MOST VIOLENT FELONS HAVE PRIORS, STUDY FINDS

More than half of those convicted of violent felonies in large urban
areas from 1990 to 2002 had previous convictions, the Department of
Justice reported Sunday. The report said 38% had previous felony
convictions, and of those, 15% had been convicted of violent
felonies: murder, rape, robbery or assault. An additional 18% had
prior misdemeanor convictions.

Of the violent felons, 91% were male; 88% pleaded guilty; and 81%
went to prison.

The study examined crime figures from the 75 most populous counties.
Half of all violent crimes reported nationwide occur in those areas,
the report said.

There were 180,298 reported crimes from 1990 to 2002. Drug crimes
were 38.3% of the total; 32.7% were property crimes; and 18.2% were
violent crimes.