For some reason began going down a rabbit hole thinking about this. Let’s say you are blind, and reliant on a guide dog, but end up in prison for a non-violent crime like possession of illegal drugs. Are you allowed to keep the dog? No, right? But if you are entirely reliant on the guide dog to perform daily tasks, how do you manage in prison? What about people who are seriously disabled in other respects, like wheelchair users or those missing limbs, or those with serious mental disabilities? I’m asking for answers both from countries that actually treat prisoners like humans and the US
What is the difference between a jail and a prison? As a non-native speaker I’ve learned that they are synonyms.
My understanding is that jail is where you go when you’re awaiting trial for something or being held pending charges. Prison is where you go as punishment when you’ve been convicted.
So jail is for custody. Thank you.
Counter intuitively, jail can sometimes be worse conditions. People in there are often detoxing, in the middle of a mental health crisis, or simply haven’t accepted or adapted to their condition yet. That can make jail a more volatile place than prison, since people in prison are more likely to be aware that this is their life now and they had best find some sort of equilibrium.
In most places, jail has worse conditions than prison does.
A jail is where you are held before and during your trial, prison is where you are sentenced to serve out longer terms.
To add-on to other comments, it should be mentioned that the two terms are often used interchangeably, despite the differing meanings.