From Mass Imprisonment to Abolition (USP): Unterschied zwischen den Versionen

#The image of the medieval prison as ‘hellhole’, as viewed by both medieval and modern commentators, ‘is simply untenable’. the centrality of the prison’s urban location and its visibility and accessibility also caused medieval life outside the walls to permeate prison life. The prison’s ‘semi-inclusive nature’ and the absence of social seclusion had a positive effect by virtue of the strong daily ties with various types of connected outsiders. In sum, life in prison for most prisoners was ‘typically a more coercive version of life at large’.

   

The term "jail" refers to places of (legal) custody or detention, usually for a shorter period of time, especially for minor offenses or with reference to some future judicial proceeding. The earliest proto-states already had their lock-ups for these purposes, and the ''carcer Tullianum'' (built in the 7th century B.C.) - today known as the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamertine_Prison Mamertinum] - was a good example of jails in antiquity. In the Middle Ages, jails were often integrated in city walls or towers or cellars of castle-keeps. Since punishment usually was physical (mutilation flagellation, branding, public shaming in the stocks, decapitation), jails were used for people awaiting trial or punishment. As a matter of fact, the largest element in jails often had nothing to do with criminal justice. In England, e.g., before the advent of the modern prison, debtors were the majority of inmates. Legal action taken against them by creditors kept them in overcrowded jails until they paid their debts.