How Much Confinement for an Article 127 Conviction in the Navy-Marine Corps?

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Based on 18 cases · 2017–2025 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Dishonorable Discharges Were the Most Common Discharge

A punitive discharge followed 89% of the enlisted convictions. 10 were dishonorable discharges and 6 were bad-conduct discharges. Across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions from 2017 to 2025, the share with a punitive discharge was 62%.

A dishonorable discharge can only come from a general court-martial. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

How Much Confinement Was Adjudged?

16 of the 18 sentences included confinement (89%). The median was 1.5 years, longer than the 6-month median for all Navy and Marine Corps convictions. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 10 years or longer.

These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case, including the other charges listed below.

Sexual Assault and Obstruction Charges Also Appeared

Article 127 was the only charge in 5 of the 18 cases. Article 134 (general article), Article 131b (obstruction, numbered since 2019), Article 120 (sexual assault), and Article 128 (assault) each appeared in 4. Article 107 (false official statement) appeared in 3.

Court Level

10 cases were general courts-martial and 8 were special courts-martial. The general share, 56%, was higher than the 41% for all Navy and Marine Corps convictions in those years. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Contested Cases and Guilty Pleas

12 of the 18 records list the plea. 8 accused pleaded guilty and 4 entered a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share, 33%, was higher than the 24% for both services.

Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea. The plea counts use only the records that list it.

Rank of the Accused

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 83% of the accused, and NCOs made up 17%. No officers appear. Across all Navy and Marine Corps convictions in those years, 65% were junior enlisted.

Cases by Year

The trials ran from August 2017 to October 2024. The yearly counts were 2 in 2017, 3 in 2018, 1 in 2019, 2 in 2020, 4 in 2021, 5 in 2022, 0 in 2023, 1 in 2024, and 0 in 2025.

Rule Changes and Limits

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and brought in written plea agreements. Cases with offenses from before 2019 kept the old rules. Later changes apply to offenses after December 27, 2023. The records give trial dates, not offense dates.

The records cover cases that reached a court-martial. Cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not included. The evidence and plea terms are not described.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.

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.