Parris Island, South Carolina Before and After 2019: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
Parris Island, South Carolina tried 44 courts-martial in 2019–2023, against 20 in 2017–2018. The median confinement in 2019–2023 was 11 months, compared with 6 months across the Navy and Marine Corps.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › By Installation › Parris Island, South Carolina › Before and after 2019
Short answer: Parris Island, South Carolina tried 44 courts-martial in 2019–2023, against 20 in 2017–2018. The median confinement in 2019–2023 was 11 months, compared with 6 months across the Navy and Marine Corps. 82% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 63% in the earlier period.
Longer Sentences Than the Service Median
83% of the 41 convictions at Parris Island from 2019 through 2023 included confinement. The median confinement was 11 months, compared with 6 months across the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of the sentences were 1.6 years or longer.
The largest difference is in sentences of 6 months to 1 year. They were 37% of convictions here, compared with 24% elsewhere in the Navy and Marine Corps. Sentences under 6 months were 20%, compared with 35%. 11 of 41 convictions (27%) carried more than one year, about the same as the 24% service-wide. These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge in a case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 7 | 17% | 17% |
| Under 6 months | 8 | 20% | 35% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 15 | 37% | 24% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 9 | 22% | 19% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 5% | 5% |
How the Recent Years Compare With 2017–2018
The records show 20 Parris Island cases from 2017–2018, about 10 a year. They show 44 from 2019–2023, about 9 a year, counting full years. The number changed from year to year: 7 in 2019, 14 in 2020, 6 in 2021, 4 in 2022, and 13 in 2023.
Median confinement went from 2 years in the earlier period to 11 months. The share of convicted enlisted members receiving a punitive discharge went from 63% to 82%. Convictions with confinement went from 80% to 83%. General courts-martial went from 50% to 45% of cases. With groups this small, a few cases can change a figure, so these changes show direction, not precise size.
| 2017–2018 | 2019–2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 20 | 44 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 0 of 1 | 30% |
| Convictions with confinement | 80% | 83% |
| Median confinement | 2 years | 11 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 63% | 82% |
| General courts-martial | 50% | 45% |
Most Convictions Included a Punitive Discharge
Of 40 convicted enlisted members, 33 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (82%), compared with 63% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. 7 of the 33 were dishonorable discharges. A dishonorable discharge is the more severe punitive discharge, and only a general court-martial can impose it.
No officers or warrant officers appear among the accused. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. Those separations are not in these records.
Orders, Larceny, and False Statements
Charge lists exist for 41 of the 44 cases. Article 92 (orders violation) was the most common charge, in 34% of cases, compared with 18% service-wide. Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 20%, compared with 9%. Article 107 (false official statements) appeared in 17%, compared with 8%. Article 131b (obstructing justice) appeared in 12%, compared with 6%.
Article 128 (assault) was less common: 22% of cases here, compared with 31% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Article 112a (drug offenses) appeared in 29% and Article 134, the general article, in 24%. A case with several articles counts under each one.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 14 | 34% | 18% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 12 | 29% | 25% |
| Art. 134 General article | 10 | 24% | 18% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 9 | 22% | 31% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 8 | 20% | 9% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 7 | 17% | 14% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 7 | 17% | 8% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 5 | 12% | 6% |
Convictions on the Most Common Charges
Every case charging one of the leading articles ended in a conviction on that article: 14 of 14 for Article 92, 12 of 12 for Article 112a, 10 of 10 for Article 134, and 9 of 9 for Article 128.
The median confinement after those convictions was 10 months for Article 128, 11 months for Article 92, 1 year for Article 134, and 1.3 years for Article 112a. A case often includes several charges, so the sentence on one row covers the whole case, not only that article.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it (share) | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 14 | 14 (100%) | 11 months |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 12 | 12 (100%) | 1.3 years |
| Art. 134 General article | 10 | 10 (100%) | 1 year |
| Art. 128 Assault | 9 | 9 (9 of 9) | 10 months |
Pleas Where They Were Recorded
Only 20 of the 44 records list a plea, because Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit it. Of those 20, 14 accused pleaded guilty and 6 contested at least one charge. A contested case is one with a not-guilty or mixed plea.
That is 30% contested, about the same as the 31% for the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole. 0 of the 6 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal.
Court Level and the Rank of the Accused
General courts-martial tried 20 cases (45%), about the same as the 44% service-wide. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. Special courts-martial tried 24 cases. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. In general courts-martial, 95% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 1.6 years. In special courts-martial, 73% did, with a median of 7 months.
The accused were 26 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) and 14 NCOs (E-5 to E-9). That mix is similar to the Navy and Marine Corps overall, where 64% were junior enlisted.
Compared With Miramar and Pensacola
MCAS Miramar, California (42 cases) and Pensacola, Florida (42) tried a similar number of cases in the same years. Parris Island had the longest median confinement of the 3: 11 months, compared with 6 months at Miramar and 3 months at Pensacola. It also had the highest punitive discharge rate: 82%, compared with 66% and 56%. Pensacola had the highest contested share, 59%, and 14 of its 24 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parris Island, South Carolina | 44 | 30% | 0 of 6 | 11 months | 82% |
| MCAS Miramar, California | 42 | 30% | 0 of 6 | 6 months | 66% |
| Pensacola, Florida | 42 | 59% | 14 of 24 | 3 months | 56% |
What the Records Cannot Show
Trial records list charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence or any plea terms. They do not include conduct handled outside a court-martial, such as nonjudicial punishment. They give trial dates, not offense dates.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Parris Island, South Carolina in 2017–2018 (20) and 2019–2023 (44).
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
- Parris Island, South Carolina: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Installation (hub)
- Inside 44 Courts-Martial at Parris Island, South Carolina, 2019–2023
- Parris Island, South Carolina, 2017–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 20 Cases
- Parris Island, South Carolina, 2024–2026: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 17 Cases
- Parris Island, South Carolina Before and After 2024: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
- Bremerton, Washington Before and After 2019: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
- Bremerton, Washington Before and After 2024: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
- Great Lakes, Illinois Before and After 2019: How Its Courts-Martial Changed
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Parris Island, South Carolina, 2019–2023
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.