What Fort Hood Tried in 2022
Fort Hood tried 53 courts-martial in 2022, The median adjudged confinement was 3 months, lower than 1.1 years in 2021 and lower than 6 months across the Army. 9 of 21 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (43%), compared with 38% Army-wide.
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Trends › By Installation › Fort Hood › 2022
Short answer: Fort Hood tried 53 courts-martial in 2022, The median adjudged confinement was 3 months, lower than 1.1 years in 2021 and lower than 6 months across the Army. 9 of 21 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (43%), compared with 38% Army-wide. Larceny (Article 121) was charged in 17% of cases, compared with 8% Army-wide.
Median Confinement Fell From 2021
In 2021, the median confinement at Fort Hood was 1.1 years. In 2022, it was 3 months. The share of convictions with confinement was about the same: 84% in 2021 and 82% in 2022. Punitive discharges were also about the same: 86% and 85%.
The contested share went from 58% to 40%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 7 of 26 to 9 of 21. General courts-martial went from 80% of cases to 75%. Small groups change with a few cases, so these changes show direction, not exact size.
| 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 45 | 53 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 58% | 40% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 7 of 26 | 9 of 21 |
| Convictions with confinement | 84% | 82% |
| Median confinement | 1.1 years | 3 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 86% | 85% |
| General courts-martial | 80% | 75% |
Length of the 2022 Sentences
Of 44 convictions, 36 included confinement. The most common length was under 6 months: 48% of convictions, compared with 41% in all Army cases. A quarter of sentences were 1.1 years or longer.
10 of 44 convictions (23%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 27% in the rest of the Army. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and covering every charge in the case. Only a general court-martial can impose more than one year.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army cases in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 8 | 18% | 16% |
| Under 6 months | 21 | 48% | 41% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 5 | 11% | 16% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 7 | 16% | 20% |
| 5 years or more | 3 | 7% | 7% |
General and Special Courts-Martial
A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Fort Hood held 40 general and 13 special courts-martial. The general share was 75%, the same as 75% Army-wide.
At general courts-martial, 84% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 8 months. At special courts-martial, 75% did, with a median of 2 months.
Full Acquittals Higher Than the Army Rate
A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Here, 21 cases were contested and 32 ended in a guilty plea. The contested share was 40%, compared with 36% across the Army. Of the guilty pleas, 26 are recorded with a plea agreement and 6 have no entry.
43% of the 21 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal, higher than 38% in all Army cases. Another 8 ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of something and guilty of something else.
Panels and Judges Compared
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Members heard 19% of cases with the forum listed: 8 enlisted panels and 2 officer panels. A judge alone heard the other 43. Among contested cases, members heard 10 of 21 (48%).
Full acquittals were more common before members. 6 of 10 contested members cases ended in a full acquittal (60%), compared with 3 of 11 contested judge-alone cases (27%). The records do not show the reason for that difference.
Larceny and Conspiracy Charged More Often
Charges are listed for all 53 cases, and one case can appear under several articles. Article 121 (larceny) was charged in 17% of cases, compared with 8% Army-wide. Article 81 (conspiracy) was charged in 11%, compared with 7%. Assault (Article 128) was the most common charge, in 26% of cases, compared with 27% Army-wide. Sexual assault (Article 120) was next, in 23% of cases, compared with 26%.
11 of 14 assault cases ended in a conviction on Article 128 (79%), with a median confinement of 3 months. 7 of 9 larceny cases ended in a conviction, with a median of 2 months. Article 120 had the lowest conviction rate, 7 of 12 (58%), and a median of 2.3 years. 7 of 10 Article 134 cases ended in a conviction, with a median of 8 months. These rows overlap because a case can bring both a conviction and an acquittal.
Guilty pleas also differed by charge. 60% of Article 134 cases ended in a guilty plea (6 of 10), compared with 33% of Article 120 cases (4 of 12). The records do not say why an accused pleaded or fought.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 14 | 11 (79%) | 3 months |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 12 | 7 (58%) | 2.3 years |
| Art. 134 General article | 10 | 7 (70%) | 8 months |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 9 | 7 (7 of 9) | 2 months |
Discharges and Rank
85% of enlisted convictions included a punitive discharge (27 bad-conduct and 8 dishonorable), compared with 76% Army-wide. Of 3 convicted officers or warrant officers, 2 were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Junior enlisted soldiers (E-1 to E-4) made up 57% of the accused, the same as the Army as a whole. NCOs were 36% and officers 8%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, Army-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 14 | 26% | 27% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 12 | 23% | 26% |
| Art. 134 General article | 10 | 19% | 21% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 9 | 17% | 8% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 9 | 17% | 18% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 7 | 13% | 13% |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy | 6 | 11% | 7% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 6 | 11% | 8% |
Fort Bragg and Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Fort Bragg had 51 cases. 37% were contested, and 7 of 19 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. Joint Base Lewis-McChord had 47 cases. 30% were contested, and 7 of 14 ended in a full acquittal. Both had a median confinement of 6 months and a punitive discharge rate of 80%. Fort Hood had 3 months and 85%.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Hood | 53 | 40% | 9 of 21 | 3 months | 85% |
| Fort Bragg | 51 | 37% | 7 of 19 | 6 months | 80% |
| Joint Base Lewis-McChord | 47 | 30% | 7 of 14 | 6 months | 80% |
Not in the Records
Trial records list charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They leave out the evidence, the plea terms, offense dates, and conduct handled outside a court-martial.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Fort Hood with a trial date in 2022 (53 cases).
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Fort Hood: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- Fort Hood in 2021: 45 Courts-Martial, Year in Review (previous / next)
- Fort Hood in 2023: 44 Courts-Martial, Year in Review (previous / next)
- Fort Hood Courts-Martial, 2020–2023: What 147 Cases Show (the whole period)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Camp Humphreys: 2024
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Camp Humphreys: 2025
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Benning: 2022
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Fort Benning: 2023
- S1 E50: November 5, 2009: Mass Shooting at Fort Hood (podcast, members)
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Fort Hood, 2022
- Matthew S. Fitzgerald
- Steven B. Fuller
- Jeffrey W. Hart
- Scott Z. Hughes
- Maureen A. Kohn
- Joseph T. Marcee
- Scott D. Meaders
- Tiffany D. Pond
Names and links only. Each judge's record of pleas, findings, and sentences is on their Know Your Judge page, part of the Court-Martial Characters membership.
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.