My friend said there is a clear difference and tried to explain it to me, but I still don’t really get it. Is jail like a holding place until you get to prison?
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people use them interchangeably, but often police stations have a holding cell for temporary arrests.
Prison is for sentence 1 year or longer. If you get a dui you go to jail if you assault someone with a weapon you go to prison for 5 years
Jail and prison are often used interchangeably as places of confinement. If you want to be specific jail can be used to describe a place for those awaiting trial or held for minor crimes, whereas prison describes a place for convicted criminals of serious crimes.
Jail is where you go when arrested until you post bail. Prison is where you go after you are convicted and sentenced.
Jails are run by the county sheriff, while prisons are run by the Department of Corrections. Jails typically house defendants awaiting trial, persons convicted of a misdemeanor, or convicted felons awaiting transfer to a prison. Prisons normally just house felons.
Jail is where you go when you’re arrested, but before you’re convicted. If you post bail, you can leave jail until your trial is over. Most jails are run at the city or county level.
Prison is where you go after you’ve been tried and convicted of a crime. For some minor crimes, you may be sent to jail instead of a prison. Most prisons are run at the state or federal level.
Jails are run by a city or county, they are typically used to hold people with sentences of less than a year.
Prisons are run by the state and house people with sentences of one year or more.
I say “run” but they’re often subcontracted to private companies.
The distinction is made because the jail experience tends to be way less hardcore because the inmates know that good behavior or even neutral behavior and they’re out in a year but bad behavior can get you the upgrade to prison.
And in prison people have less hope and the experience tends to be much more harsh .
And as an added bonus the 13th amendment ended slavery “except as punishment for a crime.” This has been taken to mean that the operators of the prison can rent out the prisoners as extremely cheap labor. So private prison companies tend to be problematic for their resemblance to a slave rental corporation.
Aside and pet peeve: I should be able to rent or buy a guy from a prison according to the 13th amendment because it allows slavery, right? I find that particular loophole to be something that should be closed. No one seems to care in any of the halls of power but this whole “you are prisoner so you don’t have financial rights or control of your own labor” and we get to charge you outlandish fees to acquire the money you need to pay the outlandish prices offered in prison is kind of bullshit. Prisons should be a cost center not a profit center.
Jail is where you go between being arrested and your trial for the crime you’re accused of… this might be months or even years. Or you might only stay in jail a short time before posting bail.
Prison is where you go after you’ve been convicted of a crime, and are serving a sentence.
Sometimes you may remain in the local jail for terms of less than 1 year.
Jail is short term imprisonment or holding. It is run at the county or city level. You could be held as short as a few hours or as long as a year at most. Typically you will be held there prior to trial, but you can get punishments that are less than a year at trial and when that occurs your time will be spent in jail not prison.
Prisons are more secure facilities, sometimes extremely secure. You only go to prison after a court verdict and you will stay there for terms longer than a year. Prisons are operated at the State and Federal level.
Jail = misdemeanors or sentencing under 1 year
Prison = felony and sentencing over 1 year
You can be sentenced to 14 months (over one year) for a misdemeanor crime and still be lodged in a jail rather than a prison. Generally it is based on felony vs. misdemeanor and length of time for sentencing
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