U.S. public divided over whether people convicted of crimes spend too much or too little time in prison

Americans are closely divided over whether people convicted of crimes spend too much, too little or about the right amount of time in prison, with especially notable differences in views by party affiliation, ideology, race and ethnicity.

Overall, 28% of U.S. adults say people convicted of crimes spend too much time in prison, while 32% say they spend too little time and 37% say they spend about the right amount of time, according to a Pew Research Center survey of 10,221 adults conducted in July 2021. The question was asked as part of a broader survey examining differences in Americans’ political attitudes and values across a range of topics. The survey asked about prison time in a general way and did not address penalties for specific crime types.