Vol.20 No.16 - BJS Reports on Statistics

Sep 29, 2026

BJS Reports covers federal and state developments in capital punishment and corrections, focusing on execution statistics and factors tied to death-row cases. It also reports on escalating federal criminal and drug enforcement trends, including major growth in convictions, prosecutions, and prison sentences from 1980 through 1987, with drug cases forming a large share of prison time. Subsequent sections highlight Oregon’s planned crackdown on drug use and dealing in state prisons, including testing, search teams, and tracking measures.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

IN THIS ISSUE

EXECUTIONS: BJS Reports On Statistics

CORRECTIONS DIGEST

CONVICTIONS OF DRUG OFFENDERS ACCOUNT FOR OVERCROWDING PROBLEMS IN FEDERAL PRISONS

OREGON PLANS CRACKDOWN ON DRUG USE,DEALING IN PRISONS

Vol.20 No.16 August 9,1989 BJS Reports: IN THIS ISSUE EXECUTIONS: BJS Reports On Statistics………………………1 STATES HAVE EXECUTED 104 INMATES SINCE 1976 RULING FEDERAL PRISONS: Drugs Blamed For Overcrowding…………………………………………………2 Six states executed 11 prisoners last year, OREGON: Will Crack Down On Drugs……………………………2 bringing the total number of executions to 104 SAN FRANCISCO: since 1976, the year in which the U.S. SupremeCourt reinstated the death penalty,the U.S. Jus- Sheriff Distributing Condoms…………………………………………………3 tice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics Testing Video Court Concept……………………………………………………3 (BJS) announced on July 30. Those offenders executed during 1988 had spent an average of six WORK FURLOUGHS: Conference Planned……3 years and eight months on death row,said the WOMEN OFFENDERS: NIC Funds Study……………………6 Bureau. GEORGIA:Prison Contractors Among those men and women on death row Sued By Murder Victim's Wife………………………………………………………6 last Dec. 31 for whom the states reported criminal MICHIGAN: Prison Population Growing Too Fast…………6 history information,68 percent had a prior felony conviction and nine percent had a prior homicide RESIDENTIAL SERVICES: Conference Scheduled…7 conviction. At the time they committed the crime DEATH PENALTY: for which they were sentenced to death,21 percent Senate Judiciary Committee Will Vote……………………………………7 were free on parole, eight percent were on proba- AIDS,HEPATITIS B: OSHA Schedules tion, three percent were prison inmates, and two Hearings On New Workplace Guidelines…………………………………8 percent had escaped from prison. HEPATITIS B:Free Guidebook Offered………………………………10 At the end of last year 34 states of the 37 that MILITARY BASES: House Passes authorize capital punishment held 2,124 prisoners Amendment Urging Conversions For Prisons………………………10 who had been sentenced to death — eight percent more than a year earlier. Southern states held 59 percent of those under a death sentence;19 per- cent were in Western states; 16 percent in the Midwest, and almost six percent were held in three # NIC TRAINING SCHEDULE AVAILABLE Northeastern states -Pennsylvania,New Jersey and Connecticut. The U.S. Justice Department's National Institute of Corrections(NIC) now has available its Schedule of Since 1977 there have been 3,477 offenders Training and Services for Fiscal Year 1990, which de- under a death sentence at one time or another,and scribes all training programs to be offered by the National 3.1 percent of the whites among them and 2.0 per- Academy of Corrections in Boulder, Colorado. There is no tuition for the programs,but many of them have early cent of the blacks were executed. registration deadlines. Alsodescribed are NIC'stechnical assistance activities. For a copy of the calendar,please Twelve states have executed offenders from contact: Dianne Carter,President,National Academy of 1977 to 1988 as follows: Corrections,1790 30th St, Suite 4340,Boulder, CO 80301.Phone:303-939-8855.FAX:303-442-8837. CORRECTIONS DIGEST ## CONVICTIONS OF DRUG OFFENDERSACCOUNT FOR OVERCROWDINGPROBLEMS IN FEDERAL PRISONS The number of offenders convicted of Federalcrimes in U.S.district courts grew by almost 50percent from 1980 through 1987,the U.S.JusticeDepartment's Bureau of Justice Statistics(BJS)announced on July 23.Federal drug convictionsincreased by 161 percent during the same seven-year period,said the Bureau. U.S.Attorneys prosecuted 74 percent morepeople in U.S.district courts in 1987 than they didin 1980,and the number of offenders sentenced toa prison term increased by 71 percent,notedJoseph M.Bessette,the Bureau's acting director.Federal drug prosecutions increased by 153 per-cent,and the number of drug offenders sentencedto prison grew by 177 percent,he said. The numbers of people tried in U.S.districtcourts during 1980 and 1987 were as follows: All OffensesDr

FAQs

What execution statistics does this issue summarize?

It summarizes the number of executions and provides breakdowns of death-row offenders’ backgrounds and legal status, including factors such as prior convictions and parole or probation status at the time of sentencing.

How did federal drug prosecutions and prison sentences change from 1980 to 1987?

The issue reports substantial increases in federal drug convictions, prosecutions, and the number of offenders sentenced to prison, with drug offenders accounting for a significant share of convictions and prison time.

What actions is Oregon’s corrections leadership planning for state prisons?

Oregon plans to reinstate a special search team and uniform inmate drug testing, consider using dogs to detect drugs entering institutions, and improve systems for compiling data on drug use inside prisons.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by kopisore