The principal objective is to examine length of time served in custody according to various legal history criteria such as commitment offense, felony class category of commitment offense, minimum sentence length and maximum sentence length. Sentencing reform legislation enacted in 1995 and 1998 imposed longer sentences for violent felonies. However, offenders released in 1998 were sentenced primarily under prior sentencing legislation. There were 27,993 total releases from facilities of the Department of Correctional Services during 1998. Of those, 18,334 were released to parole supervision for the first time on the current sentence, and an additional 1,648 were released for the first time as a result of completing their maximum expiration of sentence. The overall proportion of inmates conditionally released to parole supervision increased from 13 percent in 1994 to 25 percent in 1998. This trend was especially apparent among violent and other coercive offenders. Figures, tables, notes, appendixes