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State Court Sentencing of Convicted Felons 2004 - Statistical Tables
Profile of Felons Convicted in State Courts

 

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Table 2.8. Mean length of felony sentences imposed in State courts, by offense and combined categories of race and gender, 2004
Most serious
conviction offense		 Mean sentence length for persons who were --
White Black
Male Female Male Female
Sentenced to incarceration/a                
  All offenses 39 mo 24 mo 43 mo 23 mo
Violent offenses 73 mo 46 mo 87 mo 51 mo
  Murder/b 232   152   256   231  
  Sexual assault/c 110   88   104   55  
  Robbery 88   55   101   80  
  Aggravated assault 42   31   51   31  
  Other violent/d 43   41   47   31  
Property offenses 32 mo 20 mo 33 mo 19 mo
  Burglary 44   27   47   22  
  Larceny/e 21   17   23   17  
  Fraud/f 27   21   25   21  
Drug offenses 33 mo 22 mo 33 mo 21 mo
  Possession 22   16   23   15  
  Trafficking 41   28   38   25  
Weapon offenses 32 mo 26 mo 34 mo 20 mo
Other offenses/g 25 mo 20 mo 25 mo 17 mo
                   
Sentenced to prison                
  All offenses 61 mo 42 mo 65 mo 44 mo
Violent offenses 97 mo 71 mo 109 mo 83 mo
  Murder/b 244   152   259   240  
  Sexual assault/c 131   118   125   105  
  Robbery 103   66   114   104  
  Aggravated assault 62   54   72   54  
  Other violent/d 64   65   68   59  
Property offenses 47 mo 34 mo 50 mo 35 mo
  Burglary 59   41   62   38  
  Larceny/e 35   31   36   29  
  Fraud/f 41   33   44   39  
Drug offenses 55 mo 42 mo 51 mo 39 mo
  Possession 38   32   35   28  
  Trafficking 65   49   61   49  
Weapon offenses 47 mo 42 mo 48 mo 36 mo
Other offenses/g 43 mo 39 mo 44 mo 31 mo
                   
Sentenced to jail                
  All offenses 7 mo 6 mo 7 mo 6 mo
Violent offenses 8 mo 7 mo 9 mo 7 mo
  Murder/b 8   / * 13   12 *
  Sexual assault/c 10   7   10   4  
  Robbery 12   11   11   9  
  Aggravated assault 7   6   8   6  
  Other violent/d 7   8   8   6  
Property offenses 7 mo 6 mo 7 mo 6 mo
  Burglary 8   7   8   6  
  Larceny/e 7   6   7   6  
  Fraud/f 6   5   7   5  
Drug offenses 6 mo 6 mo 6 mo 5 mo
  Possession 5   4   5   5  
  Trafficking 7   7   7   6  
Weapon offenses 6 mo 6 mo 8 mo 6 mo
Other offenses/g 6 mo 6 mo 6 mo 5 mo
                   
Sentenced to probation                
  All offenses 39 mo 36 mo 37 mo 34 mo
Violent offenses 45 mo 38 mo 45 mo 38 mo
  Murder/b 55   48   68   50  
  Sexual assault/c 55   57   53   47  
  Robbery 56   51   53   53  
  Aggravated assault 41   35   40   35  
  Other violent/d 44   40   44   35  
Property offenses 37 mo 36 mo 38 mo 34 mo
  Burglary 41   39   41   45  
  Larceny/e 35   36   37   32  
  Fraud/f 34   36   36   35  
Drug offenses 37 mo 36 mo 36 mo 34 mo
  Possession 39   36   31   29  
  Trafficking 36   37   40   37  
Weapon offenses 36 mo 31 mo 28 mo 24 mo
Other offenses/g 40 mo 34 mo 32 mo 29 mo
Note: For persons receiving a combination of sentences, the sentence designation came from the most severe penalty imposed -- prison being the most severe, followed by jail, then probation. In this table "probation" is defined as straight probation. Means exclude sentences to death or to life in prison. Racial categories include Hispanics.
/ No sample cases available for estimate.
*Estimate is based on 10 or fewer sample cases.
a/Includes prison and jail sentences.
b/Includes nonnegligent manslaughter.
c/Includes rape.
d/Includes offenses such as negligent manslaughter and kidnapping.
e/Includes motor vehicle theft.
f/Includes forgery and embezzlement.
g/Composed of nonviolent offenses such as receiving stolen property and vandalism.

Source: National Judicial Reporting Program
     See also Methodology
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