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The Myths and Realities of Correctional Severity: Evidence from the National Corrections Reporting Program on Sentencing Practices

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  • John F. Pfaff

Abstract

The forces driving U.S. prison growth are poorly understood. This article examines one factor that has received insufficient attention: changes in time served. It demonstrates that time served has not risen dramatically in recent years, even declining in some jurisdictions. It also shows that time served is fairly short: median release times are approximately one to two years. Thus, admissions practices, not longer sentences, appear to drive prison growth. This article also examines whether time served varies across different types of inmates. Young, Hispanic, and violent offenders appear to serve longer sentences; race and sex appear to be of minor importance. Copyright 2011, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • John F. Pfaff, 2011. "The Myths and Realities of Correctional Severity: Evidence from the National Corrections Reporting Program on Sentencing Practices," American Law and Economics Review, American Law and Economics Association, vol. 13(2), pages 491-531.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:amlawe:v:13:y:2011:i:2:p:491-531
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/aler/ahr010
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Yang, Crystal S., 2017. "Local labor markets and criminal recidivism," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 16-29.
    2. Brian Bell & Anna Bindler & Stephen Machin, 2018. "Crime Scars: Recessions and the Making of Career Criminals," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 100(3), pages 392-404, July.
    3. Ouss, Aurélie, 2020. "Misaligned incentives and the scale of incarceration in the United States," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    4. Jeremy Luallen & Ryan Kling, 2014. "A Method for Analyzing Changing Prison Populations," Evaluation Review, , vol. 38(6), pages 459-486, December.
    5. Benjamin Lessing, 2017. "Counterproductive punishment: How prison gangs undermine state authority," Rationality and Society, , vol. 29(3), pages 257-297, August.
    6. Derek Neal & Armin Rick, 2014. "The Prison Boom and the Lack of Black Progress after Smith and Welch," NBER Working Papers 20283, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Neal, Derek A. & Rick, Armin, 2013. "The Prison Boom & The Lack of Black Progress After Smith & Welch," Working Papers 248, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    8. Gultekin Gollu & Mariyana Zapryanova, 2022. "The effect of Medicaid on recidivism: Evidence from Medicaid suspension and termination policies," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 89(2), pages 326-372, October.
    9. Michelle S. Phelps & Devah Pager, 2016. "Inequality and Punishment," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 663(1), pages 185-203, January.
    10. Evelyn J. Patterson, 2017. "The Strategies, Complexities, and Realities of Zero Prison Population Growth," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-13, June.
    11. Derek Neal & Armin Rick, 2016. "The Prison Boom and Sentencing Policy," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 45(1), pages 1-41.
    12. Bindler, Anna, 2016. "Still unemployed, what next? Crime and unemployment duration," Working Papers in Economics 660, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.

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