For terms of 1 month or more, the median was 164 months (13.7 years). The median is the middle value after the terms are arranged from shortest to longest. Life sentences were recorded for 9 defendants. The term counted is the one on this charge only.
Representation at the End of the Case
CJA panel attorneys, private lawyers appointed by the court, represented 84 defendants (66%). Private (retained) counsel represented 19 (15%), and federal public or community defenders represented 15 (12%). A single defendant (less than 1%) was self-represented.
In the CJA panel group, 79% pleaded guilty, none had the case dismissed, and 18 went to trial. Retained counsel cases ended in a guilty plea 84% of the time, with 3 trials. Federal defender cases ended in a guilty plea 73% of the time, with 7% dismissed and 3 trials. The self-represented defendant went to trial. No group had an acquittal.
These counts describe groups of cases. They do not measure the quality of lawyers. Type of counsel is recorded at the end of the case, and defendants with hired lawyers and defendants with appointed lawyers face different charges and circumstances.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 15 | 73% | 7% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| CJA panel attorney | 84 | 79% | 0% | 18 | 0 (0%) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 19 | 84% | 0% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| Self-represented | 1 | 0 of 1 | 0 of 1 | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
How Each Fiscal Year Looked
Yearly totals ranged from 5 cases in fiscal year 2016 to 23 in fiscal year 2024. In fiscal year 2019, 7 of the 11 cases went to trial, and 36% ended in a guilty plea. In fiscal year 2024, 91% ended in a guilty plea and 1 went to trial.
These counts are small. A shift of a few cases changes the yearly percentages, so the table shows what happened in each year rather than a direction over time.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 3 of 5 | 1 of 5 | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2017 | 18 | 83% | 0% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| 2018 | 8 | 6 of 8 | 2 of 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 11 | 36% | 0% | 7 | 0 (0 of 7) |
| 2020 | 6 | 3 of 6 | 0 of 6 | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| 2021 | 12 | 58% | 25% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2022 | 13 | 77% | 0% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| 2023 | 16 | 75% | 6% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| 2024 | 23 | 91% | 4% | 1 | 0 (0 of 1) |
| 2025 | 16 | 75% | 13% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
What Cannot Be Read From These Numbers
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this statute. The numbers are reported for federal court only.
Defendants are counted by the most serious charge at the end of the case. The records do not show case facts, the evidence, or the reasons behind a plea, a dismissal, or a verdict.
How We Counted
Every federal defendant whose case ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 and whose most serious charge at the end of the case (TTITLE1) was under 18 U.S.C. 1203, any subsection (128), Federal Judicial Center, counted as in the federal courts' Table D-4. Type of counsel is TCOUNSEL; labels from the FJC criminal codebook. Section heading from the U.S. Code as published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel (release point 119-136).
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.
How "plea" and "trial" are counted. In the federal sentencing numbers, "trial" means the person was convicted after a trial, including people who pleaded guilty to some counts and went to trial on others. People acquitted at trial are not in these numbers at all (see "Who is in each set of numbers"). In the federal case data, the trial rate counts both convictions and acquittals at trial among all defendants whose cases ended, including dismissed cases. Military numbers count contested cases that reached a verdict. These denominators are not the same, and each post states the one it uses.
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.
Type of counsel describes groups of cases, not lawyers. The Federal Judicial Center records the type of counsel at the end of the case. Defendants who hire a lawyer differ from defendants who receive an appointed lawyer in their charges, criminal history, and circumstances, and some defendants change lawyers during a case. Differences in outcomes by type of counsel therefore cannot be credited to the type of lawyer.
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)
- 18 U.S.C. 1163, Embezzlement and theft from Indian tribal organizations: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1201, Kidnapping: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1204, International parental kidnapping: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1341, Frauds and swindles: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- Appointed vs. Retained Lawyers in Federal Criminal Cases: How Cases Ended, 2016–2025
- Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials?
- 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.