What Parris Island, South Carolina Tried in 2023
Parris Island, South Carolina held 13 courts-martial in 2023. Of the 13 convicted enlisted members, 11 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (85%), compared with 63% across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2023.
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Trends › By Installation › Parris Island, South Carolina › 2023
Short answer: Parris Island, South Carolina held 13 courts-martial in 2023. Of the 13 convicted enlisted members, 11 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (85%), compared with 63% across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2023. The median confinement was 1 year, compared with 6 months across the Navy and Marine Corps.
85% Received a Punitive Discharge
Every one of the 13 cases ended in a conviction, and all 13 convicted members were enlisted. Of those, 11 received a punitive discharge. Only 1 of the 11 was a dishonorable discharge, and the rest were bad-conduct discharges.
The 85% rate was higher than the 63% across the Navy and Marine Corps. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
A 1-Year Median Confinement
Confinement was part of 69% of the 13 convictions. The median confinement was 1 year, compared with 6 months across the Navy and Marine Corps.
Sentences here are as adjudged at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.
Almost All Junior Enlisted
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 85% of the accused and NCOs made up 15%. No officers were tried. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, 65% of the accused were junior enlisted.
There were 5 general courts-martial and 8 special courts-martial. The general share, 38%, was lower than the 46% across the Navy and Marine Corps. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Orders, Larceny, and Property Charges
All 13 records list the charges. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) appeared in 4 cases (31%), compared with 18% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 3 cases (23%), compared with 10%.
Some articles that are uncommon elsewhere appeared in 2 cases each (15%). These were Article 122a (receiving stolen property), Article 121a (fraudulent use of credit or debit cards), and Article 87b (offenses against correctional custody). Across the Navy and Marine Corps, the shares were 1% for Article 122a and 2% for each of the other 2. A case with several articles counts under each.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, all Navy and Marine Corps cases in those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 31% | 18% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 3 | 23% | 10% |
| Art. 134 General article | 3 | 23% | 22% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 2 | 15% | 11% |
| Art. 122a Receiving stolen property | 2 | 15% | 1% |
| Art. 87b Offenses against correctional custody | 2 | 15% | 2% |
| Art. 121a Fraudulent use of credit cards, debit cards | 2 | 15% | 2% |
| Art. 81 Conspiracy | 2 | 15% | 4% |
Guilty Pleas in Most Cases
Of the 13 accused, 10 pleaded guilty and 3 contested at least one charge. The contested share was 23%, compared with 32% across the Navy and Marine Corps. None of the 3 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal.
Parris Island Next to Bremerton and Norfolk
In 2023, Bremerton, Washington tried 24 cases and Norfolk, Virginia tried 29. Parris Island's punitive discharge rate, 85%, was higher than the 33% at Bremerton and the 52% at Norfolk. Its median confinement of 1 year was also longer than the 31 days at Bremerton and the 6 months at Norfolk.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parris Island, South Carolina | 13 | 23% | 0 of 3 | 1 year | 85% |
| Bremerton, Washington | 24 | 35% | 1 of 8 | 31 days | 33% |
| Norfolk, Virginia | 29 | 48% | 5 of 14 | 6 months | 52% |
Limits of the Records
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. Cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation do not appear.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Every court-martial tried at Parris Island, South Carolina with a trial date in 2023 (13 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
- Parris Island, South Carolina: Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Parris Island, South Carolina: 2020 (previous / next)
- Parris Island, South Carolina in 2024: 11 Courts-Martial, Year in Review (previous / next)
- Inside 44 Courts-Martial at Parris Island, South Carolina, 2019–2023 (the whole period)
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2015
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2017
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2018
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2020
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Parris Island, South Carolina, 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.