The U.S. Sentencing Commission has released new information about offenders serving sentences of life in prison (formally and de facto) in the federal system. It is used in only a small proportion of the cases in which it is authorized by statute. It is a less of an issue in the federal system than in the state system because serious violent crimes for which such sentences are most often imposed are rare in the federal system.
The reports treats any sentence of imprisonment 470 months or longer as a de facto life sentence. "Between fiscal years 2016 and 2021, de facto life sentences ranged from 471 months (39.3 years) to 7,200 months—the equivalent of 600 years. The median de facto life sentence was 548 months (45.7 years)."
This definition is probably too narrow since much shorter sentences for older offenders still amount to de facto life sentences. In particular, as another recent U.S. Sentencing Commission report reveals:
Nearly forty percent (38.6%) of offenders who were sentenced at 70 years of age or older received a sentence that exceeds their life expectancy, compared to 7.1 percent of offenders 65 through 69, and less than one percent of offenders under the age of 50.
Here are some highlights from the life sentencing report:
There are numerous federal criminal statutes authorizing a sentence of life as the maximum sentence allowed, such as for offenses involving drug trafficking, racketeering, and firearms crimes. While convictions under these statutes are common, sentences of life imprisonment are rare, accounting for only a small proportion of all federal offenders sentenced. . . .
Offenders Sentenced to Life Imprisonment
* During fiscal years 2016 through 2021, there were 709 federal offenders sentenced to life imprisonment, which accounted for 0.2 percent of the total federal offender population.
* Almost half (48.7%) of offenders sentenced to life imprisonment were convicted of murder.
* Approximately half (47.5%) of offenders sentenced to life imprisonment were found to either have possessed a weapon in connection with their instant offense or were convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) — for possession or use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime. This is almost five times the rate for offenders who were sentenced to less than life imprisonment (9.8%).
* Nearly one-third (31.4%) of offenders sentenced to life imprisonment received an aggravating role enhancement as an organizer, leader, manager, or supervisor in the offense, which is approximately eight times higher than those sentenced to less than life imprisonment (4.2%).
* Offenders sentenced to life imprisonment qualified as repeat and dangerous sex offenders in 11.8 percent of cases, in comparison to 0.6 percent of offenders sentenced to less than life imprisonment.
* The trial rate of offenders sentenced to life imprisonment was 75.6 percent, which was over thirty times higher than the 2.3 percent trial rate for all other federal offenders.
Offenders Sentenced to De Facto Life Imprisonment
* There were 799 offenders sentenced to de facto life imprisonment, which accounted for 0.2 percent of the total federal offender population.
* Half (50.6%) of offenders sentenced to de facto life imprisonment were convicted of sexual abuse.
* One-third (33.2%) of offenders sentenced to de facto life imprisonment were found to either have possessed a weapon in connection with their instant offense or were convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) — for possession or use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime.
* More than one-in-seven (15.4%) offenders sentenced to de facto life imprisonment received an aggravating role enhancement as an organizer, leader, manager, or supervisor in the offense.
* Offenders sentenced to de facto life imprisonment qualified as repeat and dangerous sex offenders in 39.4 percent of cases.
* The trial rate of offenders sentenced to de facto life imprisonment was 39.4 percent.
Via the Sentencing Law and Policy Blog. Full report here.
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