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Article: '3 strikes' laws blamed for big rise in number of life sentences
- Article from:
- Deseret News (Salt Lake City)
- Article date:
- May 12, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2004 Deseret News (Salt Lake City). Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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WASHINGTON -- The number of prisoners serving life sentences has
increased 83 percent in the past 10 years as tough-on-crime
initiatives have led to harsher penalties, a study says.
Nearly 128,000 people, or one of every 11 offenders in state and
federal prisons, are serving life sentences, according to the study
released Tuesday by The Sentencing Project, a Washington-based group
that promotes alternatives to prison. In 1992, 70,000 people had life
sentences.
The figures, compiled from the Federal Bureau of Prisons and state
correctional agencies, also show the amount of time served by
criminals given life sentences increased from an average of 21 years
to 29 years between 1991 and 1997.
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