SentenceCalc

Murder for Hire Sentence Calculator

This page covers cases where a person hired someone, or agreed to be hired, to kill a person. Federal sentences for murder for hire are calculated under §2E1.4 of the Sentencing Guidelines. Answer the questions below to see the range for a specific case.

Verified Checked against the manual text in at least five AI-assisted review rounds. Not yet reviewed by an attorney. Guidelines Manual effective November 1, 2025Updated October 4, 2026

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Starting level and typical ranges

The starting level for this offense depends on another offense: offense level of the underlying conduct. Work out the level for the killing or planned killing itself. If no one was killed and no attempt on anyone's life was made (for example the “hit man” was an undercover agent), that is usually the conspiracy or solicitation to murder guideline (§2A1.5): level 33, plus 4 because payment was offered or received, for 37. If there was an attempted murder, use the attempted murder guideline (§2A2.1). If someone was killed, use the murder guideline (§2A1.1, level 43). The level here is never lower than 32. Use the calculator above and enter that level when asked.

Important details

  • The level is the greater of 32 or the level for the underlying conduct (§2E1.4(a)).
  • The offense does not require that a murder actually happened (§2E1.4, background).
  • If the underlying conduct was a state crime, the level for the most similar federal crime is used (§2E1.4, note 1).
  • Because the offense does not require a killing (§2E1.4, background), no attempt or conspiracy reduction is taken when the murder was planned but never carried out. When the underlying conduct is a conspiracy or solicitation to murder, its level comes from §2A1.5, which §2X1.1, note 1 lists as expressly covering conspiracies and solicitations.
  • The calculator does not apply mandatory minimum sentences set by statute for this offense. If the statute of conviction requires one and it is higher than the range shown, the minimum controls; check the statute or ask a lawyer.

Frequently asked questions

Is the calculator accurate for murder for hire?

It follows §2E1.4 of the Guidelines Manual effective November 1, 2025. It passed 7 review rounds, each comparing every number, rule and label with the manual text, and its last round found nothing to correct. Those reviews were done with AI tools, not by lawyers, and it has not yet been reviewed by an attorney, so mistakes are possible. The guidelines are advisory, and a lawyer who knows the case can tell you what actually applies.