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1 Patrick A. Langan & Jodi M. Brown, Felony Sentences in State Courts, 1994 1 (1994)

handle is hein.death/fsstc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin January 1997, NCJ-163391 Felony Sentences in State Courts, 1994 By Patrick A. Langan, Ph.D. and Jodi M. Brown BJS Statisticians In 1994 State courts convicted over 870,000 adults of a felony. Forty-five percent of convicted felons were sen- tenced to a State prison, and 26% were sentenced to a local jail (usually for a year or less). The remaining 29% were sentenced to straight probation with no jail or prison time to serve. These findings come from a survey that is done every 2 years and that provides the only detailed description of the sentences felons receive in State courts nationwide. National Judicial Reporting Program The National Judicial Reporting Program (NJRP) compiles detailed information on the sentences and characteristics of convicted felons. Previous surveys of felony sentencing in State courts were conducted in 1986,1988,1990, and 1992.1 'See Felony Sentences in State Courts, 1986, NCJ-1 15210, February 1989; Felony Sentences in State Courts, 1988, NCJ-126923, December 1990; Felony Sentences In State Courts, 1990, NCJ-1 40186, March 1993; and Felony Sentences In State Courts, 1992, NCJ-151167, January 1995. Highlights * State courts convicted 872,217 adults of a felony in 1994. 0 The decline in the number of con- victions from 1992 (893,630 convic- tions) to 1994 (872,217 convictions) reverses the upward trend after 1988. * In 1994 the average time from ar- rest to sentencing was just under 6/2 months, indicating that despite the increased volume of work, courts ac- tually processed cases a little faster in 1994 (872,217 cases) than they did in 1988 (667,366 cases), when the typical convicted felon was sen- tenced 7 months after arrest. e The proportion of felons sentenced to incarceration or probation in 1994 was generally unchanged from 1988. Prison sentences accounted for just under half of felony sentences in both years. * Drug traffickers (19%) and drug possessors (12.5%) together made up 31.4% of felons convicted in State courts in 1994. Violent offenders - consisting of murderers (1.4%), rap- ists (2.3%), robbers (5.3%), assault- ers (7.5%), and others convicted of a violent crime (2.4%) - made up 18.9%. Burglars (11.2%) and larce- nists (13%) made up most of the rest. 0 State courts sentenced 45% of convicted felons to a State prison, 26% to a local jail, and 29% to straight probation with no jail or prison time to serve. * Felons sentenced to a State prison in 1994 had an average sentence of 6 years but were likely to serve roughly a third of that sentence - or about 2 years - before release, assuming that 1994 release policies continue in effect. * The average sentence to local jail was 6 months. The average proba- tion sentence was just over 3 years. In addition, a fine was imposed on 21% of convicted felons, restitution on 18%, community service on 7%, and treatment was ordered for 7%. * Of the total number of convicted felons in 1994, 89% had pleaded guilty to their crime. The remaining 11% had been found guilty at trial. @ Nationally, of the felons convicted in 1994, 51% were white, 48% were black, and 1% were of other races.

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