An attempted murder conviction generally carries anywhere from about 5 years to life in prison. How many years you get for attempted murder depends mostly on whether the charge is first or second degree, the state you’re in, whether a firearm was involved, your prior record, and whether the case goes to trial or resolves in a plea. Federal charges are narrower but can also reach life when the target is a protected official.
First Degree vs. Second Degree
The degree of the charge is the single biggest factor in the sentence.
First-degree attempted murder requires premeditation, meaning evidence that the defendant planned the killing rather than acting on impulse. Sentences commonly run from 20 years to life. Where life is imposed, many states allow parole eligibility after a minimum stretch, often somewhere between 15 and 25 years, though the exact minimum varies widely.
Second-degree attempted murder covers an intentional attempt to kill made without advance planning, a sudden decision in the heat of the moment. Sentences typically fall between 5 and 20 years. Some states narrow that band; others give judges broader discretion inside it.
These are starting points. What a judge actually imposes turns on aggravating and mitigating factors, mandatory minimums, and how the case was resolved.
Federal Attempted Murder Sentences
Attempted murder is rarely a federal case. The general federal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1113, only reaches conduct within the “special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States,” which covers federal property such as military bases, national parks, and federal buildings, along with U.S. vessels and aircraft and the high seas. It does not cover ordinary crimes that happen to cross state lines. A conviction under this statute carries up to 20 years in prison.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1113 – Attempt to Commit Murder or Manslaughter2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 7 – Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction of the United States Defined
Separate federal statutes hit far harder for attempts on specific officials. An attempt to assassinate the President, Vice President, or certain other senior officials carries any term of years up to life.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1751 – Presidential and Presidential Staff Assassination, Kidnapping, and Assault Similar penalties apply to attempts on members of Congress and Supreme Court Justices under 18 U.S.C. § 351.
What Pushes the Sentence Up
Within any range, specific circumstances move the number higher. Some are discretionary; others trigger mandatory add-ons that a judge cannot waive.
Firearm Use
Using a gun is the most common and most consequential enhancer. In federal cases, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) imposes mandatory consecutive prison terms on top of the sentence for the underlying crime: 5 years for carrying or possessing a firearm during the offense, 7 years for brandishing it, and 10 years for firing it. These terms cannot run at the same time as the attempted murder sentence. They stack.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties Most states have their own firearm enhancement statutes that add anywhere from 3 to 20 years depending on the jurisdiction and conduct.
Hate Crime Motivation
When an attempted murder is motivated by bias against the victim’s race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, federal law reaches much higher. Under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a bias-motivated attempt to kill carries any term of years up to life in prison.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 249 – Hate Crime Acts State hate-crime enhancements add additional years in most jurisdictions.
Victim, Injuries, and Prior Record
Targeting a law enforcement officer, a child, an elderly person, or another vulnerable victim is treated more seriously in nearly every jurisdiction, often through enhanced ranges or mandatory minimums. Causing permanent, disabling, or life-threatening injuries drives sentences up even when the victim survives. A prior record of violent offenses adds substantial time, and under federal law a defendant with two or more prior serious violent felonies faces mandatory life imprisonment under the “three strikes” provision of 18 U.S.C. § 3559(c). Many states have their own habitual offender or three-strikes laws with similar effects. Even beyond what premeditation already requires, evidence of stalking or surveillance can push a first-degree sentence toward the top of the range.
What Pulls the Sentence Down
Mitigating factors don’t excuse the crime, but they can bring the sentence closer to the bottom of the range.
- No prior criminal record. A defendant with no history of violence is less likely to receive the maximum, since judges may read the act as out of character.
- Youth. Younger defendants, particularly those under 25, may receive shorter sentences, as courts increasingly recognize that impulse control and judgment aren’t fully developed until the mid-twenties.
- Extreme provocation. Acting in response to extreme provocation isn’t a legal defense, but it can shorten a sentence, and in some cases it undermines premeditation enough to reduce a first-degree charge to second.
- Minor role. When multiple people are involved, someone who drove the car rather than pulled the trigger faces a lower sentence than the primary actor.
- Post-offense conduct. Genuine remorse, cooperation with law enforcement, or attempts to help the victim after the failed attempt can shape how the judge sees the defendant.
How Plea Bargains Change the Number
The ranges above assume a conviction at trial, but most attempted murder cases resolve through plea bargains. That’s where the gap between what the law allows and what actually happens gets large.
In a typical negotiation, the prosecution reduces the charge in exchange for a guilty plea. Attempted murder is frequently pleaded down to aggravated assault, assault with a deadly weapon, or from first-degree attempted murder to second. A defendant facing 20-to-life on a first-degree charge, for example, might plead to aggravated assault and receive a sentence somewhere between 5 and 15 years.
How much leverage the defense has depends on the strength of the evidence, especially the evidence of intent to kill, which is the hardest element for prosecutors to prove. When intent evidence is shaky, with no weapon aimed at a vital area, no statements about wanting the victim dead, or ambiguous circumstances, prosecutors are more willing to offer a reduction. When the evidence is overwhelming, with a planned attack, a confession, or eyewitness testimony, the offer is less generous.
Time Served vs. Sentence Imposed
A 20-year sentence is not always 20 years behind bars. How much of the sentence a defendant actually serves depends on the state’s parole and good-time credit rules, and the variation is enormous.
Since the mid-1990s, the federal government has pushed states toward “truth in sentencing” laws requiring violent offenders to serve at least 85% of their sentence before release eligibility. Before these laws, violent offenders released from state prison had served roughly half their sentence on average.6Bureau of Justice Statistics. Truth in Sentencing in State Prisons The percentage requirement varies by state, running from 50% to 100%, though 85% is the most common threshold among states that adopted these laws.
For a life sentence with the possibility of parole, the minimum time before a parole hearing is set by state law and typically falls between 15 and 30 years. Eligibility is not the same as release. Many defendants serve well beyond the minimum before a parole board approves them, and some are never released. Federal sentences carry no parole, which was abolished in 1987, though federal inmates can earn a small reduction for good behavior.
When a Sentence May Not Apply at All
One defense unique to attempt crimes is voluntary abandonment, sometimes called renunciation. A defendant who freely chose to abandon the plan to kill before completing it, not because they got scared of being caught, not because the victim fought back, not because they decided to try again later, may be acquitted.
The bar is high. Abandonment must be both voluntary and complete. Stopping because a police car drove by is not voluntary. Deciding to target a different victim instead is not complete. The defendant carries the burden of proof, typically by a preponderance of the evidence. Successful abandonment defenses are rare in attempted murder cases, because by the time charges are filed the defendant has usually already taken enough action, such as firing a weapon or stabbing the victim, that the crime is essentially complete regardless of any change of heart.