Time Served in Prison by Federal Offenders, 1986-97. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report

摘要

In 1987 the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) published Sentencing and Time Served, reporting that Federal offenders who had parole hearings between July 1979 and June 1980 and who had been sentenced to 1 to 5 years in prison served about 2 years, on average, or about 70% of the prison term imposed. Offenders who had received longer prison terms, while incarcerated for a longer time, served a smaller proportion of the prison term imposed & about 50% for offenders sentenced to 5 to 10 years and less than 40% for those sentenced to more than 15 years. Beginning with the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, however, Federal sentencing and release practices underwent a series of changes. The act, which took effect on November 1, 1987, established the Federal sentencing guidelines. The guidelines required a prison term for many offenses for which probation had routinely been imposed and longer sentences for other offenses. The act also eliminated parole and reduced the amount of good conduct time Federal offenders could earn.