Average Federal Sentences 



       In 1985, before the advent of mandatory minimum
 sentencing laws, the average drug sentence was 23.1 months. 
In 1995, the average drug sentence was 82.4 months. 
(Federal Bureau of Prisons, "Quick Facts," September 1996.                                               

     The average sentence for a first-time, federal drug 
           offender compared with other offenses:

OFFENSE                                 TIME SERVED 
_____________________________________________       
Drugs-------------------------------------------82.4 months
         
Firearms----------------------------------------73.8 months
        
Sexual Abuse---------------------------------66.9 months
          
Assault -----------------------------------------33.4 months
     
 Manslaughter---------------------------------26.8 months
      
 Burglary/Breaking and Entering---------- 24.56 months
       
Auto Theft--------------------------------------20.0 months
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                                      FAMM Facts

	Twenty-one percent of the total federal prison population 
in 1993 were low-level drug violators with no history of violence or 
prior incarceration. Another 17 percent were drug offenders with 
zero criminal histories. (Department of Justice, February 1994.)
           
	In 1990, more than half of federal inmates serving mandatory 
minimum sentences were first-time offenders. (Bureau of Justice
Statistics, 1991.)
            	
	In 1994, 92 percent of federal inmates were incarcerated 
for a non-violent crime. (Coalition for Federal Sentencing Reform, 1997.)
           
	The Federal Bureau of Prisons budget increased more than 
1,400 percent after the enactment of mandatory minimum sentences in
1986. The budget jumped from $220 million in 1986 to $3.19 billion 
in 1997. (Bureau of Justice Statistics Sourcebook, p. 20; National Drug 
Control Strategy Budget Summary, 1997, p. 111.)
           
	Nearly 1 in 3 female inmates in state prisons were serving a 
sentence for drug offenses in 1991, compared to 1 in 8 in 1986.
 (Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report: Survey of State 
Prison Inmates, 1991; issued Feb. 1997.)