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# What Sentences Follow a Domestic Violence Conviction (Article 128b)?
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/what-sentences-follow-a-domestic-violence-conviction-article-128b/
- Published: 2026-10-30T05:30:52.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T08:20:38.000Z
- Description: Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps records from 2021–2025 hold 575 cases that ended in a conviction on Article 128b (domestic violence). Confinement was part of 86% of those sentences, and the median confinement was 6 months, the same as for all convictions in those years.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › What Sentences Follow a Domestic Violence Conviction (Article 128b)?

**Short answer:** Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps records from 2021–2025 hold 575 cases that ended in a conviction on Article 128b (domestic violence). Confinement was part of 86% of those sentences, and the median confinement was 6 months, the same as for all convictions in those years. A punitive discharge followed 71% of enlisted convictions, compared with 65% for all convictions.

Based on 575 cases · 2021–2025 · Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Confinement in 86% of Domestic Violence Convictions

Of the 575 Article 128b convictions, 86% included confinement. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the 6 months median for all convictions in those years. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 1.1 years or longer.

These are adjudged sentences. They are the sentences announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each one covers every charge in the case.

## Sentence Bands Compared With All Convictions

237 convictions (41%) were sentenced to under 6 months. 131 (23%) were sentenced to 6 months to 1 year, compared with 18% of all convictions in those years. 78 convictions (14%) had no confinement, compared with 18%.

129 of 575 convictions were sentenced to more than one year (22%), about the same as the 25% for all convictions. 105 of those were more than 1 year and under 5 years, and 24 were 5 years or more.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all convictions in those years |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 78          | 14%        | 18%                                   |
| Under 6 months                  | 237         | 41%        | 39%                                   |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 131         | 23%        | 18%                                   |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 105         | 18%        | 18%                                   |
| 5 years or more                 | 24          | 4%         | 7%                                    |

## Confinement by Court Level

349 of the 571 cases with a court level listed were general courts-martial (61%), compared with 56% of all convictions in those years. The median confinement at those general courts-martial was 10 months, and 31% of the cases were contested.

222 cases were special courts-martial, with a median confinement of 3 months, and 13% were contested. The court level is not listed for 4 cases. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.

## Bad-Conduct Discharges Outnumbered Dishonorable Discharges

71% of enlisted Article 128b convictions included a punitive discharge, higher than the 65% for all convictions in those years. 313 were bad-conduct discharges and 70 were dishonorable discharges.

35 convicted officers or warrant officers appear in these cases, and 17 were dismissed. A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

## Other Charges in Domestic Violence Cases

266 of the 575 cases charged Article 128b by itself. The rest included at least one more article, so their sentences also cover those other offenses.

Article 128 (assault) was the most common companion charge, in 88 cases. Article 90 (disobeying an officer) appeared in 68 cases, Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) in 65, Article 134 (the general article) in 59, and Article 115 (communicating threats) in 56.

## Yearly Counts Rose From 2021 to 2025

The number of Article 128b convictions went up each year: 49 in 2021, 73 in 2022, 131 in 2023, 159 in 2024, and 163 in 2025.

Article 128b applies only to offenses on or after January 1, 2019\. Earlier conduct was charged under other articles. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, and they cannot show why the yearly count changed.

## Guilty Pleas and Contested Cases

The plea is listed in 569 of the 575 records. 433 accused pleaded guilty, and 136 contested at least one charge with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 24%, about the same as the 25% for all convictions in those years.

78 of the 136 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal (57%). In those cases, the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. Full acquittals are not part of this group, because every case here ended in a conviction on Article 128b.

## Rank and Installations

Among the accused with rank recorded, 342 were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 197 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 35 were officers or warrant officers. Across all convictions in those years, 61% were junior enlisted.

Fort Bragg had 42 of these cases, Fort Hood had 36, Joint Base Lewis-McChord had 34, Fort Bliss had 27, and Camp Pendleton, California, had 24\. These 5 installations account for 28% of the 575 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

## Covered Offense Rules and Record Limits

Article 128b is a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both rules turn on the offense date, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both old and new rules.

The records show the charges, pleas, findings, and sentence. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 128b on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/).

### How We Counted

Convictions that include Article 128b, all services, trial dates 2021–2025 (575), compared with all convictions in those years.

Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.

## Related Analysis

- [Article 128b (Domestic Violence, Numbered Since 2019): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128b-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/sentences/) (hub)
- [Are Convicted Military Officers Dismissed?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/are-convicted-military-officers-dismissed/)
- [Can a Special Court-Martial Give a Dishonorable Discharge?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/can-a-special-court-martial-give-a-dishonorable-discharge/)
- [Court-Martial Sentences: Junior Enlisted Members Compared With NCOs](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/court-martial-sentences-junior-enlisted-vs-ncos/)
- [Does Every Court-Martial Conviction Bring a Punitive Discharge?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/does-every-court-martial-conviction-bring-a-punitive-discharge/)
- [Does Pleading Guilty at a Court-Martial Mean Confinement?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/does-pleading-guilty-at-a-court-martial-mean-confinement/)
- [How Long Are Court-Martial Sentences for Sexual Assault (Article 120)?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-long-are-court-martial-sentences-for-sexual-assault-article-120/)
- [How Much Confinement for a Drug Conviction (Article 112a) at Court-Martial?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-much-confinement-for-a-drug-conviction-article-112a-at-court-martial/)
- [Article 128b explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?ref=bodiesburied.com)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

**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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.