Who is in federal prison: the debate continues

Late last month here I noted and questioned some recent representations about sentencing and prison populations being made by the US Justice Department.  Valuably, both FAMM and The Sentencing Project have recently weighed in on this important topic. 

First, FAMM president Julie Stewart responded to some DOJ claims about sentencing and crime rates in a letter to the editor published by the Washington Post, the text of which can be accessed here.  Second, and of enormous value, The Sentencing Project has just produced this brief report entitled “The Federal Prison Population: A Statistical Analysis.”

As detailed more fully in its report, The Sentencing Project finds that the Justice Department’s representation that “two-thirds of all federal prisoners are in prison for violent crimes or had a prior criminal record before being incarcerated” distorts the composition of the federal prison system by conflating categories of offenders.  According to The Sentencing Project, “nearly three-fourths (72.1%) of federal prisoners are non-violent offenders with no history of violence.” 

This report is a must read for its overview of the federal prison population — including growth trends, racial disparities, drug offense sentencing — especially because there will surely be a robust debate over federal sentencing policies and practices in the wake of Booker and Fanfan.