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1 Matthew R. Durose & Patrick A. Langan, Felony Sentences in State Courts, 2002 1 (2004)

handle is hein.agopinions/felsensc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: artment of Justice Justice Programs December 2004, NCJ 206916 Felony Sentences in State Courts, 2002 By Matthew R. Durose and Patrick A. Langan, Ph.D. BJS Statisticians In 2002 State courts convicted an estimated 1,051,000 adults of a felony. Forty-one percent of convicted felons ' were sentenced to a State prison, and 28% were sentenced to a local jail (usually for a year or less). The remain- ing 31% were sentenced to probation. These findings come from a survey conducted every 2 years and is the Nation's sole source of statistical infor- mation on the sentences felons receive in State courts nationwide. National Judicial Reporting Program The National Judicial Reporting Program (NJRP) compiles detailed information on the sentences and characteristics of convicted felons. Previous NJRP surveys of felony sentencing in State courts have been conducted every 2 years since 1986. The 2002 survey was based on a sample of 300 counties (out of the Nation's approximately 3,100 counties) selected to be nationally representative. The 300 included at least 1 county from 'every State except, by chance, Nevada, South Dakota, and Wyoming. * In 2002 State courts convicted an estimated 1,051,000 adults of a felony. Federal courts convicted 63,217, bringing the combined U.S. total to 1,114,217. State courts accounted for 94% of the national total. - Drug offenders were 32% of felons convicted in State courts in 2002. Property offenders made up 30.9%; violent offenders, 18.8%; and those convicted of weapon offenses and other nonviolent crimes made up the rest (18%). - State courts sentenced 41% of convicted felons to a State prison, 28% to a local jail, and 31% to straight probation with no jail or prison time to serve. - The average State court sentence to local jail was 7 months. The average probation sentence was 3 years and 2 months. A fine was imposed on 25% of convicted felons, restitution on 12%, community service on 4%, and treatment was ordered for 3%. The average sentence length to State prison has decreased since 1994 (41/2 years versus 6 years), but felons sentenced in 2002 were likely to serve more of that sentence before release (51% versus 38%). Guilty pleas accounted for 95% of felony convictions in State courts in 2002. Trial convictions accounted for the remaining 5%. * Nationally, of the felons convicted in State courts in 2002, 60% were white, 37% were black, and 3% were other races. * Persons in their twenties represented about 18% of the adult U.S. population but 41% of convicted felons. The mean age of felons was 32 years; the median was 30. * The median time from arrest to State court sentencing in 2002 was about 6 months. An estimated 78% of convicted felons were sentenced within 1 year of arrest. !wna