A violent crime is any offense in which someone uses, attempts, or threatens physical force against another person. Federal law locates that definition in 18 U.S.C. § 16, and the FBI tracks four specific offenses under the heading of violent crime: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The label matters because it changes everything downstream — the charges a prosecutor can bring, the sentence a judge can impose, and the consequences that attach long after a prison term ends.
What Counts as a Violent Crime
Under 18 U.S.C. § 16, an offense qualifies as a crime of violence if it has, as an element, the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against a person or their property.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 16 – Crime of Violence Defined That definition does real work across the federal code: it triggers sentence enhancements, controls immigration consequences, and determines whether repeat-offender provisions apply.
The statute used to have a second prong. Section 16(b) swept in any felony that “by its nature” involved a substantial risk that physical force would be used during the offense. In 2018, the Supreme Court struck down that language as unconstitutionally vague in Sessions v. Dimaya, finding that asking judges to imagine an “ordinary case” of a crime and assess its risk gave them no reliable way to draw lines.2Supreme Court of the United States. Sessions v. Dimaya, 584 U.S. 148 (2018) Only Section 16(a) remains in force. Today, physical force must be baked into the elements of the offense itself; a general risk that force might be used isn’t enough.
For statistical purposes, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program recognizes exactly four violent offenses: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.3Federal Bureau of Investigation. Violent Crime An offense that falls outside those four categories may still be treated as violent under state law or under § 16, but it won’t appear in the FBI’s headline numbers.
The Main Offenses
Murder and the Felony Murder Rule
Federal law defines murder as the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought. First-degree murder includes any killing that is willful, deliberate, and premeditated. It also includes any killing committed during arson, kidnapping, robbery, burglary, aggravated sexual abuse, child abuse, espionage, sabotage, or treason.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1111 – Murder That second category is the felony murder rule: if someone dies during one of those listed felonies, the person committing the underlying crime can be charged with first-degree murder without any intent to kill.
Everything that doesn’t fit the first-degree criteria falls into second-degree murder. First-degree murder in federal jurisdiction carries death or life imprisonment; second-degree murder carries any term of years up to life.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1111 – Murder Manslaughter — killings resulting from recklessness or intense provocation rather than premeditation — carries lighter sentences.
Sexual Assault
Forcible rape and other sexual assaults are defined by the absence of consent combined with force, threat of force, or incapacitation. Prosecution typically requires evidence of one of those elements. Federal sexual abuse charges under Chapter 109A of Title 18 can reach life imprisonment in the most aggravated cases.
Aggravated Assault
Aggravated assault happens when someone attempts to cause serious bodily injury, or does cause such injury intentionally or recklessly. What separates simple from aggravated assault is the severity of the injury and whether a deadly weapon was involved. A shove that leaves a bruise is generally a misdemeanor. Once a weapon enters the picture, or the victim suffers broken bones, internal injuries, or permanent disfigurement, the charge escalates to a felony. That’s where most assault cases see the biggest jump in potential prison time.
Robbery
Robbery combines theft with violence: taking property from a person through force or intimidation. Unlike shoplifting, robbery requires the victim to be present and subjected to a physical threat. That confrontation is what makes it violent. Federal robbery sentences average 76 months without a firearm. When a defendant is also convicted under the federal firearm enhancement statute, the average jumps to 162 months.5United States Sentencing Commission. Robbery Offenses
Kidnapping
Kidnapping involves seizing, confining, or moving a person against their will through force or intimidation. Prosecutors must show physical restraint or transport accomplished through coercion. Kidnapping committed for ransom, during another felony, or across state lines triggers federal jurisdiction and carries potential life sentences.
Federal Hate Crimes
Under 18 U.S.C. § 249, a violent act becomes a federal hate crime when the defendant intentionally causes or attempts to cause bodily injury because of the victim’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. The base penalty is up to 10 years. If death results, or if the offense involves kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, the sentence can be any term of years or life.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 249 – Hate Crime Acts Federal prosecution requires a certification from the Attorney General that the state lacks jurisdiction, has requested federal involvement, or that federal charges are necessary for substantial justice. Most bias-motivated assaults are still handled at the state level.
How Sentences Are Built
Violent crime convictions produce substantial prison time. Lower-level felonies may carry one to five years.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3559 – Sentencing Classification of Offenses Serious violent felonies like armed robbery and homicide regularly produce ten years to life. Fines often accompany prison time, and courts can order restitution paid directly to victims for medical expenses, lost wages, and other measurable losses.
Firearm Enhancements
Using a firearm during a violent crime triggers mandatory additional prison time under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), stacked on top of whatever the underlying crime carries:
- Possessing or carrying a firearm: 5 additional years minimum
- Brandishing a firearm: 7 additional years minimum
- Discharging a firearm: 10 additional years minimum
These enhancements run consecutively, not concurrently. They start after the base sentence finishes.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties In federal robbery cases, more than half of defendants with a § 924(c) conviction received the 7-year brandishing minimum.5United States Sentencing Commission. Robbery Offenses
The Federal Three Strikes Rule
Under 18 U.S.C. § 3559(c), a defendant convicted of a “serious violent felony” faces mandatory life imprisonment if they have two prior convictions for serious violent felonies, or one such conviction plus a serious drug offense. Each prior must have been committed after the preceding one became final; the law requires a sequential pattern, not just a history of charges.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3559 – Sentencing Classification of Offenses Qualifying offenses include murder, manslaughter (other than involuntary), kidnapping, robbery, carjacking, extortion, arson, and aggravated sexual abuse, along with any federal or state offense carrying a maximum of 10 or more years that has force as an element. A robbery that involved no weapon and caused no serious injury can be excluded as a predicate if the defendant proves that by clear and convincing evidence.
Federal vs. State Prosecution
Most violent crimes are prosecuted at the state level. Federal jurisdiction applies in specific circumstances: crimes committed on federal land, violent acts that cross state lines, offenses against federal officers, and crimes that reach into the interstate commerce system. Bank robberies and kidnappings across state borders are classic examples. The federal government also has jurisdiction over violent crimes committed in Indian country under the Major Crimes Act, which covers murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, robbery, burglary, arson, and felony assault when committed by a tribal member.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1153 – Offenses Committed Within Indian Country Federal cases often come with different procedural rules and mandatory minimums that state systems may not have.
Common Defenses
Self-Defense
Self-defense is the most common justification raised. The core requirements are consistent across jurisdictions: the defendant must have faced an imminent threat of unlawful physical harm, used only proportional force in response, and genuinely and reasonably believed the force was necessary. Many states impose a duty to retreat before using deadly force, meaning you must try to escape if safely possible. A significant number of states have enacted stand-your-ground laws that eliminate that duty, at least in certain locations like the home or workplace. Defense of another person follows the same logic: the person being protected must have had a right to self-defense in their own right, and you cannot use more force than they would have been entitled to use.
Duress
Duress applies when someone commits a violent act because another person threatened them with immediate death or serious injury, and a reasonable person in the same position would have acted the same way. The threat must have been immediate, there must have been no reasonable opportunity to escape, and the defendant must not have been at fault for being in the situation. Duress is generally unavailable as a complete defense to murder, though some jurisdictions allow it to reduce the charge to manslaughter.
Necessity
Necessity is narrower. The pressure comes from circumstances rather than from another person’s threats, and the defendant chose the lesser of two harms. Courts rarely accept necessity as a defense to serious violent crimes.
Life After a Violent Felony Conviction
The prison sentence is only the beginning. A violent felony conviction generates consequences that follow a person for decades.
Firearms Ban
Federal law permanently bars anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing firearms or ammunition.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts That applies to every violent felony conviction, federal or state. Violating the ban is a separate federal felony.
Immigration Consequences
For non-citizens, a crime of violence conviction carrying a sentence of at least one year is classified as an “aggravated felony” under immigration law.11Legal Information Institute (Cornell Law School). 8 USC 1101 – Definitions An aggravated felony conviction makes a non-citizen deportable, and deportation is mandatory. Immigration judges have almost no discretion to grant relief.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens This applies regardless of how long the person has lived in the United States.
Employment and Housing
Violent felony convictions appear on background checks and can disqualify applicants from many jobs, professional licenses, and housing opportunities. Some jurisdictions have adopted ban-the-box laws that delay when employers can ask about criminal history, but a violent felony conviction remains a serious barrier to reentry even where those protections exist.
What Victims Can Do
Under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, victims of federal crimes have ten statutory rights, including the right to be protected from the accused, to receive timely notice of court proceedings, to be present at those proceedings, and to be heard at sentencing.13GovInfo. 18 USC 3771 – Crime Victims’ Rights Victims also have a right to full and timely restitution. If any of these rights are denied, the victim can file a motion to reopen the plea or sentence, though a violation does not entitle the defendant to a new trial.
State victim compensation programs, funded in part by the federal Victims of Crime Act, cover medical expenses, lost wages, and funeral costs for victims of violent crime. Maximum payouts typically range from $15,000 to $70,000 per incident depending on the state. These programs generally do not cover property damage.
Victims can also pursue civil lawsuits against the person who harmed them, regardless of what happens in the criminal case. A criminal acquittal does not block a civil suit because the two use different standards of proof. Criminal conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt; a civil plaintiff only needs to show liability by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning it is more likely than not that the defendant caused the harm. That lower bar is why victims sometimes win civil judgments even after a not-guilty verdict. Civil remedies can include compensation for medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and in some cases punitive damages. Filing deadlines for civil suits vary by state and are generally shorter than criminal statutes of limitations, so victims who intend to sue should consult an attorney promptly.
Time Limits to Prosecute
For any federal crime punishable by death, including first-degree murder, there is no statute of limitations. An indictment can be returned at any time.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3281 – Capital Offenses Most other federal offenses carry a five-year window. Arson and explosives crimes get 10 years. Terrorism-related violent crimes get eight. For offenses involving sexual or physical abuse of a child under 18, there is no statute of limitations during the child’s lifetime, or 10 years after the offense, whichever is longer.
State time limits for violent crimes vary significantly. Many states have eliminated time limits for murder entirely, and a growing number have extended or removed them for sexual assault. If you are a victim, do not assume you have run out of time to report without checking the rules in your jurisdiction.