UNITED STATES SENTENCING COMMISSION

Life Sentences in the Federal System
Patti B. Saris

Chair

Charles R. Breyer

Vice Chair

Dabney L. Friedrich

Commissioner

Rachel E. Barkow

Commissioner

William H. Pryor, Jr.

Commissioner

Jonathan J. Wroblewski

Ex Officio

Kenneth P. Cohen

Staff Director

Glenn R. Schmitt

Director

Office of Research and Data

Louis Reedt

Deputy Director

Office of Research and Data

February 2015

United States Sentencing Commission

One Columbus Circle, N.E.

Washington, DC 20002

www.ussc.gov
Life Sentences in

the Federal System

Life imprisonment sentences are rare in the federal criminal justice

system. Virtually all offenders convicted of a federal crime are

released from prison eventually and return to society or, in the

case of illegal aliens, are deported to their country of origin. Yet in

fiscal year 2013 federal judges imposed a sentence of life

imprisonment without parole1 on 153 offenders. Another 168

offenders received a sentence of a specific term of years that was

so long it had the practical effect of being a life sentence.

Although together these offenders represent only 0.4 percent of all

offenders sentenced that year, this type of sentence sets them

apart from the rest of the offender population.2 This report

examines life sentences in the federal system and the offenders on

whom this punishment is imposed.

There are numerous federal criminal statutes that authorize a life

imprisonment sentence to be imposed as the maximum sentence.3

The most commonly used of these statutes involve drug

trafficking,4 racketeering,5 and firearms6 crimes. Additionally, there

are at least 45 statutes that require a life sentence to be imposed

as the minimum penalty.7 These mandatory minimum penalties

generally are required in cases involving the killing of a federal

official or other government employee, piracy, or repeat offenses

involving drug trafficking or weapons. In fiscal year 2013, 69 of the

153 offenders who received a sentence of life imprisonment were

subject to a mandatory minimum penalty requiring the court to

impose that sentence.

Life Sentences Under the Guidelines System

The United States Sentencing Commission promulgates federal

sentencing guidelines that provide advisory “sentencing ranges”

which judges are required to consider when imposing a sentence

in federal felony cases.8 The guidelines take into account both

offense behavior and offender characteristics to provide a

recommended range of imprisonment, probation, or some

combination of confinement and probation.

Glenn R. Schmitt, J.D., M.P.P.

Director

Office of Research and Data

Hyun J. Konfrst, M.S.

Research Associate

Office of Research and Data
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United States Sentencing Commission

For most federal crimes there is a corresponding offense guideline

specified in the Guidelines Manual that the Commission

promulgates annually.9 Each guideline provides one or more

“base offense levels” for the offense or group of offenses

referenced to it, which serves as a starting point for the

determination of the guideline sentence. Most guidelines then

contain additional provisions that the judge must consider in light

of the offender’s “real offense conduct.”10 Using these provisions,

judges are required to calculate the guideline sentence that applies

in each case.11 The failure to properly calculate and consider the

guidelines is reversible procedural error.12

To calculate the guideline sentence, the judge first determines the

guideline that applies to the offense of conviction and the base

offense level that applies to the facts of the case.13 The judge then

considers whether any specific offense characteristic provisions

apply, along with cross references to other guidelines, and special

instructions for that guideline.14 These provisions increase or

decrease the “offense level” that will determine the sentencing

range in the case. The judge then applies any of the “adjustment”

provisions that relate to the type of victim of the crime, the

offender’s role in the offense, and whether the offender obstructed

justice in connection with the offense.15 The judge also determines

whether the offender has accepted responsibility for his or her

crime.16 At the conclusion of this process the judge will have

determined the final offense level for the offender’s crime.

Next, the judge determines a “criminal history score” for the

offender, based on his or her prior criminal convictions, and places

that score into one of six “criminal history categories.”17 Using the

final offense level and the criminal history category, the judge

consults a sentencing table18 on which are 258 imprisonment

ranges, expressed in numbers of months,19 to find the range that

corresponds to the final offense level and criminal history category

that applies in the case.20 The number of months at the high end

or “top” of each range is approximately 25 percent greater than the

number of months at the low end or “bottom” of that range.21 This

range of imprisonment is the “guideline range” that applies in the

case.22
Life Sentences in the Federal System

3

The Commission specifically provides for a life imprisonment

sentence in only four of the more than 150 guidelines contained in

the Guidelines Manual, and then only for certain acts or certain

classes of offenders. These guidelines involve murder, treason,

certain drug trafficking offenses, and certain firearms offenses

committed by career offenders.

In first degree murder offenses, which involve the premeditated

killing of another person, the guideline sentence for that offense is

life imprisonment in all cases.23 Likewise, for treason offenses, the

guideline sentence is life imprisonment.24 For certain espionage

offenses,25 and some offenses involving nuclear, biological, or

chemical weapons,26 the sentencing range associated with the

base offense level27 includes a life sentence for all offenders,

although only at the top of the range.

The drug trafficking guidelines28 specifically provide for a sentence

of life imprisonment for drug trafficking offenses, but only where

death or serious bodily injury resulted from the use of the drug and

the defendant had been convicted previously of a drug trafficking

offense. In some other drug trafficking cases, such as those

involving very large quantities of drugs and where the offender has

significant prior criminal history, the sentencing range can include

life imprisonment, although only as the sanction at the top of the

range.

The career offender guideline provides for different sentencing

ranges based, in part, on the maximum penalty authorized in the

statute under which the offender is convicted.29 That guideline

provides for a sentencing range that includes life imprisonment

only when the offense of conviction provides for a statutory

maximum punishment of life imprisonment or when the offender

commits one of two specified firearms offenses30 and the judge

does not adjust the offender’s sentence downward for accepting

responsibility for the offense.31

For other offenses, although it is possible for the sentencing range

under the guidelines to include life imprisonment as the top of the

range, this would generally occur only in cases where multiple

Only four sentencing

guidelines specifically

provide for a life

imprisonment sentence.
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United States Sentencing Commission

sentencing enhancements in the guidelines had applied and where

the offender had a significant prior criminal record.32

Life Imprisonment Sentences in the Federal System

In fiscal year 2013, the courts imposed a sentence of life

imprisonment in 153 cases. The number of these cases in prior

years has varied, with the highest number of life sentences having

been imposed in fiscal year 2009, when the courts sentenced 280

offenders to life imprisonment. As of January 2015, there were

4,436 prisoners incarcerated in the Federal Bureau of Prisons

serving a life imprisonment sentence.33 They accounted for 2.5

percent of the federal sentenced offenders in the BOP system.34

Number of Offenders Receiving Life Sentence

Fiscal Years 2004 – 2013

Life imprisonment sentences were imposed in a variety of types of

cases in fiscal year 2013, but were most common in drug trafficking,

firearms, murder, and extortion and racketeering cases. In virtually

all of these cases, one or more persons died as a result of the

criminal enterprise.

Offenses for Which a Life Imprisonment Sentence Was Imposed

The most common offense type for which a life imprisonment

sentence was imposed in fiscal year 2013 was drug trafficking

(64 cases). These cases accounted for 41.8 percent of all life

imprisonment sentences that year. Even so, a life sentence is rare

in drug trafficking cases, having been imposed in less than one-third

of one percent of all drug trafficking cases that year.
5

Life Sentences in the Federal System

The next most common offenses in which life imprisonment was

imposed were firearms offenses (27 cases), murder (19 cases),

and extortion and racketeering offenses (16 cases).

Life imprisonment sentences accounted for 0.3 percent of

the sentences imposed in firearms cases, 21.3 percent of the

sentences imposed in murder cases, and 1.8 percent of the

sentences imposed in extortion and racketeering cases.

Primary Offense Type of Offenders

Receiving Life Sentence

Fiscal Year 2013

The firearms cases consisted primarily of felons in possession of a

firearm35 or the use or carrying of a firearm during and in relation

to a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime, or the possession

of a firearm in furtherance of those crimes.36 All but one of the

extortion and racketeering cases involved the murder, attempted

murder, or kidnapping of one or more persons, often along with

other violent acts, as part of the racketeering activity. The one

racketeering case in which the offender was not accused of

engaging in these activities involved an offender who led a drug

trafficking organization and who was prosecuted under the

Continuing Criminal Enterprise statute.37

Death or serious bodily injury also was common in the other types

of cases in which a life imprisonment sentence was imposed. For

example, among the robbery and auto theft cases, at least one

person died in the course of each crime. In the sexual abuse and

child pornography cases in this group, the offense conduct

Life imprisonment

sentences were most

common in cases involving

drug trafficking, firearms,

murder, and extortion and

racketeering crimes.
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United States Sentencing Commission

involved rape or other acts of sexual abuse, often against multiple

victims who were minors.38

As discussed above, the sentencing guidelines call for a life

imprisonment sentence in drug trafficking offenses when death or

serious bodily injury resulted from the use of the drug and when

the offender had one or more prior convictions for drug trafficking.

But a life imprisonment sentence can also be imposed in other

drug trafficking cases in which large quantities of drugs are

involved, or where the court applies other sentence enhancement

provisions relating to drug trafficking.39 Crack cocaine was the

drug most often involved in those drug trafficking cases in which a

life imprisonment sentence was imposed. That drug was the

primary drug in 34.4 percent of all life imprisonment sentence drug

trafficking cases, while methamphetamine accounted for 29.7

percent and powder cocaine accounted for 21.9 percent.

Primary Drug Type of Drug Offenders

Receiving Life Sentence

Fiscal Year 2013

As might be expected, the quantity of drugs involved in these

cases was substantial. For example, in drug trafficking cases

involving powder cocaine where a life sentence was imposed, the

median quantity of drug involved was more than 38,800 grams,

which is approximately 86 pounds of cocaine. The table below
7

Life Sentences in the Federal System

shows the median quantities for each of the major drug types in

cases where the offender was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Median Drug Quantity for Drug Offenders

Receiving Life Sentence

Fiscal Year 2013

Drug Type Median Drug Quantity

Grams Pounds

Powder Cocaine 38,800 85.5

Crack Cocaine 6,338 14.0

Heroin 1,000 2.2

Marijuana — —

Methamphetamine 4,836 10.7

Offenders Receiving Life Imprisonment Sentences

The demographic characteristics of offenders sentenced to life

imprisonment differed significantly from that of federal offenders

generally. In fiscal year 2013, 45 percent of offenders receiving a

life imprisonment sentence were Black, followed by White

offenders (24.8%), and Hispanic offenders (24.2%). In contrast,

for federal offenders generally, the racial composition was 51.5

percent Hispanic, 23.8 percent White, and 20.6 percent Black.40

The overwhelming majority of offenders receiving a life

imprisonment sentence were men (98%). In fact, only three

women were sentenced to life imprisonment that year. Among all

offenders sentenced that year, 13.5 percent were women. The

age of offenders sentenced to life imprisonment in fiscal year 2013

varied widely, ranging from 20 to 80 years, with an average of 37

years, only slightly higher than the average age of 36 years for all

offenders in fiscal year 2013. Most life imprisonment sentences

were imposed on United States citizens (133 cases). Among the

16 non-citizens sentenced to life imprisonment, six countries of

origin were represented. Mexico was the most common country of

origin in this subgroup of offenders (11 out of the 16 non-citizen

cases).

Race of Offenders Receiving

Life Sentence

Fiscal Year 2013
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United States Sentencing Commission

As might be expected, offenders sentenced to life imprisonment

tended to have more serious criminal histories than federal

offenders generally. Among all offenders sentenced to life

imprisonment, 34.2 percent were assigned to the highest criminal

history category under the sentencing guidelines, and 50 percent

were assigned to one of the highest three (out of six) categories.

About one quarter (24.8%) of these offenders were determined to

be “career offenders.”41 Only 21.1 percent of life imprisonment

offenders were assigned to the lowest criminal history category,

corresponding to little or no countable criminal history.42 In

comparison, among federal offenders generally in fiscal year 2013,

22.8 percent of offenders were assigned to one of the highest

three categories, with 8.5 percent assigned to the highest criminal

history category, and 3.2 percent were found to be career

offenders. Almost half of all offenders (46.9%) were assigned to

the lowest criminal history category.

Offenders sentenced to life imprisonment were also more likely to

receive an aggravating role enhancement under the guidelines

than offenders receiving another punishment. This enhancement

applies when the offender acted as organizer, leader, manager, or

supervisor during their offense.43 Offenders sentenced to life

imprisonment received the aggravating role enhancement in

one-third (33.8%) of the cases. In contrast, this enhancement

applied in just 4.8 percent of all federal cases that year. No

offenders sentenced to life imprisonment received a reduction in

their guidelines calculation for having had a mitigating role in the

offense.44

Finally, life sentence offenders were also far more likely to have

used a weapon in connection with their offense. Almost 40

percent of the offenders receiving a life imprisonment sentence

were found to have possessed a weapon in connection with the

offense. These offenders were either convicted of violating 18

U.S.C. § 924(c), which makes it illegal to use or carry a firearm in

connection with a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime, or to

possess a firearm in furtherance of such a crime, or they received

an enhanced sentence through the application of a specific
9

Life Sentences in the Federal System

offense characteristic under the drug trafficking guideline because

the court found that the offender had possessed a weapon in

connection with the offense.45 In comparison, for federal offenders

generally in fiscal year 2013, the rate of weapon involvement in the

offense was 7.7 percent.

How the Life Imprisonment Sentence Was Determined

As discussed above, there were 69 offenders who were subject to

a mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment in fiscal year

2013.46 Most of these offenders were drug offenders (35 cases).

The next most common offense type in which a mandatory

minimum penalty applied was murder (14 cases). None of the

offenders in these cases received relief from the application of the

mandatory minimum penalty and, therefore, the court was required

to impose the life imprisonment sentence.47

In the remaining 84 cases no mandatory minimum penalty applied

requiring the court to impose the life imprisonment sentence;

however, the recommended sentencing range under the

sentencing guidelines nevertheless provided for a lengthy

sentence. In fact, in more than three-quarters (79.8%) of the 84

cases, a life sentence was the only term of imprisonment provided

for under the guidelines. In the remaining 17 cases, the guideline

sentence was a range of imprisonment. The average minimum of

the guideline range in these cases was 344 months, although the

bottom of the range varied from 180 months to 420 months.48 In

most of these cases (14 cases, 82.4%) a sentence of life

imprisonment was included as the top of the guideline range.49 In

fact, in only three cases (2.0%) in fiscal year 2013 did the court

impose a sentence above the applicable guideline range in order

to impose a life imprisonment sentence.

Of the 153 cases in which a life imprisonment sentence was

imposed in fiscal year 2013, the offender was convicted after a trial

in 105 cases. This represents a trial rate of 68.6 percent for these

cases, a rate that is considerably higher than the three percent trial

rate for all federal cases in fiscal year 2013. One factor causing

this significantly higher trial rate likely was the applicability of

Only 69 of the 153

offenders who received a

life imprisonment sentence

were subject to a

mandatory minimum

penalty requiring that

sentences be imposed.
10

United States Sentencing Commission

statutory mandatory minimum penalties, which apply regardless of

whether the offender pleads guilty or asserts his or her right to trial.

A mandatory minimum penalty of life imprisonment applied in 48 of

the 105 life sentence cases that went to trial. As discussed above,

even in the cases where no mandatory minimum penalty applied

the guideline sentencing range often was a life imprisonment

sentence. If the offender was unable to obtain a favorable plea

agreement with the government, the offender might believe that

there was little to lose by requiring the government to prove its

case against him.

De Facto Life Imprisonment Sentences

Although only a small number of federal offenders are sentenced

to life imprisonment each year, there are other federal offenders

sentenced to extremely long specific terms of imprisonment. In

many of these cases the length of sentence imposed is so long

that the sentence is, for all practical purposes, a life sentence and

likely was intended to be such by the judge who imposed it. In

some of these cases, a sentence of life imprisonment was not

authorized under any of the statutes of conviction50 and the court

imposed consecutive sentences for multiple counts of conviction in

order to achieve the lengthy period of incarceration imposed.51

We review these “de facto” life imprisonment sentences in this

section of this report. For the purposes of this analysis, a

sentence length of 470 months or longer was used as a proxy to

identify cases in which a de facto life sentence had been

imposed.52 In fiscal year 2013, there were 168 offenders

sentenced to imprisonment for 470 months or longer. In prior

years the number of such offenders ranged from 150 in fiscal year

2008 to 232 in fiscal year 2005. As of January 2015, there were

1,983 offenders in the BOP system serving a sentence of

incarceration of 470 months or longer.53 They accounted for 1.1

percent of all federal sentenced offenders.

Offenses for Which a De Facto Life Sentence was Imposed

The most common offense for which a de facto life sentence was

imposed in fiscal year 2013 was firearms (76 cases), accounting

In fiscal year 2013, there

were 168 offenders

sentenced to imprisonment

of 470 months or longer.
Life Sentences in the Federal System

11

for 45.2 percent of all de facto life sentence cases. The next most

common offenses in in this group were child pornography

(55 cases), drug trafficking (10 cases), and sex abuse (6 cases).

Even so, sentences of this length were rare in those types of

cases, accounting for just 2.9 percent of all child pornography

sentences, 0.04 percent of drug trafficking sentences, and

1.4 percent of the sentences in sex abuse cases.

Offenders Receiving De Facto Life Sentences

As with offenders sentenced to life imprisonment, the

demographic characteristics of offenders sentenced to de facto

life imprisonment sentences differed substantially from that of

federal offenders generally. In fiscal year 2013, 39.9 percent of

offenders receiving a term of imprisonment of 470 months or

longer were Black, followed by White offenders (36.9%), and

Hispanic offenders (17.3%). All but two of these offenders

were men. The age of these offenders ranged from 20 to 68

years, with an average age of 37 years. Most of these

offenders were United States citizens (89.3%).

De facto life sentence offenders also tended to have more serious

criminal histories than federal offenders generally. More than

one-third (37.5%) of the de facto life imprisonment offenders were

classified into one of the three highest criminal history categories,

compared to only 22.8 percent of offenders generally. Career

offenders accounted for 14.4 percent of this group.

The offense characteristics of offenders sentenced to de facto life

sentences also were more serious than for federal offenders

generally. De facto life sentence offenders also were more likely

to have had an aggravating role in the offense for which they were

convicted (e.g., as an organizer, leader, manager, or supervisor).

In about one-quarter (23.4%) of the de facto life sentence cases,

the offender was found to have had this role, compared to just 4.8

percent of cases for offenders generally. In only one case did the

court reduce the sentence imposed for the offender’s mitigating

role in the offense (i.e., finding that the offender played a minor or

minimal role in the offense).

De facto life sentence offenders were also far more likely to have

used a weapon in connection with their offense. Half (50.0%) of

Primary Offense Type of Offenders

Receiving De Facto Life Sentence

Fiscal Year 2013

Race of Offenders Receiving

De Facto Life Sentence

Fiscal Year 2013
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United States Sentencing Commission

these offenders were found to have possessed a weapon in

connection with their offense.

How the De Facto Life Sentence Was Determined

The average sentence imposed in these cases varied widely

overall and by offense type. The sentences imposed ranged from

471 months to 3,120 months (260 years). A sentence of 100 years

or longer was imposed in 22 of the 168 cases (13.1 %). The

highest average sentences in this group were for child

pornography cases at 832 months, followed by 820 months in sex

abuse cases. In firearms cases, the average sentence was 760

months, and in drug trafficking cases the average sentence was

487 months. Given that the average age of the offenders in this

group was 37 years, these average sentence lengths support a

presumption that the judges imposing them intended the offenders

to remain incarcerated for the remainder of their lives in most

instances.

In virtually all of the de facto life imprisonment cases a statutory

mandatory minimum sentence applied, however, those minimum

penalties appear to explain only part of the reason why these long

sentences were imposed. For example, although a mandatory

minimum penalty applied in 150 of the 168 de facto life

imprisonment cases (89.3%), in only 45 of those 150 cases

(30.0%) was imprisonment of 470 months or longer (the threshold

sentence for inclusion of the case into this part of the report)

required under the applicable statute. Of the 150 de facto life

imprisonment cases in which a mandatory minimum sentence

applied, in only 13 cases (8.7%) did the court impose a sentence

that was at the minimum length required by statute.54 All of the

other sentences were longer than the mandatory minimum penalty.

Even among the 45 cases where the mandatory minimum penalty

was 470 months or longer, the courts still imposed a sentence

longer than the statutory minimum in 30 of the 45 cases.

In most of the de facto life imprisonment cases, the sentencing

guidelines appear to have had a strong influence on the court’s

decision. In 133 of the 168 de facto life imprisonment cases

(79.2%) the advisory guideline range provided for a sentence of at

least 470 months.55 In half of all de facto life imprisonment cases
13

Life Sentences in the Federal System

the sentence imposed was within the guideline range determined

under the sentencing guidelines. In an additional 11 cases (6.5%)

the courts departed upward from the guideline range to impose an

even longer sentence. The government requested a sentence

below the applicable guideline range in just 14 cases (8.4%), and

the court otherwise imposed a sentence below the guideline range

in another 59 cases (35.1%). Among the 30 cases in which the

offender was sentenced above a mandatory minimum penalty of

470 months or longer, the sentence imposed was within the

guidelines range in 18 of those cases.

In 63 cases the sentencing guidelines provided for a life

imprisonment sentence, however, none of the statutes of

conviction authorized that punishment. In the cases where the

guideline sentence was life imprisonment only, the minimum

guideline sentence becomes the statutory maximum sentence.56

In the remaining cases, where the top of the guideline range was

life, the maximum guideline sentence becomes the statutory

maximum punishment.57 In virtually all of these 63 cases the

courts imposed a sentence on two or more counts of conviction to

run consecutively in order to achieve a sentence at or near the

new guideline minimum. The resulting sentences imposed ranged

from 480 months to 3,120 months (260 years).

In another 101 of de facto life imprisonment cases (60.1%) a

statutory maximum term of life imprisonment was authorized, yet

the court still chose to impose a sentence of a term of months

rather than life imprisonment. One reason for this may have been

that the sentencing guidelines often did not provide for a life

sentence as part of the sentencing range. In 62 of these 101

cases, although the statutory maximum sentence was life

imprisonment, the sentencing range determined under the

guidelines did not include that punishment. In order to impose a

sentence within the sentencing guidelines structure, a sentence of

a long term of months would have to have been imposed.58 Of

course, it is also possible that the court intended to give the

The sentencing guidelines

appear to have had a strong

influence on the sentence

imposed in the "de facto"

life imprisonment cases.
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United States Sentencing Commission

offender some chance at release. In 85 of these 101 cases the

sentence imposed was between 40 years and 70 years, affording

the offender some possibility of a chance for release within his or

her lifetime.

One of the factors leading to the high sentencing ranges in these

cases could be the high trial rate. Among the 168 de facto life

sentence cases, the offender was convicted after a trial in 89

cases, which represents a trial rate of 53.0 percent, substantially

higher than the overall trial rate of 3.1 percent for fiscal year 2013.

The presence of a mandatory minimum penalty in virtually all of

these cases likely had a significant impact on the offender’s

decision to take the case to trial. For example of the de facto life

sentence cases in which the offender went to trial, a mandatory

minimum penalty of 30 years or longer applied in almost 70

percent of them (62 cases), and a minimum penalty of 40 years or

more applied in almost half of them (46.1%). Many of these

offenders may have concluded that there was little risk in requiring

the government to prove the case at trial.

An offender’s decision to insist on a trial also has an impact on the

guidelines sentence that applied. For example, among the cases

that went to trial, in only two did the offender receive a reduction in

the offense level under the guidelines for accepting responsibility

for the crime. In general, an offender’s willingness to accept

responsibility for his crime can reduce his final offense level by up

to three levels, which corresponds to a reduction in the guidelines

sentencing range that applies in the case of roughly 30 percent.59

Offenders who exercise their right to go to trial often are not found

to have accepted responsibility for their crimes and so do not

receive this reduction in the guidelines range.60
15

Life Sentences in the Federal System

Other Sentences Likely to Extend to the Death of the Offender

To this point, this report has analyzed cases in which the

sentencing judge imposed a sentence that the offender serve the

rest of his life in prison, or imposed such a long term of

imprisonment that it could be inferred that the judge intended that

result. However, there is a third group of cases in which the

sentences imposed also are likely to result in the offenders

remaining incarcerated until they die, but which does not fit neatly

into either of the first two categories. In this third group of cases,

there is less reason to infer that the sentencing judge intended the

term of incarceration to extend to the death of the offender. In

these cases, the sentence imposed is longer than the life

expectancy of the offender.

For the analysis in this part of the report, Commission staff

estimated the average life expectancy for federal offenders using

data from National Vital Statistics System of the Centers for

Disease Control.61 Data on gender, race, ethnicity, and age was

used to determine a life expectancy for each offender. Then staff

examined cases in which the sentence imposed was a specific

terms of months, but less than 470 months, and compared the

sentence to the life expectancy calculated for the offender in order

to determine whether the offender would live to the end of the

sentence.62 It is important to note that many other factors

contribute to a person’s life expectancy, and so the Commission’s

analysis for this portion of the report should be considered as only

an approximation of the issue being studied.

In fiscal year 2013, there were 291 offenders sentenced to a term

of incarceration longer than their estimated life expectancy. This

number compares to 297 such offenders in fiscal year 2012 and

270 offenders in fiscal year 2011.

The most common offense among these “life expectancy”

offenders was child pornography. Almost one-quarter (72

offenders) of the offenders whose life expectancy is less than the

length of their incarceration sentence were convicted of a child

pornography offense. The other most common offenses among

In fiscal year 2013 there

were 291 offenders

sentenced to a term of

imprisonment longer than

their life expectancy.
16

United States Sentencing Commission

this group of offenders were fraud (58 offenders), drug trafficking

(57 offenders), firearms (38 offenders), and extortion and

racketeering (13 offenders).

Primary Offense Type of Offenders

Receiving Sentence Longer Than Life Expectancy

Fiscal Year 2013

The inclusion of fraud offenders in this group sets them apart from

the other two groups of life sentence offenders studied in this

report, as fraud offenses generally do not involve violence.

However, one aspect of the fraud cases in this life expectancy

group that distinguishes them from fraud cases generally is the

size of the loss amounts involved in the crime. The median loss

amount in these cases (i.e., in half of the cases the loss amount

was higher) was more than $6 million, whereas the median loss

amount in fraud cases generally in fiscal year 2013 was $195,649.

Offenders Sentenced to an Imprisonment Term Exceeding Their

Life Expectancy

As might be expected, the age of the offenders in the life

expectancy group is much higher than for offenders generally, or

even for offenders sentenced to life imprisonment or to a de facto

life sentence. The average age of the life expectancy offender
17

Life Sentences in the Federal System

group was 66 years. More than three-quarters (80.4%) of the

offenders in this group were over the age of 60, and more than one

quarter (38.1%) were over the age of 70 at the time of sentencing.

In comparison, the average age for all offenders sentenced in

fiscal year 2013 was 36 years, and the average age for both the

life imprisonment offenders and the de factor life sentence

offenders was 37 years.

The race of the life expectancy offenders also differed

substantially from that of the offenders in the other two groups of

life sentence offenders discussed above. Among offenders

sentenced to a term of imprisonment longer than their life

expectancy, 65.3 percent were White, followed by Black offenders

(22.3%), and Hispanic offenders (9.3%). Most of these offenders

were United States citizens (94.2%).

How the Sentence Was Determined

The sentences imposed on the offenders in the life expectancy

group were long, with the average sentence being 193 months.

Even so, there was far more variation in the sentences imposed on

the offenders in this group when compared to the de facto life

sentence group, with sentences ranging from a low of two months

to a high of 456 months. Despite this variation, in more than 70

percent of the cases (208 cases, 71.5%) the sentence imposed

was ten years or longer and in almost 40 percent of the cases (117

cases, 40.2%) the sentence imposed was 20 years or longer.

In more than half of the life expectancy cases (148 out of 291), the

offender was convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory

minimum penalty. For 115 of these 148 offenders, the mandatory

minimum penalty that applied in the case was 10 years or longer.

Only eleven of the offenders (7.4%) convicted of an offense

carrying a mandatory minimum penalty received relief from the

mandatory penalty63 by the time of sentencing.

In almost a third of these cases (91 of the 291 cases, 31.3%) a

statutory maximum term of life imprisonment was authorized,

however, no life imprisonment sentence was imposed on the

Race of Offenders Receiving

Sentence Longer Than Life Expectancy

Fiscal Year 2013
18

United States Sentencing Commission

offenders in this group. Part of the reason why this was may have

been because the guidelines often did not call for a life sentence to

be imposed. For example, of 91 cases in which a life sentence

was authorized by statute, in only seven cases was the guideline

range only life imprisonment. In the remaining cases the

guidelines provided for a range that included a sentence of less

than life at the bottom of the range.

Even so, and as with the case of the de facto life sentences

discussed above, in most of these cases the guideline sentence

appears to have had substantial influence on the court’s decision.

For example, in three-fourths of the cases in this part of the report

(216 of 291 cases, 74.2%), the minimum term of imprisonment

called for under the sentencing guidelines was at least 120

months. In 111 cases (38.1%) the bottom of the guideline range

was at least 240 months. In almost half of the life expectancy

cases (48.8%) the sentence imposed was within the applicable

guideline range and in another 4.5 percent of the cases the

sentence imposed was above that range. Even among the 148

cases with a statutory minimum punishment, of the 126 cases in

which the bottom of the guideline range was above the statutory

minimum, the sentence imposed also was above the statutory

minimum in 108 cases.

Criminal history did not appear to play any significant role in the

sentences imposed on these offenders, as 57.2 percent had a

criminal history score in the lowest category. Only 14.5 percent of

these offenders had a criminal history score in the highest

category. The trial rate in these cases also does not appear to

have had a significant impact in the average sentence imposed, as

almost 70 percent of these offenders (69.1%) pleaded guilty to

their offense, and most of them (96.0%) received a downward

adjustment to their offense level under the guidelines for accepting

responsibility.64 Of the 90 cases in this group in which the offender

went to trial, in 82 cases the bottom of the applicable guideline

range was at least 120 months.
19

Life Sentences in the Federal System

Conclusion

While most federal prisoners will be released from prison

eventually, a small portion of federal offenders will spend the rest

of their lives there. Some of these offenders were sentenced

specifically to life imprisonment, while others were sentenced to a

term of imprisonment so long that the sentence will often amount

to a life imprisonment sentence regardless of the age of the

offender. For another small group of offenders, the age at which

they committed their crime makes it unlikely that they will live to

complete the sentence imposed on them. All of these offenders

had committed serious crimes, and many of them had substantial

criminal histories.

In most of these cases the federal sentencing guidelines called for

a lengthy sentence and appear to have influenced the court to

impose the sentence. In a substantial number of these cases, a

mandatory minimum penalty also had an important role, either

directly by requiring the sentence be imposed or by causing the

advisory sentencing range determined under the sentencing

guidelines to be higher than it would have been had no minimum

penalty applied. While these life sentences are imposed on only a

small portion of the federal offenders sentenced each year, the

impact these sentences have on the lives of the offenders in those

cases sets them apart from all other sentences imposed in federal

cases.
United States Sentencing Commission 

20

1 The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 was enacted as part of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984. It 

abolished the use of parole in the federal system for all offenses and established a system of determinate 

sentencing. See Pub. L. No. 98-473, 98 Stat. 1987 (codified as amended in scattered sections of 18 U.S.C. and 

28 U.S.C. (2012)). 

2 The average sentence imposed on all federal offenders in fiscal year 2013 was 45 months. Among those who 

were sentenced to a term of incarceration, the average length of imprisonment was 62 months. For information 

about the average sentence imposed for specific offense types, see 2013 SOURCEBOOK OF FEDERAL SENTENCING 

STATISTICS S-29, S-30 (2014) (hereinafter 2013 Sourcebook). 

3 See generally U.S. SENT. COMM’N., MANDATORY MINIMUM PENALTIES IN THE FEDERAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

(2011) (hereinafter Mandatory Minimum Report). 

4 The specific statutes most commonly cited in drug trafficking cases where a life imprisonment sentence was 

imposed were 21 U.S.C. §§ 841, 846. 

5 The specific statutes most commonly cited in racketeering cases where a life sentence was imposed were 18 

U.S.C. §§ 1951, 1959, and 1962. 

6 The specific statutes most commonly cited in firearms cases in which a life sentence was imposed were 18 

U.S.C. §§ 922, 924. 

7 Mandatory Minimum Report, supra note 3, at App. A. 

8 The sentencing guidelines also apply in Class A misdemeanor cases. U.S. SENT. COMM’N., GUIDELINES 

MANUAL, §1B1.9 (2014) (hereinafter USSG). 

 

9 See generally USSG App. A. 

10 See USSG Ch.1, Pt.A for a general discussion of how the guidelines were developed. 

11 See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 49 (2007) (citing Rita v. United States, 551 U.S. 338, 347-48 (2007)). 

12 Gall, 552 U.S. at 51. 

13 See USSG §1B1.1 (Application Instructions) for a more detailed explanation of how the guidelines are to be 

applied. 

14 USSG §1B1.1(a)(1), (2). 

15 Id. at (a)(3). 

16 Id. at (a)(5). 

17 See generally USSG §4A1.1 (Criminal History Category). 

18 USSG Ch. 5, Pt.A. 

19 Six of the 258 ranges provide only for a sentence of life imprisonment. These six ranges apply in cases in 

which the final offense level is level 43. 

20 USSG §1B1.1(a)(7). 

Endnotes 
Life Sentences in the Federal System 

21 

21 The size of the sentencing ranges are established by statute. See USSG Ch.1, Pt.A (citing 

28 U.S.C. § 994(b)(2)). 

22 After considering the guideline range, and whether any departures (as described in the Guidelines Manual) 

from that range are warranted, the court is also required to consider the factors listed in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) 

when imposing a sentence. USSG §1B1.1(c). 

23 USSG §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder). The sentencing guidelines do not include death as a sentence for any 

crime. Although the imposition of death is an authorized punishment for some federal crimes, there are 

separate statutory provisions providing for the consideration of that penalty in cases where the penalty is 

authorized. In those cases, the sentencing guidelines do not apply. See 18 U.S.C. § 3591. 

24 USSG §2M1.1 (Treason). The sentence applies only when the treason offense involves conduct which is 

“tantamount to waging war against the United States.” If the conduct does not rise to that level the court is 

directed to determine the sentence by using a different guideline. 

25 USSG §2M3.1 (Gathering or Transmitting National Defense Information to Aid a Foreign Government). 

26 See USSG §2M6.1(a)(1), applying to offenses involving the use of weapons of mass destruction with the 

intent to injure the United States or to aid a foreign nation or foreign terrorist organization. 

27 As discussed above, once the base offense level is determined, other factors can increase or lower that level 

until a final offense level is determined. 

28 USSG §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent 

to Commit These Offenses); Attempt or Conspiracy). 

29 USSG §4B1.1 (Career Offender). Offenders convicted of a federal felony crime of violence or controlled 

substance offense are deemed to be “career offenders” if they were at least 18 years old when they committee 

the current offense before the court and had at least two prior felony convictions for a crime of violence or 

controlled substance offense. The sentencing range that applies in cases involving career offenders is the 

greater of the sentencing range under the guideline that applies to the current offense of conviction or the 

sentencing range under the career offender guideline. Id. at (b). 

30 Those offenses are violations of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) or 18 U.S.C. § 929(a). 

31 See generally USSG §3E1.1 (Acceptance of Responsibility). The court may adjust (reduce) the offense level 

by two levels, and in some cases by three levels, for any offender under the guidelines if it determines that the 

offender has accepted responsibility for the offense. As a result, obtaining an acceptance of responsibility 

adjustment can have lower an offender’s sentencing range by up to 30 percent. 

32 As between two offenders who commit the same offense in the same manner, the guidelines generally 

provide for a higher sentencing range for the offender with a higher criminal history score. See generally USSG 

Ch.4. 

33 Determined by comparing Commission sentencing records with Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) data on 

persons incarcerated as of December 27, 2014. 

 

34 In addition to offenders sentenced for a federal offense, the BOP also has custody of persons awaiting trial, 

as well as persons convicted of crimes in the District of Columbia courts and some military offenders. 

35 See 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) (prohibiting certain persons from shipping, transporting, possessing, or receiving a 

firearm or ammunition while subject to a prohibition from doing so, most commonly because of a prior conviction 

for a felony offense). 
United States Sentencing Commission 

22

36 See 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). 

37 See 21 U.S.C. § 848. In general, a continuing criminal enterprises involves a series drug crimes undertaken 

by a person “in concert with” five or more other persons in which the offender occupies the position of organizer, 

supervisor, or some other management position and obtains substantial income or resources from the criminal 

activities. 

38 In one case the offense conduct did not involve physical contact with a victim, but did involve interstate travel 

with the intent to engage in sexual acts with a person under the age of consent. 

39 USSG §2D1.1(a)(1). 

40 For additional demographic information about federal offenders see 2013 Sourcebook, supra note 2, at 

S-14 – S-19 (2014). 

41 See USSG §4B1.1 (Career Offender). 

42 See USSG §4A1.2 (Definitions and Instructions for Computing Criminal History) for a discussion of which 

offenses are counted in determining an offender’s criminal history score under the sentencing guidelines. 

43 See USSG §3B1.1 (Aggravating Role). 

44 See USSG §3B1.2 (Mitigating Role) (offenders who play a part in the offense that makes them substantially 

less culpable than the average participant are entitled to a mitigating role adjustment in their guidelines 

calculation). 

45 See USSG §2D1.2(b)(1). Such a finding is made by the court, and not the jury, and can be based on a lower 

standard of proof than conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). The court may apply this enhancement if the 

weapon was present when the crime was committed. The government is not required to prove that the weapon 

belonged to the offender; however, the enhancement may not be applied if it was “clearly improbable that the 

weapon was connected with the offense.” Id. at comment. (n.11). 

46 In a case in which the offender was subject to a statutory mandatory minimum penalty at sentencing that 

exceeded the applicable guideline range, the guideline sentence under the Guidelines Manual was the penalty 

provided by statute. See USSG §5G1.1. 

47 Offenders convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty may be sentenced without regard 

to that mandatory penalty if they meet one of two conditions. In cases where the offender provides “substantial 

assistance” to the government “in the investigation or prosecution of another” offender, the court is authorized to 

impose a sentence below a level established by statutes. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e); USSG §5K1.1. Further, drug 

offenders who have been convicted of a drug offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty but who meet all 

of the criteria of the “safety valve” provision of federal law are to be sentenced without regard to any statutory 

minimum sentence. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f); USSG §5C1.2. 

48 In some of these cases another mandatory minimum penalty applied and was required to be imposed in 

addition to any other punishment imposed for the offense, which resulted in a minimum guideline sentence in 

excess of 360 months. In one other case, the court imposed a sentence of death on other counts of conviction 

and did not report the sentencing guideline ranges that applied to the counts of conviction on which a life 

sentence was imposed. 

49 Of the 258 possible sentencing ranges on the Sentencing Table used as part of the sentencing guidelines, 

only 21 include life imprisonment as the top of the range, and just six provide for a life sentence as the only 

recommended sentence. 

50 See, e.g., 18 U.S.C. § 924 (providing statutory maximum penalties for firearms offenses of one, five, or ten 

years for most offenses); But see 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(B) (providing for a minimum penalty of life imprisonment 
Life Sentences in the Federal System 

23 

for offenses involving the discharge of a machine gun or destructive device after a prior conviction for the use or 

carrying of a firearm during or in relation to a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime); 18 U.S.C. § 2252 

(providing statutory maximum penalties for child pornography offenses of 10, 20, or 40 years depending on the 

conduct). 

51 See also USSG §5G1.2 (sentencing on multiple courts of conviction). 

52 The Commission assigns a value of 470 months (39 years and two months) to sentences of life imprisonment 

for any statistical analysis in which a term of months is required. See U.S. SENT. COMM’N., 2013 SOURCEBOOK OF 

FEDERAL SENTENCING STATISTICS S-170 (2014). This sentence length is consistent with the average life 

expectancy of federal criminal offenders. Id. 

53 Determined by comparing Commission sentencing records with BOP data on persons incarcerated as of 

December 27, 2014. 

54 In two other cases the offender was convicted of a statute carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of life 

imprisonment, but received relief from that mandatory minimum sentence by providing substantial assistance to 

the government in the investigation or prosecution of another offender. See generally 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e); 

USSG §5K1.1. As a result, the court was authorized to impose a sentence below the statutory minimum 

penalty. In these two cases the court imposed a sentence above 470 months. 

 

55 This was because one or more mandatory minimum penalties under 18 U.S.C. 924(c) applied, requiring a 

mandatory penalty of more than 360 months be imposed consecutively to any other penalty imposed. When 

this mandatory penalty is added to the guideline sentence for the underlying (non-firearm) offense, the resulting 

guideline range in these cases often began at a level well above the statutory minimum penalty. 

56 USSG §5G1.1(a). 

57 Id. at (c). 

58 In many of these cases the bottom end of the guideline range was 500 months or more. This occurred 

because the range incorporated one or more mandatory punishments required under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), which 

must be imposed consecutively to any other term of imprisonment imposed for the offense in which offender 

used, carried, or possessed the firearm. Section 924(c) does not specify any maximum term of imprisonment, 

however, most courts interpret the lack of a specified maximum punishment to imply a maximum penalty of life 

imprisonment. See U.S. Sent. Comm’n., Firearms Primer 9 (2014), available at

http://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/training/primers/2014_Primer_Firearms.pdf. 

 

59 See generally USSG §3E1.1. 

60 For example, in fiscal year 2013, only 5.4% of the offenders who were convicted after a trial received the 

acceptance of responsibility reduction under USSG §3E1.1. Of the offenders who pleaded guilty, almost 98.5% 

received the reduction. 

61 See http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss.htm. 

62 For each calculation, the Commission assumed that the offender would earn the maximum “good time” credit 

on their sentence. See 18 U.S.C. § 3624 (offenders sentenced to a term of imprisonment of more than one year 

may receive credit toward the service of their sentence “of up to 54 days at the end of each year of the 

prisoner’s term of imprisonment,” provided that “the prisoner has displayed exemplary compliance with 

institutional disciplinary regulations.”) Under current law, a small number of offenders with a terminal illness are 

released each year prior to the expiration of their sentence. See 18 U.S.C. 

§ 3582(c)(1)(A). The analysis described in this report does not account for the possibility that some offenders 

would be released under this provision. 

63 See supra note 47. 
United States Sentencing Commission 

24

64 Of course, this trial rate was still appreciably higher than the overall trial rate of 3.1 percent in fiscal year 

2013. As discussed above at notes 59-60 and accompanying text, offenders who are convicted after a trial 

generally are not found to have accepted responsibility for their crimes and so do not receive the acceptance of 

responsibility adjustment to the offense level that applies in the cases under the sentencing guidelines. See 

generally USSG §3E1.1.