"The demographic characteristics of offenders sentenced to life imprisonment differed significantly from that of federal offenders generally. In fiscal year 2013, 45 percent of offenders receiving a life imprisonment sentence were Black, followed by White offenders (24.8%), and Hispanic offenders (24.2%). 

In contrast, for federal offenders generally, the racial composition was 51.5 percent Hispanic, 23.8 percent White, and 20.6 percent Black."

Almost twice as many Blacks commit crimes that result in Life in Federal Prison.

"As might be expected, offenders sentenced to life imprisonment tended to have more serious criminal histories than federal offenders generally. Among all offenders sentenced to life imprisonment, 34.2 percent were assigned to the highest criminal history category under the sentencing guidelines, and 50 percent were assigned to one of the highest three (out of six) categories. About one quarter (24.8%) of these offenders were determined to be “career offenders".