Bureau of Justice Statistics U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 In State courts: Felony sentencing Felons convicted Felons sentenced to probation Felony case processing Regional variation in adjudication and sentencing Trends in drug trafficking
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Bureau of Justice Statistics
U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs
State Court Sentencingof Convicted Felons, 1992
In State courts:
Felony sentencing
Felons convicted
Felons sentenced to probation
Felony case processing
Regional variation in adjudication and sentencing
Trends in drug trafficking
Bureau of Justice Statistics
This report is one in a series. More recent editions may be available. To view a list of all in the series go to http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pubalp2.htm#scscf
U.S. Department of JusticeOffice of Justice ProgramsBureau of Justice Statistics
State Court Sentencingof Convicted Felons, 1992
By Patrick A. Langan, Ph.D.Statistician, Bureau of Justice Statistics
and
Robyn L. CohenStatistician, Bureau of Justice Statistics
May 1996, NCJ-152696
U.S. Department of JusticeBureau of Justice Statistics
Jan M. Chaiken, Ph.D.Director
This report was prepared by Patrick A. Langan and Robyn L. Cohen, with assistance from Jodi M. Brown, of the Bureau of Justice Statistics. IdaHines and Dorothea Proctor assistedwith verification. Tom Hester and Priscilla Middleton edited the report.Priscilla Middleton, Ida Hines, andJayne E. Robinson produced the re-port. Marilyn Marbrook, assisted byYvonne Boston, supervised publicationof this report.
Data collection and processing weredone by Mark Cunniff and RobertCushman of the National Associationof Criminal Justice Planners and bythe staff of the U.S. Bureau of theCensus. That staff included LatriceBrogsdale-Davis, Charlene Sebold,Martha Greene, Henrietta Herrin, andVictoria Campbell, under the supervi-sion of Stephanie Brown, of the Gov-ernments Division; Denise Turner ofthe Field Division; and Carma Hogueof the Economic Statistical Methodsand Procedures Division.
Data utilized in this report are availablefrom the National Archive of CriminalJustice Data at the University of Michi-gan, 1-800-999-0960. The data setsare archived as the National JudicialReporting Program, 1992 ICPSR#6509.
The data and the report, as well as others from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, are available through theInternet
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/
ii State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Trends in felony sentencing in the United States
From 1988 to 1992 the volume of fel-ony convictions rose 34%. The great-est increases in the number of con-victions were for aggravated assault(up 57%) and drug trafficking (up53%). The number of convictions formurder, rape, and robbery each roseabout 39% (page 2).
Despite the relatively large increase inconvictions, processing was not slowerin 1992 than in 1988. In both yearsaverage elapsed time from arrest tosentencing was around 7 months(page 2).
The proportions of felons sentenced to incarceration or probation in 1992were generally unchanged from 1988.Prison sentences accounted for 44% of felony sentences in both years (page 2).
Trends in drug trafficking
In 1986 drug traffickers accountedfor 11% of all entries to State prisons. In 1988 that number grew to 16% andin 1990 to 22%. In 1992 it stayed at about that level, 21% (table 6.2).
In 1986 drug traffickers were 1 inevery 8 persons entering prison and in1992, 1 in every 5 (table 6.2).
From 1986 to 1990 a growing percent-age of convicted drug traffickers re-ceived a prison sentence. Since then,the percentage has risen only slightly.
Felony sentences in State courts
In 1992 State courts convicted894,000 persons of murder, rape, rob-bery, drug trafficking, and other felonyoffenses (table 1.1). Courts sentenced44% of them to prison, 26% to jail(usually for a year or less), and 30% to probation (table 1.2).
Drug traffickers (19%) and drug pos-sessors (12%) together made up 31%of felons convicted in State courts in 1992. Violent offenders murder-ers (1%), rapists (2%), robbers (6%),assaulters (7%), and others convictedof a violent crime (2%) togethermade up 18%. Burglars (13%) andlarcenists (13%) made up most ofthe rest (table 1.1).
State courts sentenced to Stateprison 60% of the felons convicted of a violent offense, 42% convicted of a property offense, 42% convicted of a drug offense, and 40% of thosefelons convicted of a weapons offensein 1992 (table 1.2).
Regional variation in adjudicationand sentencing
State courts in the South sentencedto a State prison 57% of the felonsthey convicted in 1992. That com-pares to 41% in State courts else-where (table 5.2).
Felony prison sentences were longeron average in the South than else-where. The average State prison sen-tence in the South in 1992 was 94months (about 8 years), compared to57 months (about 5 years) outside theSouth (table 5.3).
Felons sentenced to probation
State courts sentenced to probationan estimated 494,000 convicted felons(table 3.1).
Nationwide, probation sentences hadan average length of about 3¾ years(table 3.3).
Profile of felons convicted
The average age of felons convicted in 1992 was 30 years (table 2.3).
Of the approximately 894,000 felonsconvicted in State courts nationwide,777,000 (87%) were men, and116,000 (13%) were women (table2.2). Approximately 20% of the menand 10% of the women were convictedof a violent felony that year (table 2.2).
Among all felons convicted nation-wide, about 465,000 (52%) were white,420,000 (47%) were black, and an es-timated 9,000 (1%) were of otherraces (American Indian, Alaska Na-tive, Asian, or Pacific Islander) (table2.1).
Felony case processing
An estimated 75% of felons con-victed by a jury received a prison sen-tence, compared to 48% of thoseconvicted by a judge and 44% of thosewho pleaded guilty (table 4.4). Prison sentences were much longer
for felons convicted by a jury trial (190months) than for felons who pleadedguilty (72 months) or were convicted by a judge (88 months) (table 4.5).
In 43% of jury trial convictions na-tionwide, felons were found guilty ofmultiple offenses. Twenty-three per-cent of the guilty pleas and 17% of thebench trial convictions involved multi-ple offenses (table 4.7).
The average time from arrest to con-viction was less than 6 months. Thelongest average time was for murder or nonnegligent manslaughter, about10½ months, and the shortest, almost 5 months, for burglary and larceny (table 4.9).
Cases decided by juries had a meanelapsed time of about 10 months;those disposed by guilty plea or abench trial, a mean of 6¾ months (table 4.11).
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 iii
Highlights
The National Judicial Reporting Program 1
Felony sentences in State courts, 1992 2
Profile of felons convicted in State courts, 1992 13
Felons sentenced to probation in State courts, 1992 29
Felony case processing in State courts, 1992 41
Regional variation in adjudication and sentencing, 1992 55
Trends in drug trafficking, 1986-94 59
Methodology 62
Figures
Average sentence to Stateprison and estimated timeto be served for a felony, 1992 2
Offense distribution of personsconvicted of a felony in State courts, by race, 1992 13
Average sentence to Stateprison for a felony imposedby State courts, by offenseand race, 1992 13
Average probation sentence for felons convicted in State courts, 1992 29
Offenses of felons sentenced to probation, by sex, 1992 29
Types of sentences imposedby State courts, by natureof conviction, 1992 41
Average sentence to Stateprison, by offense and nature of conviction, 1992 41
Tables
Felony sentences in State courts, 1992
1.1 Estimated numberof felony convictions 3
1.2 Types of felonysentences imposed 4
1.3 Mean and median sentence lengths for felony sentences imposed 5
1.4 Estimated percent offelons sentenced to life 6
1.5 Estimated time to beserved in State prison 7
1.6 Number of offenses for which convicted andand sentenced in 1992 8
1.7 Percent sentenced to prisonby number of offenses for which convicted and sentenced in 1992 9
1.8 Mean sentence lengths for felony sentences imposed, bynumber of conviction offenses 10
1.9 Felons sentencedto additional penalty 11
Profile of felons convicted in State courts, 1992
2.1 Sex, race, and age of persons convicted of felonies, by offense 15
2.2 Offenses of felons convicted, by sex, race, and age 16
2.3 Average age of convicted felons 17
2.4 Types of sentences imposed, by sex of felons 18
2.5 Types of sentences imposed, by race of felons 19
2.6 Mean sentence lengths for felony sentences imposed, by sex of felons 20
2.7 Mean sentence lengths for felony sentences imposed, by race of felons 21
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 v
Contents
2.8 Offenses of felons sentenced to incarceration or prison, by sex and race 22
2.9 Offenses of felons sentenced to jail or probation, by sex and race 23
2.10 Percent of all convicted felonssentenced to incarceration or prison, by sex and race 24
2.11 Percent of all convicted felons sentenced to jail orprobation, by sex and race 25
2.12 Mean State felony sentence lengths, by sex, race, and type of felony sentences 26
2.13 Mean State felony sentence lengths, by sex, race, and type of felony sentences 27
2.14 Population percent of U.S. residents, by region and race 1990 28
Felons sentenced to probationin State courts, 1992
3.1 Estimated number of felony convictions, by type of sentence 30
3.2 Felony convictions, by type ofsentence to probation or incarceration 31
3.3 Average probation sentencefor felons convicted 32
3.4 Average State court sentence to incarceration for felony probationers and nonprobationers 33
3.5 Number of conviction offenses of felons sentenced to probation, by most serious conviction offense 34
3.6 Sex of felons sentenced to probation or nonprobation,by most serious conviction offense 35
3.7 Offenses of felons sentenced to probation or nonprobation, by sex 36
3.8 Race of felons sentenced to probation or nonprobation,by most serious conviction offense 37
3.9 The most serious conviction offense, by race of felons sentenced to probation or nonprobation 38
3.10 Average age of felons sentenced to probation or nonprobation 39
3.11 Felons sentenced to probation, by age at sentencing 40
Felony case processing in State courts, 1992
4.1 Number of felony convictions,by type of conviction, 43
4.2 Offenses of felons convicted, by type of conviction 44
4.3 Offenses of felons convicted, by nature of conviction 45
4.4 Types of sentences imposed, by nature of conviction 46
4.5 Average felony sentence lengths, by nature of conviction 48
4.6 Sentences for felons convicted of murder or nonnegligent manslaughter, by nature of conviction 50
4.7 Number of felony offenses for which convicted, by nature of conviction 50
4.8 Types of sentences imposed, by number of conviction offenses and nature of offenses 51
Average number of days for felony cases,by nature of conviction, between
4.9 Arrest and conviction 524.10 Conviction and sentencing 534.11 Arrest and sentencing 54
Regional variation in adjudication and sentencing, 1992
5.1 Number of felony convictionsin State courts per 100 adult arrests 56
5.2 Convicted felons sentencedto prison, by region 57
5.3 Mean prison sentence lengths imposed, by region 58
Trends in drug trafficking, 1986-94
6.1 Trends in drug trafficking arrests, convictions, andsentences 61
6.2 Convicted drug traffickers as percent of all State courtfelony convictions and sentenced drug traffickersas percent of all convictedfelons sentenced toState prison 61
vi State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
The National Judicial Reporting Pro-gram (NJRP), a biennial sample sur-vey, compiles information on thesentences that felons receive in Statecourts nationwide and on the charac-teristics of the felons. Surveys of fel-ony sentencing in State courts werepreviously conducted in 1986 (see Fel-ony Sentences in State Courts, 1986,BJS Bulletin, NCJ-115210, February1989), 1988 (see Felony Sentences inState Courts, 1988, BJS Bulletin,NCJ-126923, December 1990), 1990(see Felony Sentences in StateCourts, 1990, BJS Bulletin,NCJ-140186, March 1993), and in1992 (see Felony Sentences in StateCourts, 1992, BJS Bulletin,NCJ-151167, January 1995).
The 1992 survey was based on a sam-ple of 300 counties selected to be na-tionally representative. The sampleconsisted of the same jurisdictions asin the 1990 survey and included theDistrict of Columbia and at least onecounty from every State except, bychance, Vermont. Among sampledcounties, two sentenced no felons dur-ing 1992. The 1992 survey excludedFederal courts and those State or localcourts that did not adjudicate felonycases. Federal courts convicted41,673 persons of a felony offense in1992. That number represents about5% of the combined State and Federaltotal number of felony convictions dur-ing 1992.
The 1992 survey included only of-fenses that State penal codes definedas felonies. Felony offenses arewidely defined as crimes that have thepotential of being punished by morethan 1 year in prison. States usuallydesignate specific courts to try felonyoffenses, although in some countiesmore than one court may handle suchcases.
The term "felony" is not uniform in ei-ther its usage or definition in theUnited States. Two jurisdictions(Maine and New Jersey) do not usethe term to classify their criminal of-fenses, and six others offer no explicitdefinition of the term, even thoughthey use it as a criminal designation.In the 43 States that use and definefelony, common elements do exist.With few exceptions, criminal codesdefine felonies by reference to place ofimprisonment. Most often, felony defi-nitions identify the place of imprison-ment but not the duration, as
in Idaho, where a felony is a "crimepunishable by death or by imprison-ment in the State prison." Nearly asfrequent is a definition that specifiesthe duration of imprisonment but notthe place, as in Georgia, where a fel-ony is a "crime punishable by death,by imprisonment for life, or by impris-onment for more than 12 months."
This publication summarizes resultsfrom the 1992 survey. Each of thesections addresses a different aspectof felony convictions in State courtsduring 1992.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 1
The National Judicial Reporting Program
In 1992 State courts convicted894,000 persons of murder, rape, rob-bery, drug trafficking, and other felonyoffenses. Courts sentenced 44% ofthem to prison, 26% to jail (usually fora year or less), and the remaining 30%to probation (table 1.2).
Other results include the following:
Drug traffickers (19%) and drug pos-sessors (12%) together made up 31%of felons convicted in State courts in 1992. Violent offenders, consistingof murderers (1%), rapists (2%), rob-bers (6%), assaulters (7%), and othersconvicted of a violent crime (2%) to-gether made up 18%. Burglars (13%)and larcenists (13%) made up most ofthe rest (table 1.1).
The average sentence to local jailwas 7 months. The average probationsentence was nearly 4 years (table1.3).
Felons sentenced to State prison in1992 had an average sentence of
6½ years but were expected to serve a third of that sentence or about 2½ years before release (table1.5). State courts nationwidesentenced to life 25% of those convicted of murder or nonnegligent manslaughter(table 1.4).
The 894,000 felons sentenced in 1992 were convictedaltogether of about 1.1million felonies. Thenumber of felony convic-tions exceeds the num-ber of convicted felonsbecause 16% of the fel-ons were convicted oftwo felony charges and5% were convicted ofthree or more (table 1.6).
The likelihood of aprison sentence rosefrom 40% for those con-victed of one felony, to
55% for two, and to 59% for three ormore (table 1.7). The mean sentence to incarcerationalso increased from 3 years and 9months for those convicted of one fel-ony to 6 years for those convicted oftwo or more (table 1.8).
A fine was imposed on 18% of con-victed felons, restitution on 16%,
2 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Felony sentences in State courts, 1992
Violent
Property
Drugs
Weapons
Other
0 30 60 90 120 150
Sentence length
Estimated time to be served
Months
Average sentence to State prison and estimated time to be served for a felony, 1992
Most serious conviction offense
Violent offenders sentenced to prison had an average sentence of about 10 years but were likely to serve 46% of that sentence - or about 5 years - before release.
Trends in the United States: 1988 to 1992
From 1988 to 1992 the volume of fel-ony convictions rose 34%. The num-ber of convictions for murder, rape,and robbery each rose about 39%.The greatest increases in the numberof convictions were for aggravated as-sault (up 57%) and drug trafficking (up53%).
The number of convictions and prisonsentences rose more than that of adultarrests. For example, regarding vio-lent crime, adult arrests went up 15%, but felony convictions rose 45% and prison sentences rose 41%.
Despite the relatively large increase inconvictions, cases generally took nolonger in 1992 than in 1988. In bothyears, average elapsed time from ar-
rest to sentencing wasaround 7 months.There was no indicationthat to keep pace withthe 1988 processingtime courts disposed alarger percentage of1992 cases by guiltyplea. In both yearsguilty pleas accountedfor about 92% of felonyconvictions.
The only demographic change identi-fied over this period was in the racialdistribution of defendants. Roughlycorresponding to changes in the racialdistribution of persons arrested, thenumber of black felons as a percent-age of all persons convicted rose from41% in 1988 to 47% in 1992.
Sentencing patterns were generallyunchanged except for drug traffickers.Prison sentences overall accounted for44% of sentences in both 1988 and1992. The average prison sentencewas about 6½ years in 1992, not sig-nificantly different from whatit was in 1988.
The percentage of drug traffickers re-ceiving a prison sentence rose from41% in 1988 to 48% in 1992, and theaverage prison sentence rose from5½ years in 1988 to 6 years in 1992.
Sources: Crime in the United States, 1988 (FBI, 1989) and 1992 (FBI, 1993), provided data on arrests, and NJRP provided data on convictions and sentences.
community service on 6%, and treat-ment was ordered for 7% (table 1.9).
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 3
Table 1.1. Estimated number of felonyconvictions in State courts, 1992
Other offenses e 124,383 13.8%Note: Detail may not sum to total because of rounding.Data specifying the conviction offense were availablefor 893,630 cases. aManslaughter is defined as nonnegligent manslaughteronly. Where a case was known to be either murder ornonnegligent manslaughter, but which of the two wasunknown (a small number of cases), the case wasclassified under manslaughter. bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping. cIncludes a small number of convictions with unspeci-fied offenses.dIncludes embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receivingstolen property and driving while intoxicated.
4 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 1.2. Types of felony sentences imposed by State courts, by offense, 1992
Percent of felons sentenced to Most serious conviction offense
Note: See note on table 1.1. For persons receiving a combination of sentences, the sentence designation came from the most severe penalty imposed prison being the most severe, followed by jail, then probation. Prison includes death sentences. Data on sentence type were available for 886,359 cases.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen propertyand driving while intoxicated.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 5
Table 1.3. Mean and median sentence lengths for felony sentences imposed by State courts, 1992
Maximum sentence length (in months) for felons sentenced to
Note: See note on table 1.2. Means exclude sentences to death or to life in prison. Sentence length data were available for 854,592 incarceration and probation sentences.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen propertyand driving while intoxicated.
6 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 1.4. Estimated percent of felons sentenced to life in prison, 1992
--Less than 0.05%.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter,sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eIncludes such offenses as being an habitual offender.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 7
Table 1.5. Estimated time to be served in State prison, 1992
Note: See note on tables 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3. Means and sentence-served percentages exclude sentences to death or to life in prison.aPercent of sentence served includes credited jail time. Sentence length data were available for 382,011 new court commitments in 27 States. Percent of sentence served was tabulated from data in the National Corrections Reporting Program that accounted for almost 86% of persons released from State prisons in 1992.bDerived by multiplying the percent of sentence actually served by the mean sentence imposed.cIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.dIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.eIncludes motor vehicle theft.fIncludes forgery and embezzlement.gComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
8 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 1.6. Number of offenses for which convicted and sentenced in 1992 in State courts, by most serious felony conviction offense
Note: See note on table 1.1. Data on number of convictions were available for 872,559 cases. Number of convictions pertains to current convictions, not past convictions.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 9
Table 1.7. Percent sentenced to prison by State courts, by number of offenses for which convicted and sentenced in 1992, and by most serious felony conviction offense
Percent of convicted felons sentencedto prison with
Note: See note on tables 1.1 and 1.2. Data on number of felonyconviction offenses were available for 376,592 cases. Number of convictions pertains to current convictions, not past convictions.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
10 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 1.8. Mean sentence lengths for felony sentences imposed, by number of offenses for which convicted and sentenced in 1992,and by most serious conviction offense
Most seriousconviction offense
Maximum sentence length (in months) for felons sentenced to Total Prison Jail Probation
Note: See note on tables 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3. Means exclude sentences to death or life in prison. Where the sentence imposed was a range, the maximum was usedto calculated the mean. Sentence length data were available for 829,910 cases.Number of convictions pertains to current convictions, not past convictions.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 11
Table 1.9. Felons sentenced to additionalpenalty by State courts, 1992
Percent of felons with an additional penalty of Most serious conviction offense Fine Restitution Treatment
Note: See note on table 1.1. Where the data indicated affirmatively that a particular additional penalty was imposed, the case was coded accordingly. Where the data did not indicate affirmatively or negatively, the case was treated as not having an additional penalty. These proceduresprovide a conservative estimate of the prevalence of additional penalties. Note also that a person receiving more than one kind of additional penalty appears under more than one table heading. Data on additional penalty were available for 893,630 cases.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
The 1992 National Judicial ReportingProgram compiled demographic data(sex, race, and age) as well as sen-tencing information for persons con-victed of a felony in State courts. Thissection summarizes results from thatcollection.
White defendants were 52% of thoseconvicted of a felony in State courts;black felons were 47%; and personsof other races (American Indians,Alaska Natives, Asians, and PacificIslanders), 1% (table 2.1).
Among persons convicted of a felony,white felons were less likely thanblacks to be sent to prison: 42% ofconvicted white defendants received aprison sentence, 56% of black defen-dants, and 52% of defendants of otherraces (table 2.5).
Among persons sentenced to prison,blacks received a State prison sen-tence 7 months longer than that ofwhites: 81 months for blacks and 74months for whites (table 2.7).
However, when the national data aredisaggregated and tabulated sepa-rately by region, the 7-month racialdisparity in sentence lengths disap-pears. In two regions the North-east and the West whites andblacks received identical overall sen-tences: 63 months in the Northeastand 44 months in the West. In theother two there were differences, butthey were small (less than 7 months),not statistically significant, and mixedin direction. Average sentences in theSouth were 94 months for whites and95 months for blacks. Averages in theMidwest were 72 months for whitesand 69 months for blacks.
Why the disparity disappeared oncethe data were disaggregated probablyhas to do with two facts: (1) on aver-age the South metes out longer sen-tences than the rest of the Nation(table 5.3), and (2) half of all convictedblacks but a third of convicted whiteswere sentenced in the South (mirror-ing the fact that about half the blackpopulation and a third of the whitepopulation resides in the South - table2.14). The racial comparison basedon aggregated statistics masks theseimportant differences relevant to sen-tencing. But the racial comparisonbased on disaggregated statisticstakes the differences into account.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 13
Violent
Property
Drugs
Weapons
Other
0 30 60 90 120 150
White
Black
Months
Violent
Property
Drugs
Weapons
Other
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
White
Black
Percent of convicted felons
Most seriousconvictionoffense
Most seriousconvictionoffense
Drug offenses comprised 38% of the conviction offenses of blacks versus 28% of the conviction offenses of whites.
Average sentence to State prison for a felony imposed by State courts, by offense and race, 1992
Offense distribution of persons convicted of a felony in State courts, by race, 1992
State prison sentences were generally similar between the races.
Profile of felons convictedin State courts, 1992
Other findings were In 1992 men comprised 87% of per-
sons convicted of a felony (table 2.1).An estimated 48% of males received aState prison sentence, compared to30% of females (table 2.4). As a re-sult of this sentencing difference,males comprised a larger percentageof the total sentenced to prison (91%)than the total convicted (87%).
Among all felons convicted nation-wide, about 465,000 (52%) werewhite, 420,000 (47%) were black, andan estimated 9,000 (1%) were of otherraces (American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian, or Pacific Islander) (table 2.1).
The most serious conviction offensewas a violent felony in 13% of casesfor women, and 23% of cases formen. Among convicted whites 19%had a violent felony conviction of-fense; among blacks 23% (table 2.8).
The average age of felons convictedin 1992 was 30 years (table 2.3).
Men sentenced to prison nationwidehad an average sentence length of 6 years and 8 months, while womennationwide had an average prisonsentence of 5 years (table 2.6).
Men nationwide were sentenced tolocal jail for an average of 7 months,and women for 6 months (table 2.6).The larger proportion of violent convic-tion offenses for men partly explainstheir greater likelihood of a sentenceto incarceration and longer averagesentences.
14 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 15
Table 2.1. Sex, race, and age of persons convicted of felonies in State courts by offense, 1992
Percent of convicted felons who wereMost serious Sex Race Ageconviction offense Total Male Female White Black Other 14-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+
Other offenses e 100% 90% 10% 64% 34% 2% 7% 41% 34% 13% 4% 1%
Note: See note on table 1.1. Detail may not sum tototal because of rounding. Data on sex were avail-able for 781,681 cases; on race, 550,405; and onage, 712,679.
--Less than 0.5%.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent man-slaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.
dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such asreceiving stolen property and driving whileintoxicated.
16 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 2.2. Offenses of felons convicted in State courts, by sex, race, and age, 1992
Percent of convicted felons Most serious Sex Race Ageconviction offense Total Male Female White Black Other 14-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+
Note: See note on tables 1.1 and 2.1. aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
18 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 2.4. Types of sentences imposed by State courts,by sex of felons, 1992
Percent of felons sentenced to Most serious conviction offense
Incarceration NonincarcerationTotal Total Prison Jail Total Probation Other
Note: See note on tables 1.1 and 2.1. Detail may not sum to total because of rounding. Data on sentence type by sex were available for 775,026 cases; and by race, 538,727. Some estimates in this table are based on as few as 1 case and are therefore unreliable.--Less than 0.5%.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 19
Table 2.5. Types of sentences imposed by State courts,by race of felons, 1992
Percent of felons sentenced to Most serious conviction offense
Incarceration NonincarcerationTotal Total Prison Jail Total Probation Other
Note: See note on tables 1.1, 1.2, and 2.1. Detail may not sum to total because of rounding. Data on sentence type by sex were available for 775,026 cases; and by race, 538,727. Some estimates in this table are based on as few as 1 case and are therefore unreliable.--Less than 0.5%.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
20 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 2.6. Mean sentence lengths for felony sentences imposed by State courts, by sex of felons, 1992
Maximum sentence length inmonths for felons sentenced to
Most serious Incarcerationconviction offense Total Prison Jail ProbationMale
Property offenses 32 mo 55 mo 5 mo 42 moBurglary 29 49 5 47Larcenyc 28 48 6 40Fraudd 37 64 4 43
Drug offenses 30 mo 53 mo 6 mo 47 mo
Possession 22 43 4 41Trafficking 36 60 8 52
Weapons offenses 139 mo 257 mo 3 mo 32 mo
Other offenses e 21 mo 37 mo 5 mo 38 mo Note: See note on tables 1.1, 1.2, and 2.1. Detail may not sum to total because of rounding. Data on sentence type by sex were available for 775,026 cases; and by race, 538,727. Some estimates in this table are based on as few as 1 case and are therefore unreliable.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 21
Table 2.7. Mean sentence lengths for felony sentences imposed by State courts, by race of felons, 1992
Maximum sentence length inmonths for felons sentenced to
Drug offenses 52 mo 69 mo 7 mo 49 moPossession 39 58 4 42Trafficking 59 75 9 56
Weapons offenses 43 mo 57 mo 5 mo 34 mo
Other offenses e 56 mo 73 mo 8 mo 50 mo
Note: See note on tables 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3. Data on sentence length by sex were available for 557,592 cases; and by race, 400,207. Some estimates in this table are based on as few as 1 case and are therefore unreliable.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
22 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 2.8. Offenses of felons sentenced to incarceration orprison, by sex and race, in State courts, 1992
Percent of convictionsMost serious conviction offense
Note: See note on tables 1.1, 1.2, and 2.1. Detail may not sum to total because of rounding.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 23
Table 2.9. Offenses of felons sentenced to jail or probation, by sex and race, in State courts, 1992
Percent of convictionsMost serious conviction offense
Note: See note on tables 1.1, 1.2, and 2.1. Detail may not sum to total because of rounding.--Less than 0.5%.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
24 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 2.10. Percent of all convicted felons sentenced to incarceration or prison, by sex and race, 1992
Note: See note on tables 1.1, 1.2, and 2.1. Detail may not sum to total because of rounding.**Not calculated.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 25
Table 2.11. Percent of all convicted felons sentenced to jail orprobation, by sex and race, 1992
Note: See note on tables 1.1, 1.2, and 2.1. Data on sentence type by sex and race were available for 538,669 cases.**Not calculated.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
26 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 2.12. Mean State felony sentence lengths, by sex, race, and type of felony sentences, 1992
Mean sentence length in months for felons who were
Other offenses e 38 mo 36 mo 77 mo 36 moNote: See note on tables 1.1, 1.2, and 2.1. Data on sentence length by sex and race were available for 534,919 cases.**Not calculated.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 27
Table 2.13. Mean State felony sentence lengths, by sex, race,and type of felony sentences, 1992
Mean sentence length in months for felons who were
Note: See note on tables 1.1, 1.2, and 2.1. Data on sentence length by sex and race were available for 534,919 cases.**Not calculated.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
28 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 2.14. Population percent of U.S. residents, by region and race, 1990
Note: Detail may not sum to total because of rounding.Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1994.
The detailed statistics on sentences to probation presented in the tables ofthis section differ from probation sta-tistics elsewhere in the report. Asused elsewhere, a sentence to proba-tion only includes "straight probation."Excluded are probation sentencescombined with a term of confinementin a prison or jail. In this section, theprobation definition is expanded to in-clude such "split sentences."
Defined that way, probation sentencescomprised 56% of all sentences im-posed on felons in 1992 (table 3.2).
Other probation findings from the 1992survey included the following:
State courts sentenced to probation an estimated 494,000 convicted felons(table 3.1).
Nationwide, probation sentenceshad an average length of about 3¾ years (table 3.3).
The average jail sentence of proba-tioners was 6 months; the averageprison sentence, 4 years and 3months (table 3.4).
The average age of probationers na-tionwide was 29 years (table 3.10).Females made up 17% of all felonsplaced on probation (table 3.6).Whites were 57% of probationers, andblacks were 41% (table 3.8).
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 29
Violent
Property
Drugs
Weapons
Other
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Male
Female
Violent
Property
Drugs
Weapons
Other
0 20 40 60
Straight probation
Split sentence
Most seriousconviction offense
Months
Most seriousconviction offense
Percent of felons
Probation sentence lengths were similar between straight probation and split sentences.
Average probation sentence for felons convictedin State courts, 1992
About 45% of women versus 32% of men sentencedto probation had a property conviction offense.
Offenses of felons sentenced to probation, by sex, 1992
Felons sentenced to probation in State courts, 1992
30 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 3.1. Estimated number of felony convictions in State courts, by type of sentence, 1992
Other offenses e 124,383 76,350 100% 62% 39% 14% 16% 12%
Note: Detail may not sum to total because of rounding.In this table persons are counted as probation cases solong as their sentences included probation and withoutregard to whether a term of incarceration was also included. Dates on sentence type and conviction offensewere available for 892,611 cases.--Less than 0.5%.
aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter. bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 31
Table 3.2. Felony convictions in State courts, by type of sentence to probation or incarceration, 1992
Most seriousconviction offense
Percent of felony convictions by type of Probation sentence Nonprobation sentence
Straightprobation
Split sentence No incar- IncarcerationTotal Prison Jail ceration Total Prison Jail
Note: See note on table 3.1. Detail may not sum to total becauseof rounding. Data on sentence type and conviction offense were available for 886,351 cases.--Less than 0.5%.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen propertyand driving while intoxicated.
32 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 3.3. Average probation sentence for felonsconvicted in State courts, 1992
Note: See note on table 3.1. Probation sentence length was known in 100% of probation cases.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 33
Table 3.4. Average State court sentence to incarceration for felony probationers and nonprobationers, 1992
Maximum incarceration sentence length in months for Most serious conviction offense
Probationers NonprobationersTotal Prison Jail Total Prison Jail
Mean sentence
All offenses 18 mo 51 mo 6 mo 53 mo 79 mo 7 mo
Violent offenses 26 mo 66 mo 7 mo 95 mo 125 mo 8 mo
Note: See note on table 3.1. Means exclude sentences to death or to life in prison. Data on sentence length and sentence type were available for 850,754 cases.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
34 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 3.5. Number of conviction offenses of felons sentenced to probation in State courts, by the most serious conviction offense, 1992
Percent of felons sentenced to probationwhen their conviction offenses numbered
Note: See note on table 3.1. Data on number of convictions were available for 485,627 cases.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 35
Table 3.6. Sex of felons sentenced to probation or nonprobationin State courts, by the most serious conviction offense, 1992
Note: See note on tables 2.1 and 3.1. Detail may not sum to total becauseof rounding. Data on sentence type by sex were available for 780,835 cases.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
36 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 3.7. Offenses of felons sentenced to probation or nonprobation in State courts, by sex, 1992
Note: See note on tables 2.1 and 3.1. Detail may not sum to total becauseof rounding. Data on sentence type by race were available for 549,740 cases.--Less than 0.5%.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen propertyand driving while intoxicated.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 37
Table 3.8. Race of felons sentenced to probation or nonprobationin State courts, by the most serious conviction offense, 1992
Most seriousconviction offense
Percent of probation sentences Percent of nonprobation sentences All White Black Other All White Black Other
Note: See note on tables 2.1 and 3.1. Detail may not sum to total becauseof rounding. Data on sentence type by race were available for 549,740 cases.--Less than 0.5%.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
38 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 3.9. The most serious conviction offense, by race of felons sentenced to probation or nonprobation in State courts, 1992
Most seriousconviction offense
Percent of probation sentences Percent of nonprobation sentences All White Black Other All White Black Other
All offenses 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Note: See note on tables 2.1, 3.1, and 3.9. Detail may not sum to total because of rounding. --Less than 0.5%. aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen propertyand driving while intoxicated.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 39
Table 3.10. Average age of felons sentenced to probation or nonprobation in State courts, 1992
Age at time of sentencingMost seriousconviction offense
Probation Nonprobation Mean Median Mean Median
All offenses 29 years 28 years 30 years 28 years
Violent offenses 30 years 28 years 29 years 27 years
Weapons offenses 29 years 27 years 29 years 26 years
Other offenses e 31 years 29 years 32 years 30 years
Note: See note on tables 2.1 and 3.1.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen propertyand driving while intoxicated.
40 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 3.11. Felons sentenced to probation in State courts, by age at sentencing, 1992
Percent of felon age group who received a probation sentence
Note: See note on tables 2.1 and 3.1.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
Nationwide in 1992, 92% of convic-tions were the product of a guilty plea(table 4). That number is not thesame as the percentage of felony con-victions that involved a plea bargainbetween the prosecution and the de-fense. Plea bargains, in which the de-fendant agrees to plead guilty inexchange for dropped or reducedcharges or in exchange for a reducedsentence, is a common practice in thecriminal justice system. The propor-tion of those who pleaded guilty aspart of a plea bargain is not known.
An estimated 821,000 personspleaded guilty to a felony offense.Persons convicted of murder were theleast likely to have pleaded guilty andthe most likely to have been convictedby a jury (table 4.1). Murderers con-victed by a jury were the most likely ofall convicted defendants to have re-ceived a life sentence (47%) or thedeath penalty (4%) (table 4.6).
Of felons convicted in State courts, 4% were found guilty by a jury, and4% were found guilty by a judge in abench trial (table 4.2). The most seri-ous offenses the violent crimes ofmurder, rape, robbery, aggravated as-sault, and other violent offenses comprised about 19% of all felonyconvictions but an estimated 46% ofall jury trials (table 4.3).
Convictions for murder or nonnegli-gent manslaughter, had the lowestpercentage of guilty pleas (59%) (table4.2).
Sentences to prison or jail occurred in 86% of jury convictions, 65% ofbench trial convictions (decided by ajudge alone), and 70% of guilty pleas(table 4.4).
An estimated 75% of felons con-victed by a jury received a prison sentence, compared to 48% of thoseconvicted by a judge and 44% ofthose who pleaded guilty (table 4.4).
Prison sentences were much longerfor felons convicted by a jury trial (190months) than for felons who pleadedguilty (72 months) or were convictedby a judge (88 months) (table 4.5).
Felons sentenced to jail in a jury trialreceived a mean or average sentence of 11 months. The mean jail sentencein a bench trial was 7 months; in aguilty plea, 7 months (table 4.5).
An estimated 51% of felons con-victed of murder or nonnegligent man-slaughter by a jury were sentenced tolife in prison or to death. Such sen-tences for murder or nonnegligentmanslaughter occurred in about 14%of the bench trials and 15% of theguilty pleas (table 4.6).
In 43% of jury trial convictions na-tionwide, felons were found guilty ofmultiple offenses. Twenty-three per-cent of the guilty pleas and 17% of thebench trial convictions involved multiple offenses (table 4.7).
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 41
Nature ofconviction
Trial
Jury
Bench
Guilty plea
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Prison
Jail
Probation
Types of sentences imposed by State courts,by nature of conviction, 1992
Most seriousconvictionoffense
Months
Violent
Property
Drug
Weapons
Other
0 50 100 150 200 250
Total trial
Guilty plea
Percent of sentences imposedThe average sentence to prison for drug offenses was abo10 years for trial convictions versus 5 years for guilty pleas
Average sentence to State prison,by offense and nature of conviction, 1992
A prison sentence resulted in 62% of trial convictions versus 44% of guilty plea convictions.
Felony case processing in State courts, 1992
The following findings on elapsed timeare based on cases with complete dis-position information. Because smalldifferences exist between cases withcomplete information and cases withincomplete information, these statis-tics may differ from other elapsed-timestatistics derived from the survey:
Mean elapsed time from date of ar-rest to date of felony conviction wasabout 6 months. Jury cases took thelongest time (about 9 months). Guiltyplea cases took almost as much time(about 169 days) as bench trial cases(192 days). The longest average timewas for murder or nonnegligent man-slaughter, about 10½ months, andthe shortest, almost 5 months, for bur-glary and larceny (table 4.9).
Mean elapsed time from conviction to sentencing for persons convicted ofa felony was about 1 month, regard-less of the method of conviction (table4.10).
Mean elapsed time from arrest to sentencing in 1992 was nearly 7months, unchanged from 1988; themedian was nearly 5 months, also un-changed (table 4.11).
Cases decided by juries had a meanelapsed time from arrest to sentencingof about 10 months; those disposedby guilty plea or a bench trial, a meanof 6¾ months (table 4.11).
42 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 43
Table 4.1. Number of felony convictions in State courts, by type of conviction, 1992
Number of felons convicted by Most seriousconviction offense
Other offenses e 124,382 7,917 3,668 4,249 116,465
Note: See note on tables 1.1 and 3.6. Detail may not sum to total because of rounding. Data on type of conviction were available for 703,787 cases. Table figures include estimates for cases missing a designation on type of conviction.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
44 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 4.2. Offenses of felons convicted in State courts, by type of conviction, 1992
Percent of felons convicted by Most seriousconviction offense
Note: See note on tables 1.1, 3.6, and 4.1. Detail may not sum to total because of rounding. Data on conviction type were available for 703,787 cases.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexualassault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 45
Table 4.3. Offenses of felons convicted in State courts, by nature of conviction, 1992
Percent convicted by Most seriousconviction offense
Note: See note on tables 1.1, 3.6, and 4.1. Detail may not sum to total because of rounding. aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexualassault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
46 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 4.4. Types of sentences imposed by State courts, by nature of conviction, 1992
Percent of felons sentenced to Most seriousconviction offense
Incarceration NonincarcerationTotal Total Prison Jail Total Probation Other
Note: See note on tables 1.1, 1.2, and 3.6. Detail may not sum to total because of rounding. Data on conviction type were available for 738,166 cases. Some estimates in this table are based on as few as 1 case and are therefore unreliable.--Less than 0.5%.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property
48 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 4.5. Average felony sentence lengths in State courts, by nature of conviction, 1992
Maximum sentence length in months for convictions by Trial
Most seriousconviction offense
Total Total Jury Bench Guilty pleaMean Median Mean Median Mean Median Mean Median Mean Median
Sentences to prison
All offenses 79 mo 48 mo 150 mo 75 mo 190 mo 108 mo 88 mo 60 mo 72 mo 48 mo
Violent offenses 125 mo 72 mo 209 mo 120 mo 251 mo 144 mo 121 mo 72 mo 109 mo 72 mo
Weapons offenses 38 mo 24 mo 34 mo 24 mo 32 mo 24 mo 35 mo 24 mo 39 mo 30 mo
Other offenses e 42 mo 36 mo 51 mo 36 mo 38 mo 30 mo 58 mo 36 mo 45 mo 36 mo
Note: See note on tables 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and 3.6. Some estimates in this table are based on as few as 1 case and are therefore unreliable.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
50 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 4.7. Number of felony offenses forwhich convicted and sentenced in 1992, by nature of conviction, 1992
Percent convicted of
Nature of conviction Total
Oneoffense
Two or moreoffenses
All 100% 77% 23%
Trial 100 70 30Jury 100 57 43Bench 100 84 17
Guilty plea 100 77 23
Note: See note on tables 1.6 and 3.6. Detail may not sum to total because of rounding.
Table 4.6. Sentences for felons convicted of murder or nonnegligent manslaughter in State courts, by nature of conviction, 1992
Nature of Type of sentenceconviction Total Life Death Other*
Weapons offenses 128 days 176 days 232 days 150 days 123 days
Other offenses e 117 days 138 days 200 days 115 days 116 days
Note: See note on table 1.1. Data were available for 695,019cases. Some estimates in this table are based on as few as 1 case and are therefore unreliable.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexualassault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 53
Table 4.10. Average number of days between conviction and sentencingfor felony cases in State courts, by nature of conviction, 1992
Number of days between conviction and sentencing for cases disposed by
Most seriousconviction offense
TrialGuilty plea Total Total Jury Bench
Mean number of days
All offenses 27 days 28 days 34 days 22 days 27 days
Violent offenses 27 days 33 days 38 days 24 days 26 daysMurdera 31 40 42 32 25Rape 34 37 42 25 33Robbery 24 28 33 20 23Aggravated assault 23 30 36 22 22Other violentb 37 35 37 33 37
Property offenses 22 days 31 days 30 days 32 days 22 daysBurglary 22 26 24 28 22Larcenyc 22 37 42 35 22Fraudd 23 29 26 31 22
Drug offenses 34 days 22 days 28 days 18 days 35 daysPossession 27 18 11 19 28Trafficking 37 25 32 17 38
Weapons offenses 28 days 22 days 33 days 13 days 28 days
Other offenses e 26 days 18 days 34 days 8 days 26 days
Median number of days
All offenses 0 days 0 days 0 days 0 days 0 days
Violent offenses 0 days 0 days 0 days 0 days 0 daysMurdera 0 0 0 0 0Rape 0 0 1 0 0Robbery 0 0 0 0 0Aggravated assault 0 0 0 0 0Other violentb 0 16 0 20 0
Property offenses 0 days 0 days 0 days 0 days 0 daysBurglary 0 0 0 0 0Larcenyc 0 0 0 0 0Fraudd 0 0 0 0 0
Drug offenses 0 days 0 days 0 days 0 days 0 daysPossession 0 0 0 0 0Trafficking 0 0 0 0 0
Weapons offenses 0 days 0 days 0 days 0 days 0 days
Other offenses e 0 days 0 days 0 days 0 days 0 daysNote: See note on tables 1.1 and 4.9. Data were available for 695,019cases. Some estimates in this table are based on as few as 1 case and are therefore unreliable.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
54 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 4.11. Average number of days between arrest and sentencing for felony cases in State courts, by nature of conviction, 1992
Number of days between arrest and sentencing for cases disposed by
Most seriousconviction offense
TrialGuilty plea Total Total Jury Bench
Mean number of days
All offenses 203 days 255 days 300 days 216 days 199 days
Violent offenses 227 days 298 days 330 days 246 days 215 daysMurdera 339 393 405 351 308Rape 254 331 357 267 237Robbery 205 275 280 266 196Aggravated assault 214 264 313 206 206Other violentb 234 249 285 229 232
Property offenses 182 days 228 days 253 days 212 days 180 daysBurglary 177 199 209 192 175Larcenyc 181 254 315 221 176Fraudd 195 245 242 247 193
Drug offenses 211 days 237 days 281 days 216 days 209 daysPossession 213 209 199 211 213Trafficking 209 264 304 225 206
Weapons offenses 213 days 237 days 279 days 205 days 211 days
Other offenses e 195 days 199 days 275 days 157 days 195 days
Median number of days
All offenses 143 days 191 days 231 days 171 days 139 days
Violent offenses 171 days 233 days 268 days 192 days 160 daysMurdera 274 308 326 273 253Rape 185 259 282 204 175Robbery 153 211 230 199 144Aggravated assault 162 210 240 173 155Other violentb 190 211 272 188 184
Property offenses 125 days 164 days 167 days 164 days 123 daysBurglary 124 149 156 142 123Larcenyc 121 168 187 168 118Fraudd 133 183 125 185 132
Drug offenses 147 days 182 days 214 days 173 days 141 daysPossession 147 172 169 172 142Trafficking 146 209 220 182 141
Weapons offenses 156 days 193 days 232 days 164 days 151 days
Other offenses e 141 days 154 days 230 days 128 days 140 daysNote: See note on tables 1.1 and 4.9. Data were available for 695,019 cases. Some estimates in this table are based on as few as 1 case and are therefore unreliable.aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexualassault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
Likelihood of conviction if arrested
Data sources
A comparison of convictions and ar-rests was made using data from theNational Judicial Reporting Programand the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports(UCR). The number of felony convic-tions in 1992 was compared to thenumber of adult arrests for offenseslikely to be felonies: murder (includingnonnegligent manslaughter), robbery,aggravated assault, burglary, and drugtrafficking. The numbers are aggre-gates and should not be interpreted asrepresenting the disposition of individ-ual cases tracked across processingstages of the criminal justice system.Nevertheless, the comparisons illus-trate the approximate odds of convic-tion given an arrest for a felony.
Higher likelihood of conviction in the South
Nationally, an estimated 35% of adultarrests for a felony resulted in a felonyconviction in 1992. For violent felo-nies it was 21%; for other offenses,48% (table 5.1). The lower likelihoodfor violent felonies is largely attribut-able to aggravated assault arrests,which are unlikely to result in a felonyconviction.
The likelihood of felony convictiongiven arrest was greater in the South(41%) than elsewhere (31%) (table5.1). The greater likelihood in theSouth was true not only for all of-fenses combined but also for individ-ual offenses.
Likelihood of State prison sentenceif convicted
Data source
Data on 1992 felony convictions andsentences are from the National Judi-cial Reporting Program.
Higher likelihood of prison sentence in the South
From among prison, jail, and proba-tion, the most severe sentence isprison. Compared to convicted felonsoutside the South, those convicted inthe South stood a greater chance ofreceiving a prison sentence. Statecourts in the South sentenced toprison 57% of the felons they con-victed in 1992. That compares to 41%in State courts elsewhere (table 5.2).
In general, the pattern of more severesentencing in the South held true forall types of offenses, although to alesser extent for violent offenses. Fora particularly serious crime, such asmurder, the convicted felon is almostcertain to be sent to prison, regardlessof where the sentencing occurs. Forless serious felonies such as propertyoffenses, there exists greater regionalvariation in sentencing practices.
Length of State prison sentence
Data source
Data on felony sentence lengths arefrom the 1992 National Judicial Re-porting Program.
Prison sentences longer in the South
Felony prison sentences were longerin the South than elsewhere. The av-erage State prison sentence in theSouth in 1992 was 94 months (about 8years), compared to 57 months (about5 years) outside the South (table 5.3).The pattern of longer prison sentencesin the South generally holds true re-gardless of the offense.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 55
Regional variation in adjudication and sentencing, 1992
56 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 5.1. Number of felony convictions in State courts per 100 adult arrests, for offenses widely defined as felonies, by region, 1992
Number of felony con-victions per 100 adult arrests
aIncludes murder, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and drug trafficking.bIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.Source: Crime in the United States, 1992 (FBI, 1993), provided data on reported crime and arrests.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 57
Table 5.2. Convicted felons sentenced to prison, by region, 1992
aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
58 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Table 5.3. Mean prison sentence lengths imposed by State courts, by region, 1992
Note: Mean excludes sentences to death or to life in prison. aIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.bIncludes offenses such as negligent manslaughter, sexual assault, and kidnaping.cIncludes motor vehicle theft.dIncludes forgery and embezzlement.eComposed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and driving while intoxicated.
Trends in drug trafficking arrests
From 1986 to 1989 adult arrests fordrug trafficking rose. Since then, thenumber has generally fallen. In thepeak year, 1989, an estimated406,000 adults were arrested nation-wide for drug trafficking (table 6.1). Inthe latest year of available data, 1994,319,000 were arrested, or 22% fewerthan in 1989.
In short, drug trafficking arrests rosethrough the late 1980's and have gen-erally fallen since.
Trends in drug traffickingconvictions
Biennial data exist since 1986 on con-victions for drug trafficking. Theyshow a large increase in drug traffick-ing convictions from 1986 to 1988, fol-lowed by a large increase from 1988to 1990, followed then by a modestincrease from 1990 to the latest yearof available data, 1992 (table 6.2).
In short, drug trafficking convictionsrose substantially through the late1980's but have risen only slightly in the 1990's.
Trends in drug traffickers as percentages of all convictions
In 1986, 13% of all State court felonyconvictions were for drug trafficking.The number rose to 17% in 1988 andto 20% in 1990. In 1992 it stayed atabout that same level, 19%.
Trends in likelihood of convictiongiven arrest for drug trafficking
The likelihood of conviction given ar-rest can be approximated by relatingthe number of convictions to the num-ber of arrests. Accordingly, in 1986,for every 100 arrests for drug traffick-ing there were 41 convictions. In 1988it was about the same: 39 convictionsfor every 100 arrests. But in 1990 itrose substantially, to 53 convictionsper 100 arrests. In 1992 it stayed atabout that same level, 55 convictionsper 100 arrests.
In short, the likelihood of convictiongiven arrest for drug trafficking roseconsiderably from 1986 to 1990 buthas risen only slightly since then.
Trends in likelihood of prison sen-tence given conviction for drugtrafficking
In 1986, 37% of convicted drug traf-fickers received a prison sentence. In1988 about the same percentage weresent to prison, 41%. But in 1990 thatrate rose considerably, to 52%, and itremained at about that level in 1992,55%.
In short, from 1986 to 1990 a growingpercentage of convicted drug traffick-ers received a prison sentence. Sincethen, the percentage has risen onlyslightly.
Trends in drug traffickers as percentages of prison entries
In 1986 drug traffickers accounted for 11% of all entries to State prisons.In 1988 that number grew to 16% andin 1990 to 22%. In 1992, 21% of en-tering inmates were traffickers.
Overview of recent national trendsin the justice system response todrug trafficking
The period from the mid-1980's to thelate 1980's was characterized by markedly rising risk of apprehension,prosecution, and imprisonment andwas followed by a leveling-off period.However risk is measured whetherby the number of arrests, the numberof convictions, the number of convic-tions relative to arrests, or the per-centage of convictions receiving prison risk rose through the late 1980'sand, except for arrests, has stayed atabout that level since.
In 1986 drug traffickers were 1 inevery 8 persons entering prison, andin 1992, 1 in every 5. This change,over a short period of years, resultednot just from police making more ar-rests, but also from prosecutors pur-suing charges and obtaining con-victions against a larger fraction ofthose arrested and from judges sen-tencing to prison a larger fraction ofthose convicted.
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 59
Trends in drug trafficking, 1986-94
Drug traffickers and violent offenders: 1992 felony sentencescompared
State courts nationwide sentencedconvicted violent offenders more se-verely than convicted drug traffickers:
48% of drug traffickers and 60% ofviolent offenders received a prisonsentence (table 1.2).
Average prison sentences were 6years for drug traffickers and 10½ years for violent offenders (table1.3).
However, not all State courts sen-tenced violent felony offenders moreseverely than drug traffickers, accord-ing to survey results from the 1992National Judicial Reporting Program.Of the 300 counties that participated inthe survey, courts in 274 convicted atleast 1 drug trafficker and 1 violent of-fender in 1992.
Seventy-four of the 274 or 27% ofthe courts sentenced a greaterfraction of drug traffickers thanviolent offenders to prison:
In the 74 courts where prison sen-tences were imposed more often fordrug traffickers than violent offend-ers, prison sentences were imposedon 76% of convicted drug traffickersand 55% of convicted violentoffenders.
These results suggest that about aquarter of the Nation's State courtsimprison a higher percentage of drugtraffickers than violent offenders.
In some courts, longer prison sen-tences were imposed on drug traffick-ers than on violent offenders. Of the246 courts that sentenced to prison atleast one drug trafficker and one vio-lent offender in 1992, 30 or 12% on average sentenced drug traffickersto longer terms of imprisonment thanviolent offenders:
In the 30 State courts where sen-tences were longer for drug traffick-ers than violent offenders, theaverage prison sentence imposedwas nearly 12 years for drug traffick-ers and 9 years for violent offenders.
60 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 61
Table 6.2. Convicted drug traffickers as percent of all State court felony convictions and sentenced drug traffickers as percent of all convicted felons sentenced to State prison, 1986-92
Year
Drug trafficking convictions as percentof all felony convic-tions in State courts
Drug traffickers as percent of all State prisonsentences
1986 13% 11%
1988 17 16
1990 20 22
1992 19 21
Table 6.1. Trends in drug trafficking arrests, convictions, and sentences,1986-94
Except for 1 county (replaced by an-other county), the sample of 300 coun-ties drawn for the 1988 survey wasalso used in the 1992 survey. Everycounty in the Nation had a nonzeroprobability of being in the sample. In general, the more felony cases acounty had, the more likely that countywas to be in the sample.
The survey used a two-stage, strati-fied cluster sampling design. In thefirst stage the Nation's 3,109 countiesor county equivalents were dividedinto 8 strata. Strata 1 and 2 consistedsolely of the 75 largest counties in theUnited States as defined by the1985resident population. Strata 3 through8 consisted of the remaining 3,034counties.
Because the 75 largest counties ac-count for a disproportionately largeamount of serious crime in the Nation,they were given a greater chance ofbeing selected than the remainingcounties.
Stratum 1 consisted of the 19 countieswith the largest number of felony con-victions in 1985, plus 12 countieswhose participation in the survey hadbeen prearranged. Every county instratum 1 was selected for thesample.
Stratum 2 consisted of the 44 mostpopulous counties that were not instratum 1. The 44 were ordered bytheir number of felony convictions in1985, and then approximately everyother county was selected. Stratum 2 thus contributed 23 counties to thesample. Altogether, 54 out of the 75largest counties were sampled. Dataon 1985 felony convictions were ob-tained from a mail survey described
in State Felony Courts and FelonyLaws (NCJ-106273) and Census ofState Felony Courts, 1985(ICPSR-8667).
The 54 sampled counties in the 1992NJRP survey were the same 54 as inthe 1986, 1988, and 1990 NJRPsurveys.
The 3,034 counties not among the 75 largest were placed into 6 strata defined by the total number of felonyconvictions in 1985 and then arrayedwithin stratum by region and within re-gion from largest to smallest on felonyconviction totals. The final sample in-cluded 246 counties from among the3,034 counties outside the 75 largest.Case-level data were successfully ob-tained on convicted felons sentencedin 1992 from these 300 sampled coun-ties. (Two of the 300 had no felonyconvictions during the survey period.)
The 60 sampled counties in strata 1and 3 were self-representing only, andtheir sampled cases therefore had afirst-stage sampling weight of 1. Theremaining 240 counties sampled fromstrata 2 and 4 through 8 were selectedto represent their respective strata sothat the felony conviction cases sam-pled had first-stage weights greaterthan 1.
At the second stage of sampling, asystematic sample of felons sen-tenced for murder/nonnegligent man-slaughter, rape, robbery, aggravatedassault, burglary, felony larceny/motorvehicle theft, fraud/forgery/-embezzlement, drug trafficking, drugpossession, weapons offenses, andother offenses was selected from eachcounty's official records. The totalsample numbered 105,657 cases. Ofthese, 72,943 cases were in the 75largest counties. Rates at which cases were sampledvaried by stratum and crime type.
In smaller counties every felony casewas taken. In larger counties all murder cases and rape cases weretypically included, but other offensecategories were sampled.
Sampling error
NJRP data were obtained from a sample and not from a complete enumeration. Consequently, esti-mates are subject to sampling error.A standard error, which is a measureof sampling error, is associated witheach number in the report. In general,if the difference between two numbersis at least twice the standard error ofthat difference (the criterion used inthis report), there is at least 95% confidence that the two numbers do infact differ; that is, the apparent differ-ence is not simply the result of survey-ing a sample rather than the entirepopulation.
National estimates of the number ofconvictions for individual crime catego-ries and for the aggregate total had acoefficient of variation of 3%.
Missing data
Unless otherwise stated, computationsof statistics shown in the report's ta-bles excluded sample cases that weremissing data for the particular vari-ables being tabulated. Sources of data
For about 80% of the 300 countiessampled, NJRP data were obtaineddirectly from the State courts. Othersources included prosecutor offices,and courts and prosecutor officescombined. Individual-level NJRP rec-ords were obtained through a varietyof collection methods, including mag-netic tape (61% of the counties), fieldcollection (12%), printouts and other
62 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
Methodology
documents, and manually completedforms.
Data collection for 235 counties wasperformed by the U.S. Bureau of theCensus and for 65 counties by the Na-tional Association of Criminal JusticePlanners.
Targeted population
The survey targeted and recorded ini-tial sentences imposed in 1992. If asentence was imposed on one dateand then modified at a later date, therevision was ignored. The survey re-corded sentences that were actuallyexecuted and excluded suspendedsentences.
Because year of conviction was not adefining characteristic, some cases inthe sample were of persons convictedbefore 1992 but not sentenced until1992. In a few counties in which itwas impractical to target sentences in1992, the target was felons convictedin 1992. In some of the cases, thedata relate to sentences imposedafter 1992.
Crime definitions
Murder and nonnegligent manslaugh-ter: Murder is (1) intentionally causingthe death of another person withoutextreme provocation or legal justifica-tion or (2) causing the death of an-other while committing or attemptingto commit another crime. Nonnegli-gent (or voluntary) manslaughter isintentionally and without legal justifica-tion causing the death of anotherwhen acting under extreme provoca-tion. The combined category of mur-der and nonnegligent manslaughterexcludes involuntary or negligent man-slaughter, conspiracies to commitmurder, solicitation of murder, and at-tempted murder.
Rape: forcible intercourse (vaginal,anal, or oral) with a female or male.Includes forcible sodomy or penetra-tion with a foreign object (which aresometimes called "deviate sexual as-sault"), but excludes statutory rape orany other nonforcible sexual acts witha minor or with someone unable togive legal or factual consent. Includesattempts.
Robbery: the unlawful taking of prop-erty that is in the immediate posses-sion of another, by force or the threatof force. Includes forcible pursesnatching, but excludes nonforciblepurse snatching, which is classified as larceny/theft. Includes attempts.
Aggravated assault: (1) intentionallyand without legal justification causingserious bodily injury, with or without adeadly weapon, or (2) using a deadlyor dangerous weapon to threaten, at-tempt, or cause bodily injury, regard-less of the degree of injury, if any.Includes "attempted murder," "aggra-vated battery," "felonious assault," and"assault with a deadly weapon."
Other violent: violent offenses exclud-ing murder and nonnegligent man-slaughter, rape, robbery, andaggravated assault. Includes offensessuch as sexual assault, kidnaping, ex-tortion, and negligent manslaughter.Includes attempts.
Burglary: the unlawful entry of a fixedstructure used for a regular residence,industry, or business, with or withoutthe use of force, to commit a felony or theft. Includes attempts.
Larceny and motor vehicle theft: Lar-ceny is the unlawful taking of propertyother than a motor vehicle from thepossession of another, by stealth,without force or deceit. Includespocket picking, nonforcible pursesnatching, shoplifting, and thefts from
motor vehicles. Excludes receivingand/or reselling stolen property (fenc-ing), and thefts through fraud or de-ceit. Includes attempts.
Motor vehicle theft: The unlawful tak-ing of a self-propelled road vehicleowned by another. Includes the theftof automobiles, trucks, and motorcy-cles, but excludes the theft of boats,aircraft, or farm equipment (which isclassified as larceny/theft). Also in-cludes receiving, possessing, strip-ping, transporting, and reselling stolenvehicles, and unauthorized use of avehicle (joyriding). Includes attempts.
Fraud, forgery, and embezzlement:using deceit or intentional misrepre-sentation to unlawfully deprive a per-son of his or her property or legalrights. Includes offenses such ascheck fraud, confidence game, coun-terfeiting, and credit card fraud. In-cludes attempts.
Drug possession: Includes posses-sion of an illegal drug, but excludes"possession with intent to sell." In-cludes attempts.
Drug trafficking: includes manufactur-ing, distributing, selling, smuggling, or"possession with intent to sell." In-cludes attempts.
Weapons offenses: The unlawfulsale, distribution, manufacture, altera-tion, transportation, possession, oruse of a deadly or dangerous weaponor accessory.
Other felonies: All felony offenses notlisted above. Includes receiving stolenproperty, driving while intoxicated orother traffic offenses, bribery, ob-structing justice, escaping from cus-tody, family offenses (such as childneglect, contributing to the delin-quency of a minor, and nonpaymentof child support), and nonviolent
State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992 63
sexual offenses (such as statutoryrape, incest, pornography offenses,pimping, and prostitution). Includesattempts.
Regions
This report refers to regions that con-sist of the following States:
Northeast Midwest Connecticut Illinois Maine Indiana Massachusetts Iowa New Hampshire Kansas New Jersey Michigan New York Minnesota Pennsylvania Missouri Rhode Island Nebraska Vermont North Dakota Ohio South South Dakota Alabama Wisconsin Arkansas Delaware West Dist. of Col. Alaska Florida Arizona Georgia California Kentucky Colorado Louisiana Hawaii Maryland Idaho Mississippi Montana North Carolina Nevada Oklahoma New Mexico South Carolina Oregon Tennessee Utah Texas Washington Virginia Wyoming West Virginia
NJRP data consistent with othernational data
The National Judicial Reporting Pro-gram compiles information on the sen-tences that courts impose on felons.Some of the sentences are to prison,while others are to jail or probation.The NJRP is largely based on courtand prosecutor records. A separatestatistical series based on prison re-cords, the National Corrections Re-porting Program (NCRP), compilesinformation on persons enteringprison.
Informative comparisons can be madebetween felons sentenced in 1992 toprison according to the NJRP and per-sons entering prison in 1992 accordingto the NCRP. Though the two seriesare based on different sources, thetwo should give a matching profile ofpersons sent to prison. To the extentthat findings from one series resemblethose from the other, confidence isenhanced in each.
For various reasons a perfect matchshould not be expected. The two se-ries are not identical in their geo-graphical coverage. The NJRP isnational, while the NCRP in 1992gathered data from 38 State depart-ments of corrections. The NJRP issubject to sampling variability, but theNCRP is not. The 1992 NJRP isbased on samples of sentenced felonsdrawn from court and prosecutor re-cords in 300 counties selected to benationally representative. Conse-quently, there is a margin of error inthe NJRP offender profiles that nor-mally arises whenever a sample isdrawn. The NCRP, however, uses nosample but is based on individualprison records.
Comparisons of NJRP and NCRP1992 demographic profiles of personsreceiving a State prison sentence pro-duce nearly identical results
Percent of prison sentencesNJRP NCRP*
SexMale 91.2% 91.3%Female 8.8 8.7
RaceWhite 44.9% 44.7%Black 54.5 54.3Other .6 1.0
64 State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons, 1992
*National Corrections Reporting Program, 1992,BJS, NCJ-145862, October 1994, p. 12.