Felony Sentences in the United States, 1992

• NCJ Number: 153257
• Date Published: May 1996
• Length: 11 pages
• Author(s): P A Langan
• Agencies: BJS
• Publication Series: BJS Bulletins
• Publication Type: Survey

Annotation

Statistics on felony sentences in 1992 revealed that Federal courts convicted 41,673 persons of violent, property, drug, and other felony offenses, while State courts convicted 893,630 person.

Abstract

Between 1990 and 1992 the number of felony convictions increased 8 percent in State courts and 14 percent in Federal courts. In 1992 the State and Federal courts together imposed prison sentences on 45 percent of all offenders convicted of felonies. Federal courts sentences 59 percent of felons to prison; State courts sentenced 44 percent of felons to prison. State and Federal courts together sentenced 60 percent of the 168,000 felons convicted of violent crime to prison. The average prison sentence for both State and Federal courts was about 6.5 years. Before release from prison in 1992, Federal felons had served an average of 76 percent of their sentence and State felons had served 43 percent. Tables