Policy Changes and the Federal Prison Count, 1980-present

• In Event: Policy Panel: Federal Prisons at a Crossroads

Abstract

This presentation will provide an overview of long-term trends in the federal prison population as seen through the prism of specific policy choices made by Congress, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the U.S. Justice Department, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Among other subjects, it will examine the role of mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws, the elimination of federal parole, and the Supreme Court’s ruling in Booker v. United States, which made federal sentencing guidelines advisory.

Author

• John Gramlich, The Pew Charitable Trusts