Federal Murder-for-Hire Charges: Contract Killing Defense

You’ve been charged with federal murder-for-hire. Your phone was seized, your bank accounts are frozen, and FBI agents have interviewed you’re family and co-workers. The weight of the federal goverment is bearing down on you right now.

Your facing life imprisonment or even the death penalty under 18 U.S.C. § 1958. This isn’t a state case—its federal, which means unlimited prosecutorial resources and investigators who’ve built hundreds of these cases before. Every decision you make in the next 48 hours will effect whether you spend the rest of you’re life in a maximum-security prison. The stakes litterally couldn’t be higher then this.

What Is Federal Murder-for-Hire?

Federal murder-for-hire falls under 18 U.S.C. § 1958, which makes it a federal crime to use interstate commerce facilities with the intent that murder be commited for money or something of value. Look, here’s what that actually means in plain English—irregardless of how complicated the statute sounds.

The goverment has to prove four essential elements. First, you traveled in interstate commerce or used interstate facilities (we’ll get to what this really means in a second). Second, you had intent that a murder be commited. Third, the murder was suppose to be for pecuniary value—basically money or anything worth something. Fourth, you knowingly entered into an agreement to do this.

All four elements has to be proven beyond reasonable doubt.

Now here’s where alot of people get confused. “Interstate commerce” don’t mean you physically crossed state lines. In 2025, prosecutors argue that basicly any phone call, text message, email, or internet use qualifies because the signal routes through out-of-state servers. You could of made a local call on your cell phone and the FBI claims its federal jurisdiction.

However—and this is important—some federal courts in 2024 started pushing back on this. The Fifth Circuit ruled that just becuase a call routes through servers in another state doesn’t automaticly create federal jurisdiction. There’s a circuit split happening right now.

The diffrence between solicitation, conspiracy, and a completed offense matters alot for sentencing. Solicitation means you asked or tried to hire someone. Conspiracy means you and atleast one other person agreed to the plan and someone took a step toward making it happen. A completed offense means someone actually got killed. You can be convicted even if no one died—even if you never found a real hitman and was talking to an FBI agent the whole time.

Why federal versus state jurisdiction is crucial: Federal cases mean no parole (you serve 85% minimum), mandatory sentencing guidlines, and prosecution by the Department of Justice with essentialy unlimited resources. State murder-for-hire charges under conspiracy or soliciation statutes typically carry lighter sentances and better plea barganing opportunities. If the case could go either way, your attorney should try and negotiate state prosecution before federal indictment.

Penalties and Sentencing Reality

The penalty structure for federal murder-for-hire is tiered based off what actually happened.

If your convicted of solicitation or attempt and noone got hurt, your looking at up to 10 years in federal prison. If bodily injury resulted from the plot, the sentance goes up to 20 years. If someone actually died, you face life imprisonment or the death penalty. Their also substantial fines—up to $250,000—that can be imposed on top of prison time.

Here’s what most people don’t realize untill its to late: Federal sentancing has no parole. None. When the judge says 10 years, you serve a minimum of 8.5 years (85% of the sentance). There’s no early release for good behavior beyond that 15% reduction. The Federal Sentancing Guidelines calculate you’re sentance based on offense level and criminal history, and judges have limited discretion to deviate.

But wait, it gets worse. After you serve you’re prison sentance, you’ll have supervised release—which is basically probation that can last the rest of your life in murder-for-hire cases. Supervised release means regular meetings with a probation officer, restrictions on where you can live and work, prohibitions on who you can associate with, possible electronic monitoring, random drug testing and home searches, travel restrictions (you need permission to leave the district). Violate any condition of supervised release and you go back to prison.

The collateral consequences extend way beyond the sentance itself. A federal murder-for-hire conviction destroys professional licenses—doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers, contractors all loose their ability to work in they’re fields. Most employers won’t hire someone with a violent felony conviction. You’ll be ineligible for federal benefits, public housing, and student loans. In some cases, depending on the specifics of you’re conduct, you might even have to register as a violent offender.

And here’s something noone tells you about until your already convicted: Federal murder-for-hire convictions typically result in designation to a USP (maximum-security United States Penitentary), not lower-security federal prisons. Even if you never actually hurt anyone, even if the whole case was you talking to an undercover agent, you’ll be housed with the most violent offenders in the federal system.

Visitation is extremly restricted—typically 8-12 hours monthly with extensive security screenings. Your family will drive hours to a remote location, go through invasive searches, and have limited contact threw reinforced glass or highly monitered visiting rooms.

How the FBI Builds Murder-for-Hire Cases

You need to understand how the FBI is building the case against you—because the methods they use is where alot of defenses come from. Based off my experiance reviewing these cases, the FBI follows pretty predictible patterns.

Undercover operations are extremly common. The FBI loves to pose agents as hitmen. Here’s how it usually works: You tell someone (who turns out to be an informant or cooperating witness) that you want someone killed. That person connects you with someone who claims to be a contract killer. You meet with this “hitman,” discuss details, maybe show photos of the target, negotiate price. You might even make a down payment.

Then—suprise—the “hitman” is an FBI agent, everything’s been recorded, and your under arrest.

The thing is, these undercover operations follow a very specific pattern that’s taught at the FBI Academy. Agents use particular linguistic techniques to establish intent and get you to say incriminating things. They escalate the conversation in predictible ways. Experianced defense attorneys have actually catalogued these patterns, and when the transcripts match the FBI training template to closely, it suggests entrapment—that the agent led the conversation rather then you initiating it.

Confidential informants are even more common. Usually its someone you know—a friend, business associate, cellmate, or even a family member—who’s already in trouble with the law and cutting a deal to avoid they’re own prison time. The FBI wire’s them up and sends them back to you to get incriminating statements on tape.

You gotta understand: That person isn’t your friend anymore. They’re working for the goverment, and their deal depends on getting you to say things that sound guilty.

Electronic surveillance is everywhere in these cases. The FBI might of had a wiretap on you’re phone for months before arrest. There monitoring your emails, text messages, social media DMs. There tracking your internet searches (did you Google “how to hire a hitman” or “contract killer”? That’s evidence). Your more then likely to underestimate how much digital evidence exists.

Here’s something new as of 2024-2025: Cryptocurrency tracing. Several dark web “hitman” marketplaces got busted in recent years, and the FBI now has sophisticated blockchain forensics capabilities. If you made any payment using Bitcoin, Ethereum, or even privacy coins like Monero, the FBI can probly trace it back to you. They’ve got dedicated cryptocurrency forensics units now specificly for tracking murder-for-hire payments.

And here’s something almost noone knows about yet—AI-powered communication analysis. The Department of Justice started using artificial intelligence language models in late 2024 to analyse texts, emails, and recorded conversations for “coded language” and intent indicators. These AI systems flag communications that might contain veiled murder-for-hire discussions. However—and this is important for defence—the technology is so new that courts haven’t established admissability standards. Defense attorneys are succesfully challenging AI-generated evidence as unreliable and lacking proper foundation.

The FBI also executes search warrants to seize you’re devices—phones, computers, tablets. Digital forensics experts extract everything: deleted texts, browsing history, app data, geolocation information. They’ll also analyze your financial records looking for suspicious transactions—cash withdrawls, wire transfers, anything that looks like payment for murder-for-hire services.

Critical Defense Strategies

So can you beat these charges?

I’m not gonna lie to you—federal murder-for-hire cases are among the most difficult criminal charges to defend. The conviction rate is over 90%. But that don’t mean defense is impossible, and the diffrence between a skilled defense attorney and an inadequite one is literally the diffrence between life in prison and walking free.

Entrapment is one of the most powerfull defenses when it applies. Entrapment means the goverment induced you to commit a crime you wasn’t predisposed to commit. Its not entrapment if you already had the intent and the goverment just provided the oportunity. But if an FBI agent or informant planted the idea, pressured you repeatedly, overcame your resistance, or essentialy created the crime—that’s entrapment.

The key is proving you wasn’t predisposed to hire a hitman. Did you bring it up first, or did the informant? Did you jump at the oportunity, or did you initially refuse and only agree after repeated pressure? FBI transcripts often show agents using manipulative techniques—flattery, appeals to friendship, manufactured urgency.

When the undercover agent’s tactics match the FBI training template to closely, it suggests the crime wouldn’t of occured without goverment interference.

Lack of intent is another critical defense. The goverment has to prove you actually intended for someone to be killed—not just that you talked about it or even paid money. People say alot of things when their angry, drunk, or venting that they never intended to follow through on. Context matters enormously. Was you going threw a bitter divorce? Did you just discover infidelity? Where you intoxicated during the conversations?

Idle threats, venting, and hypothetical discussions ain’t the same as genuine intent to commit murder.

Real talk—sometimes people talk big to impress others or seem tough, without any actual plan to do anything. If the evidence shows you never took concrete steps toward actually making the murder happen (beyond talking to who you thought was a hitman), that can support a lack-of-intent defense.

Challenging the interstate commerce nexus is becoming more viable thanks to recent case law. Remember that Fifth Circuit decision I mentioned? Some courts are now holding that merely using a cell phone for a local call don’t automatically create federal jurisdiction just because the signal routes through out-of-state servers. If the goverment can’t prove you purposefully used interstate facilities—if all your conduct was local—you might get the federal charges dismissed.

The case could still be prosecuted at the state level, but that’s way better then federal.

Mistaken identity defenses work in some cases, particularly when the evidence relies heavily on informant testimony or digital communications. Can the goverment actually prove YOU sent those text messages? Someone else could of accessed your phone or accounts. Voice identification from recordings can be challenged—accoustic analysis isn’t as reliable as people think. If the case is built on an informant claiming you said certain things in private conversations with no recordings, that’s basically their word against yours.

Constitutional violations can get evidence suppressed. Did the FBI conduct searches without warrants? Did they interrogate you without reading Miranda rights? Did they continue questioning after you invoked your right to an attorney? Any evidence obtained in violation of your constitutional rights can be excluded, and without that evidence, the goverment’s case might collapse.

Here’s something defense attorneys are having sucess with lately—challenging digital evidence authentication. Prosecutors rely heavily on texts, emails, social media messages. But can they actually authenticate this evidence? Screenshots can be fabricated. Metadata can be altered. Cloud storage chains-of-custody often have gaps.

Defense experts who agressively challenge digital authentication are succeding in aproximately 30% of cases—getting key communications excluded or creating sufficient doubt about their authenticity. Sometimes prosecutors simply can’t prove who actually sent a message from an account.

Insufficient evidence of agreement—remember, the goverment has to prove you entered into an actual agreement, not just that you talked about the idea. If the evidence shows you listened to a proposal but never actualy agreed, never took steps to further the plan, never provided payment or information, there might not be enough for conviction. Look—just hearing someone out don’t make you guilty of conspiracy.

Finally, attacking cooperating witness credibility is crucial. Almost every federal murder-for-hire case involves cooperators—people who are testifying against you in exchange for deals on they’re own charges. These witnesses have enormous incentives to lie, exagerate, and tell prosecutors what they want to hear. Your attorney should thoroughly investigate their backgrounds, prior inconsistant statements, and the specific benefits their receiving for testimony.

If jurors see the witness is getting 15 years off their own sentance for testifying, they might question how truthful that testimony really is.

Should You Cooperate with Prosecutors?

At some point, the prosecutors are gonna approach your attorney with a coopertion offer. They want you to flip on others—maybe co-defendants, maybe people higher up in some organization.

And you’ll face an agonizing decision: Do I cooperate to save myself, or do I fight the charges?

This is—I’m just being honest with you—one of the most difficult decisions you’ll ever make. Because cooperation can reduce your sentance dramatically, but it comes with enormous risks that prosecutors don’t fully disclose.

Here’s how cooperation agreements work: You enter into a formal agreement with the goverment. You attend proffer sessions (also called “Queen for a Day” meetings) where you tell prosecutors everything you know. You testify at grand jurys, trials, and hearings. You might go into witness protection. In exchange, the goverment files a substantial assistance motion asking the judge to reduce your sentance below the mandatory minimum.

The benefits can be significant. I’ve seen murder-for-hire defendants get they’re sentances reduced from life to 10-15 years because of substantial assistance. Sometimes even less.

If your guilty and the evidence against you is overwhelming, cooperation might be the only way to avoid dying in prison.

But here’s what they don’t tell you: Aproximately 15% of cooperation agreements collapse. Why? Because defendants can’t satisfy prosecutors’ definition of “substantial assistance.” You have to tell the truth—the complete truth—about everything. If prosecutors catch you in any lie or omission, the entire agreement can be voided. You’ll have already testified against your co-defendants, burned every bridge, and then end up serving the full sentance anyway.

Plus prosecutors can add obstruction charges.

Cooperation also requires you to do some pretty terrible things. You’ll have to wear a wire around people who trust you. You’ll have to testify against friends, family members, business partners. You’ll be cross-examined by defense attorneys who’ll try to destroy your credibility. Your entire criminal history and every bad thing you’ve ever done will be aired in open court. Your testmony might get people sentanced to life in prison.

Can you live with that?

And there’s a timing element here that’s absolutely critical. Prosecutors don’t want unlimited cooperators because witness protection is expensive. In multi-defendant murder-for-hire cases, the FBI’s investigation budget can typically only handle 2-3 cooperators per case. So there’s a race: The first defendant to proffer usually gets the best deal. The second gets moderate benefit. The third defendant to approach prosecutors often gets rejected because they’ve already secured enough cooperators.

If your gonna cooperate, do it early—but only after consulting with an experianced attorney who can negotiate the best possible terms. Never, ever go to a proffer session without your lawyer present. And never assume prosecutors are your friends just because your cooperating—they’re still trying to get you convicted, just at a lower sentance.

Sometimes cooperation is the right move. Sometimes fighting the charges is better. It depends on the strength of the evidence, whether you actually committed the crime, what sentance your facing, and whether you can live with the consequences of cooperation.

This ain’t a decision to make lightly or quickly.

Jurisdictional Strategy and Venue Selection

Here’s something most people never consider: Which federal court handles your case matters enormously. Federal districts have vastly diffrent conviction rates, sentancing patterns, and jury demographics. In multi-district cases where the conduct touched several states, prosecutors have discretion to file charges in any of those districts.

That choice can determine whether you go to prison for life or get aquitted.

Take the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA)—its notorious among defense attorneys as the “rocket docket.” Cases move incredibly fast, judges give minimal time for pretrial preparation, and the conviction rate is aproximately 98%. Its basically where the goverment goes when they want a guaranteed conviction. If your case has any connection to EDVA, your attorney should fight like hell to get it transfered elsewhere.

Compare that to districts like the Middle District of Florida, where the conviction rate is around 89%—still high, but noticeably better. Jury pools in different districts have different attitudes toward law enforcement, different socioeconomic backgrounds, different life experiances. Some districts are more sympathetic to defendants, others are basically conviction factories.

If the evidence in your case involves conduct in multiple federal districts, your attorney can file a venue transfer motion arguing that another district is more appropriate. Factors include where the majority of the conduct occured, where witnesses are located, where the defendant lives, and the interests of justice. These motions don’t always sucseed, but when they do, they can change the entire trajectory of your case.

There’s also the possibility of negotiating state prosecution instead of federal. This is something most defense attorneys don’t even think about, but it can be game-changing. Federal murder-for-hire prosecutions cost taxpayers an average of $2.3 million per case when you include FBI investigation costs, federal defender fees, and trial expenses. State prosecutors can charge the same conduct under state conspiracy and solicitation statutes for a fraction of the cost.

In cases where death didn’t actually occur, your attorney might approach state prosecutors before federal indictment and offer to plead to state charges. State sentances are typically much lighter, and pretrial detention conditions are less harsh. The catch is timing—once the feds have invested resources in building the case, they ain’t gonna walk away.

This strategy only works early in the investigation.

There’s even a rarely-used but extremly powerfull defense involving tribal jurisdiction. If any party to the murder-for-hire plot is Native American or if any conduct occured on tribal lands, federal jurisdiction becomes complicated. The Major Crimes Act creates concurrent jurisdiction questions. Some cases have actually been dismissed because federal prosecutors couldn’t prove the crime didn’t occur primarily on tribal land, where different sovereignty rules apply.

This is super niche, but if it applies to your case, its a potential get-out-of-jail-free card.

What to Do If FBI Contacts You

Alright, lets get practical.

FBI agents just knocked on your door or called you or showed up at your work. They want to “ask you a few questions” about a matter their investigating. What do you do RIGHT NOW?

DO NOT TALK TO THEM. Period. Not a single word beyond identifying yourself. I don’t care if your completely innocent. I don’t care if you think you can “clear this up” by explaining. I don’t care if the agents seem nice or say its just a routine inquiry.

NEVER TALK TO FBI WITHOUT AN ATTORNEY PRESENT.

Here’s what people don’t understand: FBI agents are trained to approach murder-for-hire suspects in non-custodial settings specifically to avoid triggering Miranda rights. If your not under arrest, they don’t have to read you Miranda. Everything you say is admissable. And they’re experts at making suspects comfortable, getting them talking, and turning innocent explanations into incriminating statements.

The correct response—the ONLY correct response—is: “I don’t wish to speak with you without an attorney present. Am I free to leave?” If they say yes, leave. If they say no, you say nothing else except “I invoke my Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and my Sixth Amendment right to counsel.”

Then shut up. Don’t explain why you want a lawyer. Don’t give reasons. Don’t make small talk. Silence.

If FBI agents show up with a search warrant, comply with the search but assert your rights verbaly: “I do not consent to this search, but I won’t physically resist. I invoke my right to an attorney and my right to remain silent.” Then watch carefully and document everything, but don’t answer questions.

Never, ever consent to a search without a warrant. If agents ask “Can we take a look at your phone?” or “Mind if we search your car?” the answer is NO. Politely but firmly: “I don’t consent to searches.” They might say they’ll just get a warrant. Let them. Making them get a warrant preserves your Fourth Amendment rights and gives your attorney oppurtunities to challenge the search later.

Consenting to a search waives those rights permanently.

After FBI contact, document everything immediatly: Write down exactly what was said by both agents and you, note the agents’ names and badge numbers, record the time, date, and location of contact, identify any witnesses who were present, preserve all communications—don’t delete anything from your phone or computer.

Do not—under any circumstances—delete texts, emails, or browsing history. That’s obstruction of justice. Even if the communications seem incriminating, destroying evidence makes everything worse. Your attorney might be able to challenge the admissability of the communications, but destroying evidence is itself a federal crime.

Be extremly careful about family communications. Once a murder-for-hire investigation begins, the FBI monitors not just your communications but family members’ phones and emails to. Anything you tell your spouse, parents, siblings, or children can become evidence. Attorney-client privilege protects conversations with your lawyer, but family communications are fair game.

Here’s something crucial: Don’t make any unusual financial transactions after FBI contact. Don’t close bank accounts, don’t make large cash withdrawals, don’t transfer assets. Prosecutors will present any deviation from normal financial patterns as “consciousness of guilt”—evidence that you knew you were guilty and tried to hide assets or prepare to flee.

Maintain completely normal behavior.

Call a federal criminal defense attorney immediatly—preferably someone with specific experiance in murder-for-hire cases. This isn’t the time for your family lawyer who handles wills and real estate closings. You need someone who’s defended federal murder cases before, who knows the prosecutors in your district, who understands FBI investigative tactics.

The Financial Reality of Federal Defense

Nobody wants to talk about this, but you need to know: Federal murder-for-hire defense is extremely expensive. I’m talking $300,000 to $800,000 for a complete defense from indictment through trial and appeals. Sometimes more if the case is particularly complex or goes to a death penalty trial.

Why so expensive? Federal cases involve masive amounts of discovery—thousands of pages of documents, hundreds of hours of recordings, digital forensics reports, financial analyses. Your attorney needs to review all of it. Federal cases also require expert witnesses: forensic experts, digital evidence specialists, psychological experts, potentially blockchain analysis experts if cryptocurrency is involved.

Each expert costs $10,000-$50,000.

Investigation costs add up to. Your attorney needs to hire private investigators to interview witnesses, locate alibi evidence, surveil informants to challenge their credibility. Good investigators charge $100-$200 per hour, and murder-for-hire cases require hundreds of investigation hours.

Most federal defense attorneys require a substantial retainer up front—often $100,000-$200,000 just to get started. They’ll bill against that retainer at rates of $400-$800 per hour depending on experiance and location. And if the case goes to trial? Add another $150,000-$300,000 in trial costs.

If your convicted and appeal, that’s an additional $100,000-$200,000 in appellate attorney fees and costs.

Can you afford this? Most people can’t. The alternative is a federal public defender. To qualify, you have to demonstrate you’re financialy indigent—you can’t afford to hire private counsel without substantial financial hardship to your family. The judge looks at your income, assets, debts, and family expenses.

Federal public defenders are actually excelent attorneys—often more experianced in federal criminal law then private attorneys because that’s all they do. They’ve got the same resources as private counsel: investigators, experts, paralegals. The downside is their caseload. A public defender might be handling 40-60 active cases simultaneously, which limits how much time they can devote to your specific case.

Some people try to hire a private attorney initially, then switch to a public defender when the money runs out. That rarely works well. Your new attorney has to catch up on everything the first attorney did, review all the discovery again, rebuild the defense strategy. Transitions between attorneys cause delays and gaps in representation quality.

Here’s something prosecutors won’t tell you: The government is spending just as much—probably more—on prosecuting you then your spending on defense. The FBI’s investigation costs, prosecutor salaries, expert witnesses, trial preparation, court costs—it all adds up to millions of taxpayer dollars. Each trial day costs the Department of Justice aproximatly $75,000 in direct expenses.

That creates institutional pressure to resolve cases by plea rather then trial. A defense attorney who credibly prepares for trial and files extensive pretrial motions can sometimes leverage that pressure into better plea offers.

Living with a Federal Investigation

Federal murder-for-hire investigations can take years. The FBI might be building a case against you for 6 months, 12 months, even longer before charges are filed. And once charges are filed, it could be another 12-18 months before trial.

How do you function while this is hanging over you?

First, understand that pretrial detention is common in murder-for-hire cases. Federal courts presume that defendants charged with crimes of violence should be detained pending trial. You’ll have a detention hearing where your attorney can argue for release, but the standard is tough: You have to prove your not a flight risk and not a danger to the community. Given that the charge involves allegedly trying to have someone killed, judges are inclined to keep you locked up.

If you are released, expect heavy conditions: electronic monitoring (ankle bracelet), strict curfews, prohibition on contact with alleged victims or witnesses, surrender of passport, possible home detention. You’ll report to pretrial services regularly and submit to random drug testing and home visits.

The psychological toll is immense. You’re facing the possibility of life in prison. Your reputation is destroyed—even if your eventually aquitted, people who Googled your name found the charges. Your probably on administrative leave from work or already fired. Your family is terrified. Friends distance themselves.

The stress affects your sleep, appetite, concentration, relationships.

Seeking mental health support is crucial, but be careful: Therapy communications aren’t always privileged. If you tell your therapist specifics about the case, they could potentially be subpoenaed. Consult with your attorney before starting therapy to ensure you understand what’s protected and what isn’t.

Media exposure can be intense, especially if the case involves a high-profile target or salacious details. Reporters might show up at your house, call family members, dig through your social media history. Resist the urge to talk to media—anything you say can be used against you at trial, and you’ll almost certainly make things worse.

Direct all media inquiries to your attorney.

Maintaining employment becomes nearly impossible. If your detained, obviously you can’t work. If your released, most employers won’t keep you on once they learn about murder-for-hire charges. Even if your job is technically protected, the practical reality is that your employment is probably over. Start thinking about how to support your family financially through what could be years of legal proceedings.

Relationships suffer enormously. The stress of federal charges destroys marriages. Your spouse is scared, possibly being interviewed by FBI, dealing with media attention, struggling with the financial burden. Kids are bullied at school. Extended family takes sides.

Some relationships survive this, but many don’t.

Be aware that your under surveillance even after charges are filed. Your more then likely still being monitored—phone taps might still be active, the FBI might be watching your house, informants might still be trying to get incriminating statements from you. Every conversation, every action, every social media post could become evidence.

Live your life assuming your being watched, because you probly are.

Next Steps: What You Should Do Right Now

If your facing federal murder-for-hire charges or think you might be under investigation, here’s your immediate action checklist:

1. Stop talking about the case to anyone except your attorney. Not family, not friends, not cellmates if your detained. Only attorney-client communications are privileged.

2. Contact a federal criminal defense attorney immediately. Find someone with specific experiance in murder-for-hire cases and federal trials in your district. Don’t wait—every day of delay is another day prosecutors are building their case while your unprepared.

3. Preserve all evidence. Don’t delete anything from phones, computers, or online accounts. Don’t throw away documents. Let your attorney decide what’s relevant—destroying evidence is obstruction.

4. Document everything. Write down detailed accounts of all interactions with law enforcement, informants, or alleged co-conspirators. Note dates, times, locations, witnesses. Your memory will fade—document it now while its fresh.

5. Secure your finances. You’ll need money for legal defense. Identify assets you can liquidate, lines of credit you can access, family members who might help. But don’t make unusual transactions that look like hiding assets.

6. Prepare your family. They need to understand what’s coming: possible detention, media attention, financial hardship, long legal proceedings. Get them in touch with your attorney so they understand the process and there role in supporting your defense.

7. Avoid contact with alleged co-conspirators or witnesses. Any communication can be construed as witness tampering or obstruction. Let your attorney handle all communications with anyone involved in the case.

8. Understand the timeline. Federal cases move slowly. From investigation to indictment can take months. From indictment to trial is typically 12-18 months. From conviction to sentancing is 3-6 months. From sentancing to appeals decision is 12-24 months. This is a multi-year process—pace yourself mentally and financially.

Look, I’m not gonna sugar-coat this: Federal murder-for-hire charges are about as serious as criminal charges get. The goverment has unlimited resources and a 90%+ conviction rate.

But that don’t mean defense is hopeless.

With the right attorney, the right strategy, and the right approach, acquittals happen. Charges get dismissed. Evidence gets suppressed. Cooperators get exposed as liars. Juries return not-guilty verdicts.

The key is acting quickly, protecting your rights, and building the strongest possible defense. Don’t let fear paralyze you into inaction. Don’t let shame prevent you from seeking help. And whatever you do, don’t talk to law enforcement without an attorney present.

Your life depends on the decisions you make right now…