Parris Island, South Carolina in 2024: 11 Courts-Martial, Year in Review
The records show 11 courts-martial at Parris Island, South Carolina in 2024. Of the cases with a plea listed, 40% were contested, compared with 34% across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2024, and none of the 4 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Installation › Parris Island, South Carolina › 2024
Short answer: The records show 11 courts-martial at Parris Island, South Carolina in 2024. Of the cases with a plea listed, 40% were contested, compared with 34% across all Navy and Marine Corps cases in 2024, and none of the 4 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. A punitive discharge followed 60% of enlisted convictions, about the same as the 58% across the Navy and Marine Corps.
Contested Cases and Verdicts
The plea is listed in 10 of the 11 records. In 6 of those, the accused pleaded guilty. In 4, the accused contested at least one charge with a not-guilty or mixed plea.
The contested share of 40% was higher than the 34% across the Navy and Marine Corps. All 4 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a conviction on at least one charge: 0 of 4 ended in a full acquittal.
Sentences and Discharges
There were 10 convictions, and 70% of them included confinement. The median confinement was 6 months, compared with 5 months across the Navy and Marine Corps. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
Of 10 convicted enlisted members, 6 received a punitive discharge: 5 bad-conduct discharges and 1 dishonorable discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
No Single Leading Charge
Charges are listed for 10 of the 11 cases. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation), Article 128 (assault), and Article 128b (domestic violence) each appeared in 2 cases (20%). Across the Navy and Marine Corps, those shares were 16%, 16%, and 13%.
Article 134 (general article) appeared in 1 case (10%), lower than the 22% across the Navy and Marine Corps. One case can count under several articles.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the whole Navy and Marine Corps docket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 2 | 20% | 16% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 2 | 20% | 16% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 2 | 20% | 13% |
| Art. 134 General article | 1 | 10% | 22% |
| Art. 121a Fraudulent use of credit cards, debit cards | 1 | 10% | 1% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 1 | 10% | 14% |
| Art. 80 Attempts | 1 | 10% | 7% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 1 | 10% | 7% |
Mostly Special Courts-Martial
General courts-martial made up 3 of the 11 cases (27%). Special courts-martial made up the rest. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, while a special court-martial caps confinement at one year.
Among the accused with rank recorded, junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 70% and NCOs 30%. No officers were tried. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, junior enlisted members were 58% of the accused.
Norfolk and Kaneohe Bay
Norfolk, Virginia tried 24 cases in 2024 and Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay tried 25. Parris Island had the highest contested share of these installations, at 40%, compared with 26% and 22%. Norfolk had 4 full acquittals in 6 contested cases that reached a verdict, and Kaneohe Bay had 0 of 5. Kaneohe Bay had the highest punitive discharge rate, 78%.
| Installation | Cases | Contested | Full acquittals (decided contested) | Median confinement | Punitive discharge (enlisted) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parris Island, South Carolina | 11 | 40% | 0 of 4 | 6 months | 60% |
| Norfolk, Virginia | 24 | 26% | 4 of 6 | 4 months | 47% |
| Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay | 25 | 22% | 0 of 5 | 5 months | 78% |
Rules That Changed in December 2023
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. For cases where every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so 2024 trials mix cases under the old and new rules.
The records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action.
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 2024 (11 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)
- What Parris Island, South Carolina Tried in 2023 (previous / next)
- Parris Island, South Carolina, 2024–2026: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 17 Cases (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
- A Year of Courts-Martial at Bremerton, Washington: 2021
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
Military Judges Who Presided Over Cases at Parris Island, South Carolina, 2024
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.