Rise of those spending over 10 years in prison

 Sentencing Project

• Nearly one in five people in U.S. prisons—over
260,000 people—had already served at least
10 years in 2019. This is an increase from
133,000 people in 2000—which represented
10% of the prison population in that year.

• In California, 29% of imprisoned people had
already served at least 10 years in 2019. In
Washington, DC, the level was even higher
in 2020, at 39%. By 2021 in Texas, 25% of
imprisoned people had served at least a
decade.

• Over 770,000 people in U.S. prisons were
serving sentences of 10 years or longer in
2019—56% of the total prison population.
This is an increase from 587,000 people in
2000—which represented 44% of the prison
population in that year.

• The 12 U.S. jurisdictions where two-thirds
or more of the prison population are serving
sentences of at least a decade are: Georgia,
West Virginia, Alabama, Montana, Hawaii,
Oklahoma, Louisiana, Utah, Maryland,
Michigan, Mississippi, and Washington, DC.