Statistics On Long U.S. Prison Sentences

Most of this data is unsurprising, but long prison sentences are increasingly common and account for well over a majority of prison inmates nationwide in the U.S. 

One of the main sources of the differences in incarceration rates between the U.S. and most other developed countries is the wider use of long prison sentences in the U.S. There are about half a million people serving long prison sentences in the U.S. at any given time.

Women are much more likely to be serving long sentences for property or drug crimes than men who are more likely to be serving long sentences for violent crimes (which are overwhelmingly committed by men).

People with long sentences account for a relatively small share of state prison admissions and releases, but because they serve long periods, their numbers stack up over time. In 2019, 17% of people admitted to prison were sentenced to 10 years or more, and 3% of those released had served 10 years or more. At year-end, 57% of people in prison were serving a long prison sentence, up from 46% in 2005. 

The length of time served by people sentenced to 10 years or more has grown. Between 2005 and 2019, the average amount of time served by this group increased from 9.7 years to 15.5 years.

The share of people convicted of a violent crime who received long sentences grew from 7% in 2005 to 10% in 2019. The percentage of people convicted of property and drug offenses who received long sentences remained stable, at 3% and 2%, respectively.

The shares of Black and White people receiving long sentences have grown over time and the gap between those shares has widened, from 1 percentage point in 2005 to 4 percentage points in 2019. When accounting for conviction offenses, Black people are more likely to receive long sentences for violent crimes while White people are for some property crimes. White people convicted of drug crimes were more likely than Black people to get a long sentence in 2005 but less likely by 2019.

Compared to other age groups, people aged 55 and over are the fastest-growing age group serving long sentences. Between 2005 and 2019, the share of people serving long sentences who were aged 55 and over grew from 8% to 20%.

Men are more likely than women to receive and serve a long sentence. On average, men are about 72% more likely to receive a long sentence and over three times more likely to serve a long sentence than women, mostly because men are convicted of more serious, violent crimes. Greater shares of both men (up 4%) and women (up 3%) received sentences of 10 years or more in 2019 than in 2005.

Via the Sentencing Law and Policy Blog quoting the Council of Criminal Justice.