A Matter of Time: The Causes and Consequences of Long Prison Sentences in America

• In Event: Extreme Sentences in America: Trends, Consequences, and Avenues for Reform

Abstract

While recent reforms have helped reduce prison time for low-level offenses, they have intentionally excluded those who stay in prison the longest. Using a new approach to measuring time served in prison, the Urban Institute analyzed National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP) data and found that people have been spending more time in prison, on average, in nearly every state. This increase has been sharpest for people convicted of violent offenses, who make up more than half the people in state prisons and the majority of those serving the longest prison terms. Interviews with formerly incarcerated individuals illuminate the serious consequences of these trends for individuals, families, communities, and states. As more people spend more time in prison, they leave families behind, a cost that communities of color disproportionately bear. States spend millions to house an aging prison population, despite evidence that many people could be safely released. Ultimately, efforts to curb mass incarceration will fall short unless reforms include those serving the longest prison terms, which means rethinking the way we treat people convicted of serious crimes.

Authors

• Leigh Courtney, Urban Institute

• Elizabeth Pelletier, Urban Institute

• Sarah Eppler-Epstein, Urban Institute

• Ryan King, Urban Institute