Homicide is a federal crime in specific circumstances: when the killing happens on federal property or in federal waters, when the victim is a federal officer or a member of their family, when the act is connected to another federal offense like drug trafficking or bank robbery, when it crosses state or national borders, or when it qualifies as a federal hate crime. Most killings in the United States are prosecuted by state district attorneys under state law. Federal jurisdiction attaches only when one of these federal interests is present, and when it does, the case moves to U.S. district court, federal sentencing guidelines govern the outcome, and the death penalty is available regardless of the law in the state where the killing occurred.
Killings on Federal Land or in Federal Waters
Any homicide inside the “special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States” is a federal offense. That jurisdiction covers more than most people assume. It includes military bases, national parks, federal courthouses, federal prisons, VA hospitals, and other land where the United States holds exclusive or concurrent authority.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 7 – Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction of the United States Defined
The same statute reaches the high seas, U.S.-flagged vessels in international waters, U.S.-registered aircraft over the open ocean, and spacecraft registered to the United States. It even extends to any place outside the jurisdiction of any nation when a U.S. national is involved as either offender or victim.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 7 – Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction of the United States Defined Under 18 U.S.C. § 1111, first-degree murder in this jurisdiction is punishable by death or life imprisonment, and second-degree murder by any term of years up to life.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1111 – Murder
Killings of Federal Officers and Their Families
Killing a federal officer or employee is its own federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1114. The statute protects anyone working in any branch of the federal government, including members of the uniformed services, while they are performing official duties or because of those duties.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1114 – Protection of Officers and Employees of the United States FBI agents, U.S. Marshals, postal workers, IRS agents, federal judges, members of Congress, and anyone assisting a federal officer in their duties fall within its coverage. Penalties match the general federal murder statute.
Protection extends to families. Under 18 U.S.C. § 115, killing or attempting to kill a member of the immediate family of a federal official, judge, or law enforcement officer is federal if the act was intended to intimidate the official, interfere with their duties, or retaliate for something they did in office.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 115 – Influencing, Impeding, or Retaliating Against a Federal Official by Threatening or Injuring a Family Member It also covers families of people who formerly held those roles when the attack is retaliation for past service. Murder under this section is punished under § 1111.
Killings Tied to Another Federal Crime
A homicide committed in the course of another federal offense is pulled into federal jurisdiction along with the underlying crime. This is one of the broadest paths to a federal murder charge.
Bank Robbery
If someone dies during a federal bank robbery, the penalty is death or life imprisonment. The statute reaches killings during the robbery, during an attempted escape, or while resisting arrest.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2113 – Bank Robbery and Incidental Crimes
Drug Trafficking
Murder committed as part of a continuing criminal enterprise or large-scale drug trafficking operation is a federal capital offense under 21 U.S.C. § 848(e). The statute specifically includes drug-related killings of federal, state, or local law enforcement officers, and federal prosecutors regularly use it against leaders of drug organizations who order or carry out killings.
Racketeering and Organized Crime
Murder qualifies as a predicate act under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, allowing federal prosecutors to bring RICO charges when a pattern of racketeering activity includes homicide.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1961 – Definitions A separate statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1959, makes it a federal crime to commit murder for the purpose of gaining or maintaining a position in a racketeering enterprise, punishable by death or life imprisonment.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1959 – Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering Activity This is the charge federal prosecutors use against gang leaders and organized crime figures who order killings to enforce discipline or eliminate rivals.
Murder-for-Hire
Hiring someone to commit murder becomes federal whenever the scheme uses interstate commerce in any way. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1958, crossing state lines, using the mail, placing a phone call, or sending an email in connection with a murder-for-hire plot is enough. If death results, the penalty is death or life imprisonment.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1958 – Use of Interstate Commerce Facilities in the Commission of Murder-for-Hire The interstate commerce hook is easy to satisfy in practice.
Witness Tampering
Killing a witness, victim, or informant to prevent their participation in a federal proceeding is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1512, which also covers attempts and conspiracies.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1512 – Tampering with a Witness, Victim, or an Informant This charge often accompanies other federal charges when prosecutors allege a defendant killed someone to obstruct an ongoing investigation or trial.
Hate Crimes Resulting in Death
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act created federal jurisdiction over certain bias-motivated killings. Under 18 U.S.C. § 249, causing bodily injury or death because of the victim’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin can be prosecuted federally, with a sentence of any term of years or life when death results.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 249 – Hate Crime Acts
When the crime is motivated by the victim’s religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, federal jurisdiction requires an additional interstate commerce connection, such as a firearm that traveled across state lines or conduct that affected commercial activity.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 249 – Hate Crime Acts The statute also requires written certification from the Attorney General that a substantial federal interest exists before prosecution can go forward. The AG must confirm that the state lacks jurisdiction, has requested federal prosecution, failed to adequately vindicate the federal interest, or that federal prosecution is necessary to secure substantial justice.11Congressional Research Service. Department of Justice’s Role in Investigating and Prosecuting Hate Crimes
Killings Across State or National Borders
Interstate and international elements can pull an otherwise state-level homicide into federal court. The clearest example is kidnapping. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1201, kidnapping becomes federal when the victim is transported across state lines, and if death results, the penalty is death or life imprisonment.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1201 – Kidnapping
Murder of a U.S. national in a foreign country is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1119. And as noted above, the murder-for-hire statute captures any killing scheme that uses interstate communication or travel, even when the killing itself happens entirely within one state.
When Both State and Federal Prosecutors Can Charge
A single killing can produce prosecution by both the state and the federal government without violating the Double Jeopardy Clause. The Supreme Court reaffirmed in 2019 that state and federal governments are separate sovereigns with separate laws, and a violation of one sovereign’s law is a different “offence” than a violation of the other’s.13Supreme Court of the United States. Gamble v. United States, 587 U.S. 678 (2019) A defendant acquitted in state court can still face federal charges for the same conduct, and the reverse is also true.
In practice this is uncommon. The Department of Justice follows an internal guideline, the Petite policy, that generally requires senior DOJ approval before bringing federal charges after a state prosecution of the same conduct. It is a discretionary guideline, not a legal bar, and federal prosecutors can pursue a second prosecution when the state result failed to vindicate the federal interest. The scenario has come up most visibly in civil rights cases where a state jury acquitted despite strong evidence of a bias-motivated killing.14Constitution Annotated. Amdt5.3.3 Dual Sovereignty Doctrine
Federal Homicide Penalties
Federal homicide convictions carry some of the harshest sentences in the American criminal system. First-degree murder under § 1111 is punishable by death or life imprisonment, with no option for a lesser sentence. Second-degree murder carries any term of years up to life.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1111 – Murder The federal sentencing guidelines direct that life imprisonment is the appropriate sentence for a premeditated killing whenever the death penalty is not imposed.15United States Sentencing Commission. United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines Manual Chapter 2A-C
The federal death penalty applies across all 50 states and U.S. territories, including in jurisdictions that have abolished capital punishment under their own laws. Roughly 60 federal offenses carry the death penalty, many of them homicide-related.16Death Penalty Information Center. Federal Death Penalty After a moratorium on federal executions ran from 2021 through early 2025, the Department of Justice lifted that moratorium and directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in the most serious cases, with particular emphasis on the murder of law enforcement officers and capital crimes committed on federal land or in Indian Country.17U.S. Department of Justice. Reviving the Federal Death Penalty and Lifting the Moratorium on Federal Executions
No Statute of Limitations
Federal offenses punishable by death have no statute of limitations. An indictment can be returned at any time.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3281 – Capital Offenses Because first-degree murder under federal law carries a potential death sentence, there is no deadline on federal murder charges. Advances in forensic technology, new witness cooperation, or evidence discovered decades later can all support a federal prosecution regardless of how much time has passed.