NCJ Number
93407
Date Published
1982
Length
121 pages
Annotation
This report of Alaska felony offense dispositions and sentences includes all felony offenses committed in calendar year 1980, that resulted in conviction, and provides the first statistically comprehensive analysis of dispositional and sentence outcomes rendered under Alaska's new criminal code.
Abstract
The data for this study include virtually all cases where a felony offense was committed in 1980, and subsequently resulted in a conviction with a sentence imposed. Court case files and presentence reports were the primary data sources. The primary variable analyzed in this research is sentence length, defined as active prison time. A secondary variable concerns the proportionate likelihood of receiving a straight probationary sentence. Data reveal a very substantial decrease in fraud offenses and increase among property offenses. The distributions among the other felony classes remained stable. Only sentences for murder/kidnaping increased from previous years. The percentage of cases resulting in a straight probationary sentence decreased as well, leading to the emergence of a pattern: proportionally more offenders receive sentences of incarceration , but for shorter terms than previously. There was a marked reduction in the number of cases that went to trial, a reduction extending to all classes of offenses. The analysis of 1980 data reveals that racially disproportionate sentencing outcomes have been totally eliminated. In a comparison of rural to urban sentencing patterns, rural convictions were more likely than urban to drop from felony to misdemeanor. In addition, urban sentences were substantially longer than rural sentences among all offense classes. Statistical tables accompany the text. Two appendixes have additional data.