From: [b--r--u] at [wam.umd.edu] (Deborah Kay Barreau) Newsgroups: misc.legal Subject: Felony Sentences in State Courts, 1990 (BJS Bulletin - LONG message) Date: 4 Apr 1993 14:04:38 -0500 U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin Felony Sentences in State Courts, 1990 March 1993 NCJ140186 Full text with tables available from: BJS Justice Statistics Clearinghouse 18007323277 Box 6000 Rockville, MD 10850 The 1990 National Judicial Reporting Program (NJRP), a biennial collection of sentencing data from a sample of felony trial courts in 300 counties, is designed to provide national estimates of the number of felony convictions and the types of sentences imposed after conviction. The statistical series, begun in 1986, documents an estimated 42% increase in the number of felony convictions over the period, from about 583,000 to more than 829,000 in 1990. About 92,000 additional felony drug trafficking offenders were sentenced in 1990 compared to 1986, accounting for about 37% of the total increase during the 4year period. In 1986 drug trafficking accounted for 13% of felons sentenced that year compared to 20% of felons sentenced in 1990. The 1990 NJRP, an important component of BJS's effort to provide national statistics on courts and adjudication, gives more detail than ever before on the types of felony offenses handled by State courts, including armed and unarmed robbery as well as different categories of burglary, larceny, and fraud. BJS gratefully acknowledges the generous cooperation and assistance of State court and prosecution officials who made this report possible. Lawrence A. Greenfeld Acting Director Felony Sentences in State Courts, 1990 By Patrick A. Langan, Ph.D. and John M. Dawson BJS Statisticians In 1990, an estimated 168,000 persons were convicted of drug trafficking, according to the most recent national survey of felony sentencing in State courts. That number is more than twice the number convicted in 1986, the year the survey was first conducted. An estimated 49% of drug traffickers received a State prison sentence in 1990, up from 37% in 1986. Other results include the following: Drug traffickers (20%) and drug possessors (13%) together made up 33% of felons convicted in State courts in 1990. Violent offenders, consisting of murderers (1%), rapists (2%), robbers (6%), assaulters (7%), and others convicted of a violent crime (2%) together made up 18%. Burglars (13%) and larcenists (14%) made up most of the rest. * State courts sentenced 46% of convicted felons to a State prison and 25% 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. * State courts sentenced to death 2% of those convicted of murder. * The average sentence to local jail was 8 months. The average probation sentence was about 3 + years. * Felons sentenced to a State prison in 1990 had an average sentence of 6 , years but were likely to serve a third of that sentence--or about 2 years--before release, assuming that current release policies continued. * About 78% of felons had one felony conviction offense, 16% had two, and the remaining 6% had three or more. * A fine was imposed on 16% of convicted felons, restitution on 16%, community service on 4%, and treatment was ordered for 7%. * Of the total number of convicted felons in 1990, 91% had pleaded guilty to their crime. The rest had been found guilty at trial. * Average time from arrest to sentencing in 1990 was about 7 months. * Large urban counties disproportionately accounted for felony convictions nationwide the 75 largest urban counties had 37% of the Nation's residents but 48% of its felony convictions. * Of the felons convicted nationally in 1990, 52% were white, 47% were black, and 1% were of other races. Males were 86% of the total. The average age of convicted felons was 29 years. National Judicial Reporting Program The National Judicial Reporting Program (NJRP) is a biennial sample survey that compiles detailed information on the sentences convicted felons receive in State courts nationwide and on various characteristics of these felons. Surveys of felony sentencing in State courts were previously conducted in 1986 (see Felony Sentences in State Courts, 1986, Bureau of Justice Statistics, NCJ115210, February 1989) and in 1988 (see Felony Sentences in State Courts, 1988, Bureau of Justice Statistics, NCJ126923, December 1990). The 1990 survey was based on a sample of 300 counties selected to be nationally representative. The sample consisted of the same jurisdictions as in the 1988 survey and included the District of Columbia and at least one county from every State except, by chance, Vermont. Among sampled counties, two sentenced no felons during 1990. The 1990 survey excluded Federal courts and those State or local courts that did not adjudicate felony cases. Federal courts convicted 36,686 persons of a felony offense in 1990. That number represents 4% of the combined State and Federal total number of felony convictions during 1990. The 1990 survey included only offenses that State penal codes defined as felonies. Felony offenses are widely defined as crimes that have the potential of being punished by more than 1 year in prison. States usually designate specific courts to try felony offenses, although in some counties more than one court may handle such cases. Two major improvements to the biennial survey were made in 1990. Sampling was expanded to obtain national estimates for each of three additional felony offense categories: drug possession, fraud (including forgery and embezzlement), and weapons offenses. Another improvement was the collection of additional information for selected subcategories of offenses (table 1). Felony conviction offenses A total of 829,000 persons were convicted of a felony offense in State courts in 1990, including 148,000 (or 17.8% of the total) for a violent felony, 281,000 (33.9%) for the property offenses of burglary, larceny, fraud, and forgery, 275,000 (33.1%) for drug offenses, and 21,000 for weapons offenses (2.5%) (table 1). The remaining 105,000 (12.7%) consisted of persons convicted of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property, weapon offenses, and escaping custody. Marijuana trafficking convictions were 2% of the conviction total, and marijuana possession convictions were less than 1% (0.6%) of the total. Sentences for felonies In 1990, 71% of all convicted felons were sentenced to a period of confinement--46% to State prisons and 25% to local jails (table 2). Typically prison terms are for a period more than a year while jail terms are for a year or less. An estimated 29% of all convicted felons were sentenced to probation with no jail or prison time to serve. Sentence length An offender convicted of multiple offenses receives a sentence for each offense. If the court imposes multiple prison sentences, a determination is made whether the convicted felon will serve the sentences concurrently (at the same time) or consecutively (one after another). For persons with consecutive sentences, the total time is the sum of the sentence lengths, and for persons with concurrent sentences, the total time is the same as the longest sentence. For persons convicted of a single offense the total time refers simply to the sentence for that offense. Whenever an offender received a prison sentence range, such as 510 years, the total time refers to the maximum. Two ways of calculating averages are used to describe sentence length: means and medians. Means are sensitive to a few very long or very short sentences in a distribution and do not include in their calculation sentences to life in prison or to death. Median sentence length, the middle value in the range of sentences, is not influenced by extreme values and includes sentences to life in prison or to death. Median sentence lengths are nearly always shorter than the corresponding means. For the Nation in 1990 the mean felony sentence to a period of incarceration (prison or jail) was 4 years and 4 months, unchanged from 1988; the median was 2 years, also unchanged from 1988 (table 3). Prison sentences In 1990 the mean length of sentences to State prison was 6 , years; the median term was 4 years. The mean prison sentence for murder and nonnegligent manslaughter was about 20 years; the median was also 20 years. Death and life without parole were sentencing options available for capital murder in 32 States in 1990. (Julian H. Wright, Jr., "Life without parole," Vanderbilt Law Review, 43, 2, 1990. Note that life without parole does not literally mean a life sentence in more than a third of the 32 States that have the option. That is, in 11 of 32 life without parole means some specified minimum number of years a person must serve before becoming eligible for release.) The number receiving life imprisonment without parole could not be determined from NJRP data. However, the data do show that, in 1990, 21.6% of all persons convicted of murder or nonnegligent manslaughter throughout the Nation were sentenced to life in prison. Among those convicted of murder specifically (not including nonnegligent manslaughter), 31% were sentenced to life and 2.2%were sentenced to death. (The 2.2% figure was computed from a denominator that included cases in both States that have the death penalty and States that do not. Restricting the denominator to cases in deathpenalty States, the figure is 2.5% receiving the death penalty) Life senences as a percentage of all sentences in 1990 were 2.2% for violent crimes; 0.1% for property; 0.3% for drugs; 0.1% for weapons; and 0.1% for other. Jail sentences Among felons who received a sentence to local jail in 1990, the mean sentence was 8 months, and the median was 5 months. Probation sentences Offenders convicted of felonies in 1990 and sentenced to straight probation with no period of confinement received probation sentences with a mean length of 3 + years and a median of 3 years. Estimated prison time to be served The amount of time felons actually serve in prison is typically a fraction of the total sentence received (table 4). Two primary reasons explain the difference between sentences received versus time served: * States that use indeterminate sentences, for which judges specify minimum and maximum sentence length, depend on parole boards to determine when a prisoner will be released. * In most but not all States, inmates can earn early release through time credits for good behavior or special achievements and through automatic goodtime credits--provisions that are intended to help correctional officials to manage institutional populations. For both types of sentence reduction, released offenders usually serve the remaining portion of their sentences under supervision in the community. Based upon data collected by BJS in its National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP), inmates released from prisons in 36 States and the District of Columbia in 1989 (the most recent available data) had served an average of 33% of their total sentence in prison. The average was calculated for inmates who were new court commitments and who were released for the first time on that sentence. (New court commitments were those offenders entering prison directly from a sentence by the court and not from an unsuccessful period of community supervision. Parole violators are an example of the latter.) The percentage of sentence served ranged from a high of 43% for those convicted of murder to a low of 27% for those convicted of drug possession or larceny. If these proportions from 1989 are applied to 1990 prison sentences, felons sentenced in 1990 would be expected to serve approximately 2 years of their average prison sentence of 6 years and 3 months. Convicted felon populations: Sex, race, and age In 1990 men comprised nearly half of the adult U.S. population but 86% of persons convicted of a felony and 93% of the 148,000 persons convicted of a violent felony (table 5). Whites were 86% of the adult U.S. population but 52% of persons convicted of a felony and 50% of the persons convicted of a violent felony. Corresponding figures for blacks were 11% of the adult U.S. population but 47% of convicted felons and 48% of felons convicted of a violent crime. The other races (American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, and Pacific Islanders) represented 3% of the U.S. population but 1% of convicted felons and 2% of those convicted of a violent crime. Persons in their twenties represented about 24% of the adult U.S. population but 48% of convicted felons. The mean average age of felons was 29 years. Mean and median ages by conviction offense were as follows: Number of felony conviction offenses The 829,000 felons sentenced in 1990 were convicted altogether of about 1 million felonies. The number of felony convictions exceeds the number of convicted felons because 16% of the felons had 2 conviction offenses and 6% had 3 or more (table 6). The likelihood of a prison sentence rose from 42% for those convicted of one felony, to 56% for two, and to 60% for three or more (table 7). The mean sentence to incarceration also increased from 3 years and 9 months for those convicted of one felony, to nearly 6 years for those convicted of two or more (table 8). Method of conviction About 752,000 persons, representing 91% of those sentenced for a felony in 1990, pleaded guilty. The rest were found guilty by a jury or by a judge in a bench trial (tables 9 and 10). Persons convicted of murder were the least likely to have pleaded guilty and the most likely to have been convicted by a jury. Murderers convicted by a jury were the most likely to have received a life sentence (35%) or the death penalty (5%). Case processing time Mean elapsed time from arrest to sentencing in 1990 was 7 months, unchanged from 1988; the median was 5 months, also unchanged (table 11). Guilty plea cases and bench trials each took less time to complete (a mean time of about 7 months) than jury trials (with an average of about 8 months and 3 weeks). Additional penalties In 1990 a fine was imposed on 16% of convicted felons, restitution on 16%, community service on 4%, and some form of treatment was ordered for 7% (table 12). Altogether, 35% of convicted felons received some form of additional penalty. Methodology Sampling A sample of 300 counties was drawn for the 1990 survey. Every county in the Nation had a nonzero probability of being in the sample. In general, the more felony cases a county had, the more likely it was to be in the sample. The survey used a twostage, stratified cluster sampling design. In the first stage the Nation's 3,109 counties or county equivalents were divided into 8 strata. Strata 1 and 2 consisted solely of the 75 largest counties in the United States as defined by the 1985 resident population. Strata 3 through 8 consisted of the remaining 3,034 counties. Because the 75 largest counties account for a disproportionately large amount of serious crime in the Nation, they were given a greater chance of being selected than the remaining counties. Stratum 1 consisted of the 19 counties with the largest number of felony convictions in 1985, plus 12 counties whose participation in the survey had been prearranged. Every county in stratum 1 was selected for the sample. Stratum 2 consisted of the 44 most populous counties that were not in stratum 1. The 44 were ordered by their number of felony convictions in 1985, and then approximately every other county was selected. Stratum 2 thus contributed 23 counties to the sample. Altogether, 54 out of the 75 largest counties were sampled. Data on 1985 felony convictions were obtained from a mail survey described in State Felony Courts and Felony Laws (NCJ106273) and Census of State Felony Courts, 1985 (codebook for ICPSR 8667). The 54 sampled counties in the 1990 NJRP survey were the same 54 as in the 1986 and 1988 surveys. The 3,034 counties not among the 75 largest were placed into 6 strata defined by the total number of felony convictions in 1985 and then arrayed within stratum by region, and within region from largest to smallest on felony conviction totals. Sampling specifications for the 6 strata are given in the Appendix table on page 15. The final sample thus included 246 counties from among the 3,034 counties outside the 75 largest. Caselevel data were successfully obtained on convicted felons sentenced in 1990 from all 300 sampled counties. The 60 sampled counties in strata 1 and 3 were self-representing only, and their sampled cases therefore had a first stage sampling weight of 1. The remaining 240 counties sampled from strata 2 and 4 through 8 were selected to represent their respective strata so that the felony conviction cases sampled had first stage weights greater than 1. At the second stage of sampling, a systematic sample of felons sentenced for murder/nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, felony larceny/motor vehicle theft, fraud/forgery/embezzlement, drug trafficking, drug possession, weapons offenses, and other offenses was selected from each county's official records. The total sample numbered 106,237 cases. Of these, 71,004 cases were in the 75 largest counties. Rates at which cases were sampled varied by stratum and crime type. In smaller counties every felony case was taken. In larger counties all murder cases and rape cases were typically included, but other offense categories were sampled. Before the sample of cases was drawn, each felon sentenced in the sampled county in 1990 was placed into one of the eleven offense categories identified above. If the felon was convicted of more than 1 felony offense, the offense category was the most serious offense. The hierarchy from most to least serious offense was murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, drug trafficking, weapons, forgery/fraud/embezzlement, larceny/motor vehicle theft, drug possession, all other felonies. The hierarchy was determined from an analysis of two factors that reflect how seriously the justice system treats different offenses: the sentence length imposed, and the time actually served in prison before release. In general, the higher the offense is in the hierarchy, the more serious it is in terms of the two factors. Sample selection procedures gave each sentenced felon a single chance to be in the sample. However, felons who appeared in court on more than 1 day for different offenses and received a sentence at each reappearance, had more than a single chance. At the data analysis stage, cases were aggregated according to their offense designation at time of sampling, with the single exception of "other violent." "Other violent" is a category shown in the report's tables, but it was not a category at sampling. The "other violent" category was formed from the sampling category "other felonies." That is, after sampling, sampled cases designated "other felonies" were coded either "violent," "nonviolent," or "not ascertained," based on data available on them. Cases coded "not ascertained" were rare. For data analysis purposes, cases coded "other violent" were removed from the "other felonies" category and shown separately in the report's tables. Sampling error NJRP data were obtained from a sample and not from a complete enumeration. Consequently they are subject to sampling error. A standard error, which is a measure of sampling error, is associated with each number in the report. In general, if the difference between two numbers is at least twice the standard error of that difference, there is at least 95% confidence that the two numbers do in fact differ; that is, the apparent difference is not simply the result of surveying a sample rather than the entire population. All differences discussed in this report had a confidence interval at or above 95%. National estimates of the number of convictions for individual crime categories and for the aggregate total had a coefficient of variation of 3%. Standard errors for each table in the report are on pages 12 through 15. Missing data Computations of statistics shown in the report's tables excluded sample cases that were missing data for the particular variables being tabulated. An exception was table 9, which is based on computations that redistributed cases with missing data according to the distribution of the known cases. Sources of data For 71% of the 300 counties sampled, NJRP data were obtained directly from the State courts. Other sources included prosecutors' offices, sentencing commissions, and statistical agencies. Individuallevel NJRP records were obtained through a variety of collection methods, including magnetic tape (44% of the counties) and field collection (20%). Data on other cases were obtained by, for example, having the clerk of the court transcribe the information onto the survey questionnaire, or by having the court send documents containing the needed information. Data collection for 233 counties was performed by the U.S. Bureau of the Census and for 67 counties by the National Association of Criminal Justice Planners. Targeted population The survey targeted and recorded initial sentences imposed in 1990. If a sentence was imposed on one date and then modified at a later date, the revision was ignored. The survey recorded sentences that were actually executed, not suspended sentences. Because year of conviction was not a defining characteristic some cases in the sample were of persons convicted before 1990 but not sentenced until 1990. In a few counties, where it was impractical to target sentences in 1990, the target was felons convicted in 1990. In some of the cases, the data relate to sentences imposed after 1990. Crime definitions Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter: Murder is (1) intentionally causing the death of another person without extreme provocation or legal justification or (2) causing the death of another while committing or attempting to commit another crime. Nonnegligent (or voluntary) manslaughter is intentionally and without legal justification causing the death of another when acting under extreme provocation. The combined category murder and nonnegligentmanslaughter excludes involuntary or negligent manslaughter, conspiracies to commit murder, solicitation of murder, and attempted murder. Rape: forcible intercourse (vaginal, anal, or oral) with a female or male. Includes forcible sodomy or penetration with a foreign object (which are sometimes called "deviate sexual assault"); excludes statutory rape or any other nonforcible sexual acts with a minor or with someone unable to give legal or factual consent. Includes attempts. Robbery: the unlawful taking of property that is in the immediate possession of another, by force or the threat of force. Includes forcible purse snatching, but excludes nonforcible purse snatching, which is classified as larceny/theft. Includes attempts. Aggravated assault: (1) intentionally and without legal justification causing serious bodily injury, with or without a deadly weapon or (2) using a deadly or dangerous weapon to threaten, attempt, or cause bodily injury, regardless of the degree of injury if any. Includes "attempted murder," "aggravated battery," "felonious assault," and "assault with a deadly weapon." Other violent: violent offenses excluding murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Includes offenses such as sexual assault, kidnapping, extortion, and negligent manslaughter. Includes attempts. Burglary: the unlawful entry of a fixed structure used for regular residence, industry, or business, with or without the use of force, to commit a felony or theft. Includes attempts. Larceny and motor vehicle theft: Larceny is the unlawful taking of property other than a motor vehicle from the possession of another, by stealth, without force or deceit. Includes pocketpicking, nonforcible purse snatching, shoplifting, and thefts from motor vehicles. Excludes receiving and/or reselling stolen property (fencing), and thefts through fraud or deceit. Includes attempts. Motor vehicle theft is the unlawful taking of a selfpropelled road vehicle owned by another. Includes the theft of automobiles, trucks, and motorcycles, but not the theft of boats, aircraft, or farm equipment (which is classified as larceny/theft). Also includes receiving, possessing, stripping, transporting, and reselling stolen vehicles, and unauthorized use of a vehicle (joyriding). Includes attempts. Fraud, forgery, and embezzlement: using deceit or intentional misrepresentation to unlawfully deprive a person of his or her property or legal rights. Includes offenses such as check fraud, confidence game, counterfeiting, and credit card fraud. Includes attempts. Drug trafficking: Includes manufacturing, distributing, selling, smuggling, or "possession with intent to sell." Includes attempts. Drug possession: includes possession of an illegal drug, but excludes "possession with intent to sell." Includes attempts. Weapons offenses: the unlawful sale, distribution, manufacture, alteration, transportation, possession, or use of a deadly or dangerous weapon or accessory. Other felonies: all felony offenses not listed above. Includes receiving stolen property, driving while intoxicated or other traffic offenses, bribery, obstructing justice, escaping from custody, family offenses (such as child neglect, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, nonpayment of child support), and nonviolent sexual offenses (such as statutory rape, incest, pornography offenses, pimping, prostitution). Includes attempts. Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletins are prepared principally by BJS staff. Patrick A. Langan and John Dawson wrote this Bulletin. Richard J. Solari provided data analysis assistance. Thomas Hester, assisted by Jayne Pugh, edited the report. Data collection and processing were done by Mark Cunniff and Robert Cushman of the National Association of Criminal Justice Planners; by the staff of the U.S. Bureau of the Census, including Stephanie Brown, Charlene Sebold, Martha Greene, Henrietta Herrin, and Victoria Campbell under the supervision of Betty Ford of the Governments Division; and by Craig Pritzl of the Field Division and Carma Hogue of the Statistical Research Division. Priscilla Middleton, Jayne Pugh, Yvonne Boston, and Marilyn Marbrook produced the report. March 1993, NCJ140186 The Bureau of Justice Statistics, an agency of the U.S. Department of Justice, is part of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the National Institute of Justice, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for Victims of Crime. How to order the data set Data utilized in this report are available from the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data at the University of Michigan, P.O. Box 1248, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, toll free 18009990960. The data set is archived as the National Judicial Reporting Program, 1990 (ICPSR 6038).