Sentencing Guidelines 1995-96 Annual Report, Part II: Impact

Section 5. Length of Time Served

GOAL: The sentence imposed by the sentencing judge reflects the length of actual time to be served, shortened only by the application of incentive and meritorious gain-time. F.S. 921.001(4)(a)5.

FACT: Although the prison sentence lengths imposed by courts have not changed dramatically from FY 1992-93 to FY 1995-96, the repeal of basic gain-time and elimination of the early prison release program has significantly increased actual time served in prison.

FINDINGS:

• The average percentage of sentence served has increased from less than 34% in 1989 to 65.4% in 1996 for all released offenders. Similar increases are seen for violent offenders (Figure 1 -- TBA).
• Using estimates of the number of years that will be served under the pre-1994 and the 1994-95 guidelines policies, sentences for murder, manslaughter, sexual battery, drug trafficking, and robbery with weapons will increase dramatically. For example, the average number of years served for second degree murder will rise by 9.2 years, and that for first degree sexual battery will increase by 3 years (Table 1).

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