18 U.S.C. 1958, Use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
Most federal defendants charged under 18 U.S.C. 1958 were sent to prison for years: among those with a prison term of 1 month or more, the median was 108 months (9 years), and 41 received life. In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 273 cases with this section as the most serious charge ended, and 259 (95%)
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › 18 U.S.C. 1958
In brief: Most federal defendants charged under 18 U.S.C. 1958 were sent to prison for years: among those with a prison term of 1 month or more, the median was 108 months (9 years), and 41 received life. In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 273 cases with this section as the most serious charge ended, and 259 (95%) of those defendants were convicted. Of the 51 defendants who went to trial (19%), 3 had trials that ended in an acquittal (6%).
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 273 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.
Long Prison Terms on This Charge
Of the 259 defendants convicted under this section, 254 (98%) received a prison term on that charge.
The median prison term was 108 months (9 years). That figure counts only terms of 1 month or more, and life terms are reported separately: 41 defendants received life.
A median is the middle value when all the terms are put in order. It says nothing about how far the shortest and longest terms were from that middle point.
What Section 1958 Covers in These Records
Title 18, section 1958 of the U.S. Code is headed "Use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire". This post counts federal defendants whose most serious charge, when the case closed, fell under that section.
The count comes from the Federal Judicial Center and follows the method of the federal courts' Table D-4. It includes every defendant whose case ended, so dismissals and acquittals are part of the total, not only people who were sentenced. All 273 charges were recorded at the felony level. There were no Class A misdemeanors and no petty offenses.
Guilty Pleas, Trials, and Dismissals
A guilty plea ended 211 of the 273 cases (77%). Another 11 (4%) ended in dismissal. In these records, a dismissal can include charges the government dropped after the same defendant pleaded guilty in a separate case.
Trials ended the remaining 51 cases (19%). Juries decided 50 of them and returned 3 acquittals (6%). One trial was decided by a judge without a jury, and it did not end in an acquittal (0 of 1).
The acquittal rate is measured only against trials. It leaves out every defendant who pleaded guilty or whose charges were dismissed.
How Did Results Differ by Type of Counsel?
CJA panel attorneys, who are private lawyers appointed by the court, represented 133 defendants (49%). In that group, 72% pleaded guilty, 2% had charges dismissed, and 34 went to trial, with 1 acquittal (3%).
Private (retained) counsel represented 72 defendants (26%). Of those, 76% pleaded guilty, 6% were dismissed, and 13 went to trial, with 2 acquittals (15%). Federal public or community defenders had 65 defendants (24%): 92% pleaded guilty, 2% were dismissed, and 4 went to trial, with no acquittals (0 of 4).
Type of counsel is recorded at the end of the case. People who hire a lawyer and people who receive an appointed lawyer often face different charges and circumstances. So these figures describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers, and the trial counts in each group are small.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 65 | 92% | 2% | 4 | 0 (0 of 4) |
| CJA panel attorney | 133 | 72% | 2% | 34 | 1 (3%) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 72 | 76% | 6% | 13 | 2 (15%) |
Cases by Fiscal Year
The number of cases that ended each year ranged from 13 in fiscal year 2020 to 47 in fiscal year 2024. Fiscal year 2025 had the most trials, 10, with 1 acquittal (10%).
Most years had no acquittals at all. With so few cases per year, the yearly figures do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 27 | 81% | 0% | 5 | 0 (0 of 5) |
| 2017 | 32 | 75% | 9% | 5 | 0 (0 of 5) |
| 2018 | 15 | 73% | 0% | 4 | 0 (0 of 4) |
| 2019 | 24 | 67% | 0% | 8 | 0 (0 of 8) |
| 2020 | 13 | 85% | 0% | 2 | 1 (1 of 2) |
| 2021 | 17 | 76% | 6% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| 2022 | 20 | 90% | 0% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2023 | 45 | 76% | 11% | 6 | 0 (0 of 6) |
| 2024 | 47 | 83% | 4% | 6 | 1 (1 of 6) |
| 2025 | 33 | 70% | 0% | 10 | 1 (10%) |
Limits of These Records
The data sorts each defendant by the most serious charge left at the end of the case. It holds no facts about the conduct, the evidence, or why a jury or judge decided as it did. Prison terms here are for this charge only.
The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this section, so only federal cases are reported.
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. 1958, any subsection (273), 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. 1956, Laundering of monetary instruments: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1957, Engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1959, Violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1960, Prohibition of unlicensed money transmitting businesses: 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.