A jail is where you are held before and during your trial, prison is where you are sentenced to serve out longer terms.
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Successful_Try543@feddit.de 7 months agoWhat is the difference between a jail and a prison? As a non-native speaker I’ve learned that they are synonyms.
Lemjukes@lemm.ee 7 months ago
moosetwin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 months ago
To add-on to other comments, it should be mentioned that the two terms are often used interchangeably, despite the differing meanings.
AFKBRBChocolate@lemmy.world 7 months ago
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.
Successful_Try543@feddit.de 7 months ago
So jail is for custody. Thank you.
WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 months ago
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.
Drusas@kbin.run 7 months ago
In most places, jail has worse conditions than prison does.