vernment. The original lengths of sentences were approximately 94.1 months but were re-sentenced to 60.7 months. A reduction of thirty-three percent. Because of the pressure to crack down on the drug problem in America, the amount of prisoners assisting the government rose between 1989 and 1993 to ver 1000. In 1992 1078 inmates received re-sentencing. An original amount of 116.2 months to serve was decreased to 70.3 months. The reduction in the sentence was approximately forty-five percent. With the introduction of the violent crimes act in 1994, the amount of government assisted releases decreased. Though the amount of inmates under the program was still in the thousands, the amount was still a major decrease from the pattern of rising numbers in he early 1990’s. In 1996, 1076 inmates were under re-sentenced which decreased their sentences from 97.3 months to 61.2 months. State prisons also have gone through major changes because of the violent crimes act and truth in sentencing laws. Offenders sentenced in 1990 were sentenced to an average of forty months. By 1996 the sentences had increased to forty-two months. According to the truth in sentencing in state prisons report released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, “nearly seven in ten violent offenders are in a state that requires 85% of the sentence to be served” (Ditton, P. Jan 1999,1). Offenders incarcerated for robbery in 1996 were expected to serve seven months longer than those sentenced in 1990. The overall population has increased because of the new laws. By the end of 1998, the population of women had increased by 6.5 percent. Drug offenders accounted for most of the increase in females. The Hispanic inmate population increased sixty-two percent from 1990 to 1997. The increasing prison population can be attributed to the harsher laws now in place, which are making it harder for inmates to be released. The increase in the amount of the time served and ti...
