Prisoners Behind Bars Longer, Study Finds

Prisoners are spending more time behind bars as states enact laws to narrow the gap between sentences handed down and the time offenders actually serve, the federal government reported. Violent offenders released in 1997 (people convicted of murder, rape, robbery or aggravated assault) spent an average of 49 months in prison, up from 43 months in 1993, a study by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics showed. On average, violent offenders freed in 1997 had served 54% of their sentences. In 1993, they had served 47%. The full report is available on the Internet at https://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/.