Cross-national comparisons of prison use have contributed to the common view that the United States is the most punitive of industrialized democracies. However, studies of the prevalence have revealed that differences in prison use between the United States and other countries disappear when the level of crime is held constant. The current research used data from various years in the 1980's. Results revealed that when the type of crime is held constant and the United States jail population is included, the time served in the United States is similar to that in other industrialized democracies for violent crime. However, differences persist for property crimes. Tables, footnotes, appended lists of charges, and 22 references (Author abstract modified)