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Notes and Documentation: Cover page | Topical Index

Relative Severity of Federal Offenses

Compiled by Marshall Burns, Ph.D.

Additional background for Throwing Away the Key

The US federal courts use a comprehensive set of rules, called sentencing guidelines, to promote uniformity in the sentences imposed by different judges. The following table provides a side-by-side comparison of the guidelines for a selection of crimes. This allows a ready measure of the deemed relative severity of the given crimes in the eyes of the federal government.

The table below provides a side-by-side comparison of US federal sentencing guidelines for a selection of crimes. The table shows that:

  • Any actual or intended sex act with a child under 12, with consent, is an offense level 38, equivalent for sentencing purposes to murder, kidnapping for ransom, or selling 30 tons of marijuana.
  • Taking a picture of a 16- or 17-year-old boy with an erection is an offense level 32, equivalent for sentencing purposes to kidnapping or to selling a ton of marijuana, and five levels worse than attempted murder.
  • Possessing any child pornography is an offense level 18, equivalent for sentencing purposes to reckless manslaughter, which means killing someone accidentally, and one level worse than injuring someone with a deadly weapon.

For more detailed comparison of how the federal sentencing guidelines treat physical and sexual abuse of a child, see Throwing Away the Key.

US Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Selected Offenses
Offense LevelGuideline Sentence
(no criminal record)		§2A1§2A2§2A3§2A4§2D1§2G1§2G2§2G3§2H4
HomicideAssaultSexual AbuseKidnappingDrug TraffickingProhibited Sexual ConductChild PornObscenitySlavery
ConsentNo consentHeroinCocaineMarijuanaOther Factors
[§2D1.1(a)(3), (c)]
43Life Premeditated murder [§2A1.1(a)]         Causing death, w prior criminal record [§2D1.1(a)(1)]     
4230 yr - Life               
4127-34 yr               
4024-30 yr               
3922-27 yr               
3820-24 yr Murder [§2A1.2(a)]   Actual or intended sex act w under-12 [§2A3.1(a)(1)] Forced sex act w under-16 and 4 yrs younger [§2A3.1(a)(1)] Kidnapping for ransom or w sexual exploitation [§2A4.1(b)(1), (b)(5)] 30 kg 150 kg 30,000 kg Causing death [§2D1.1(a)(2)]   Sell or buy minor for use in porn [§2G2.3]   
3718-22 yr               
3616-20 yr      Kidnapping w permanent injury [§2A4.1(b)(2)(A)] 10 kg 50 kg 10,000 kg   Commercial sex w under-12 [§2G1.3(b)(5)] Make porn w under-12 [§2G2.1(b)(1)(A)]   
3514-18 yr             Child exploitation enterprise (undefined) [§2G2.6]   
3413-16 yr     Forced sexual abuse [§2A3.1(b)(1)] Kidnapping w serious injury or w deadly weapon or for > 30 dys [§2A4.1(b)(2)(B), (b)(3), (b)(4)(A)] 3 kg 15 kg 3,000 kg   Commercial sex by force or w under-14 [§2G1.1(a)(1), 2G1.3(a)(1)] Make porn w under-16 or make child porn w sex act [§2G2.1(b)(1)(B), (b)(2)(A)]   
3311-14 yr Conspiracy or solicitation to commit murder [§2A1.5(a)] Attempted premeditated murder [§2A2.1(a)(1)]             
3210-13 yr    Sex act w under-16 [§2A3.1(b)(2)(B)]   Kidnapping [§2A4.1(a)] 1 kg 5 kg 1,000 kg   Noncommercial sex w under-12 [§2G1.3(b)(5)] Make child porn [§2G2.1(a)]   
319-11 yr               
308-10 yr    Sexual abuse [§2A3.1(a)(2)]    700 gm 3.5 kg 700 kg   Commercial sex w under-18 [§2G1.3(a)(2)]    
297-9 yr Voluntary manslaughter [§2A1.3(a)]              
287-8 yr       400 gm 2 kg 400 kg      
276-7 yr   Attempted murder [§2A2.1(a)(2)]             
265-7 yr       100 gm 500 gm 100 kg      
255-6 yr               
2451-63 mo       80 gm 400 gm 80 kg   Prohibited sexual conduct w minor [§2G1.3(a)(4)]    
2346-57 mo               
2241-51 mo Vehicular manslaughter [§2A1.4(a)(2)(B)]      60 gm 300 gm 60 kg    Possess child porn, 300 images or showing violence [§2G2.2(a)(1), (b)(4), (b)(7)(C)]   Slavery [§2H4.1(a)(1)]
2137-46 mo   Weapon assault w permanent injury [§2A2.2(b)(3)(C)]             
2033-41 mo     Abusive sexual contact by force [§2A3.4(a)(1)]   40 gm 200 gm 40 kg    Possess prepubescent child porn [§2G2.2(a)(1), (b)(2)]   
1930-37 mo   Weapon assault w serious injury or w gun shot [§2A2.2(b)(3)(B), (b)(2)(A)]             
1827-33 mo Reckless manslaughter [§2A1.4(a)(2)(A)]   Sex abuse of under-16 [§2A3.2]    20 gm 100 gm 20 kg   Commercial sex by fraud [§2G1.1(b)(1)] Possess child porn [§2G2.2(a)(1)]   
1724-30 mo   Weapon assault w injury [§2A2.2(b)(3)(A)]             
1621-27 mo     Abusive sexual contact by threat or w someone incapacitated [§2A3.4(a)(2)]   10 gm 50 gm 10 kg      
1518-24 mo               
1415-21 mo   Assault w deadly weapon [§2A2.2(a)]     5 gm 25 gm 5 kg   Prohibited sexual conduct [§2G1.1(a)(2)]    
1312-18 mo               
1210-16 mo Negligent manslaughter [§2A1.4(a)(1)]   Abusive sexual contact [§2A3.4(a)(3)]    < 5 gm < 25 gm 2.5 kg     Obscene broadcast [§2G3.2]  
118-14 mo               
106-12 mo         1 kg     Transfer obscene matter [§2G3.1]  
94-10 mo               
80-6 mo         250 gm      
70-6 mo   Assault w physical contact or w threat of deadly weapon [§2A2.3(a)(1)]             
60-6 mo         < 250 gm      
50-6 mo               
40-6 mo   Minor assault [§2A2.3(a)(2)]             
Source: Guidelines Manual, United States Sentencing Commission, 2007 edition, Chapter 2, Offense Conduct, and Chapter 5A, Sentencing Table

Note:
  • The Sentencing Table gives guideline sentences in months. These have been rounded here to the nearest years for offense levels 25 and higher.
  • The guideline sentences shown above are those for a defendant with no criminal record. The Sentencing Table provides for progressively longer guideline sentences for greater criminal history.
  • The offense level shown in this table for an offense is either the base offense level or an adjusted level based on specific offense characteristics, as indicated, in either case for a single count of the offense. Adjusted offense levels are highly approximate. The actual offense level applicable to a particular crime depends on a large number of factors, including circumstances of the crime, victim(s), defendant’s role, defendant’s obstruction of justice, multiple counts, and defendant’s acceptance of responsibility. (See §1B1.1, Application Instructions.)
  • The guideline sentences shown are periods of imprisonment, which represent one potential aspect of sentencing. Complete sentencing may include some combination of probation, imprisonment, supervision conditions, fines, and restitution. (See §1B1.1, Application Instructions.)
  • Terminology used in this table may be verbatim from the Manual, or it may be paraphrased for brevity. As such, this table is an interpretation of the Manual, not an authoritative representation of it.

This page copyright © 2007–2008, Marshall Burns. All rights reserved.

Notes and Documentation: Cover page | Topical Index
This page is part of a proposal to ReformSexOffenderLaws.org. This is not an official part of that website yet.
 

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