How Has Article 118 Changed in Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial Since 2017?
Navy and Marine Corps records from 2017–2025 hold 14 courts-martial that charged Article 118 (murder). The median confinement was 9.5 years, against 6 months across the Navy and Marine Corps, and 2 sentences were life sentences.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Offense › Article 118 › Navy-Marine Corps
Short answer: Navy and Marine Corps records from 2017–2025 hold 14 courts-martial that charged Article 118 (murder). The median confinement was 9.5 years, against 6 months across the Navy and Marine Corps, and 2 sentences were life sentences. Of the 12 cases with a plea listed, 58% were contested, compared with 32% service-wide.
Confinement and Life Sentences
Every one of the 14 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 12 of the 14 sentences included confinement (86%). The median term here was 9.5 years. For all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years, it was 6 months.
Among the terms here, a quarter reached 25 years or more. 2 sentences were for life. Each figure is the sentence announced at trial, which a plea-agreement cap, clemency, or an appeal can later reduce, and it reflects all charges in the case.
More Contested Than Most Navy and Marine Corps Cases
A plea appears in 12 of the 14 records. 7 accused contested at least one charge, and 5 pleaded guilty. That contested share, 58%, is higher than the 32% for the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole.
Plea entries are often missing from Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020, so this share is based only on the records where a plea appears.
Discharges and Dismissals
Of 11 convicted enlisted members, 8 left with a punitive discharge. 7 of those were dishonorable discharges and 1 was a bad-conduct discharge. The share elsewhere in the Navy and Marine Corps was 62%.
Both of the 2 convicted officers or warrant officers were dismissed, the officer form of a punitive discharge. When a sentence has no punitive discharge, an administrative separation can still follow.
Rank and Court Level
Among the accused with rank recorded, there were 7 junior enlisted members, 4 NCOs, and 2 officers. The group is more senior than the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole.
12 of the 14 cases (86%) went to a general court-martial, the only level that can adjudge a dishonorable discharge or long confinement. Special courts-martial heard the rest.
Other Charges in Murder Cases
Murder was the only charge in 3 of the 14 cases. Assault under Article 128 was charged in 5. Article 80 (attempt), Article 92 (orders violation), and Article 119 (manslaughter) were charged in 4 cases each. Article 129 (burglary before 2019; burglary and unlawful entry since) was charged in 3.
Cases Over Time
The first case in these records was tried in February 2018 and the last in November 2025. The highest count in a single year was 4, in 2021. 2018 and 2019 each had 3, 2025 had 2, and 2022 and 2024 each had 1. No cases appear for 2017, 2020, or 2023.
Measured against all Navy and Marine Corps convictions with offenses listed, Article 118 was part of 6 of 1243 in 2017–2019 (0%) and 3 of 940 in 2023–2025 (0%), about the same share.
Law Changes and Limits
Murder is one of the covered offenses. For those, special trial counsel rather than commanders have made the decision to prosecute since December 28, 2023. Earlier, on January 1, 2019, the Military Justice Act of 2016 changed court-martial procedure, though offenses committed before 2019 stayed under the prior rules. Because these records list only the trial date, the rules that governed any one case cannot be identified. The evidence and plea terms are also not part of the records.
| Year | Convictions incl. Art. 118 | All convictions with offenses listed | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 0 | 437 | 0% |
| 2018 | 3 | 433 | 1% |
| 2019 | 3 | 373 | 1% |
| 2020 | 0 | 354 | 0% |
| 2021 | 4 | 385 | 1% |
| 2022 | 1 | 322 | 0% |
| 2023 | 0 | 283 | 0% |
| 2024 | 1 | 345 | 0% |
| 2025 | 2 | 312 | 1% |
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial tried 2017–2025 that charged Article 118 (14 cases). The trend line uses convictions whose records list the offenses found, by trial year.
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
- Article 118 (Murder): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Offense (hub)
- Is Army Murder Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 118, 2021–2025 (another service)
- Fewer or More? Attempt Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025
- Fewer or More? Child Endangerment Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025
- Fewer or More? Child Sexual Abuse Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025
- Fewer or More? Communicating Threats Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2021–2025
- Fewer or More? Conspiracy Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025
- How Much Confinement for an Article 118 Conviction in the Navy-Marine Corps?
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Compare: federal court. Murder and Manslaughter: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025
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.