Extended Prison Sentences Cost SC $115.9 Million

The average prisoner can expect a 2.3 year sentence in South Carolina, according to a 2010 Pew States report.

That’s 33 percent higher than it was in 1990. But if you have to get arrested, and you’re taking your chances on sentences, South Carolina isn’t a bad place to get arrested.

In Michigan, for example, the average prison stay is 4.3 years while in Kentucky it’s only 1.7 years.

Those are just averages for all crimes. Prisoners who were convicted of violent crimes only stayed four years while the national average was five years.

So how does this affect the law-abiding citizens? The answer: Financially.

The cost to keep one prisoner for one month is $1,909.

In 1990, the average stay was 1.7 years in South Carolina. This increase from 1.7 to 2.3 ultimately cost the state $115.9 million in upkeep.

“Almost all states increased length of stay over the last two decades, though that varied widely from state to state,” the Pew website stated. “In Florida, for example, where time served rose most rapidly, prison terms grew by 166 percent and cost an extra $1.4 billion in 2009.”