RESEARCH NOTE - A STATE-LEVEL ANALYSIS OF SENTENCING POLICIES AND INMATE CROWDING IN STATE PRISONS

Sentencing policies focused on ''getting tough'' with felons may contr ibute to prison crowding by increasing the numbers of prison inmates s erving more than 1 year thereby slowing prison population turnover. Ho wever empirical relationships between sentencing policies and inmate c rowding have not been established firmly. The study presented here ind icates that the number of inmates serving more than 1 year in stare pr isons is significantly larger in states with higher minimum sentences, larger numbers of mandatory prison terms, and structured parole guide lines. Larger numbers of long-term inmates, in turn, correspond with h igher levels of prison crowding across slates.