Imprisonment

Imprisonment is the confinement of a person in prison, usually as punishment imposed by a court after conviction. Its form and duration depend on legal rules and sentencing decisions.

Criminal sentencing: The judicial process of deciding what punishment to impose after a criminal conviction. A sentencing decision specifies whether imprisonment is imposed and for how long.
Pretrial detention: The confinement of an accused person before trial or a final criminal judgment. Unlike imprisonment as punishment, it precedes conviction and is legally treated as custody.
Recidivism: The return to criminal behavior, often measured through new arrests, convictions, or imprisonment. Reoffending after release is one measure used to assess imprisonment's effects.
History of prisons: The development of prisons, their purposes, and their roles in systems of punishment and custody. Changing prison institutions shaped how imprisonment became a standard criminal penalty.
Retributive justice: A theory of justice holding that punishment is justified in proportion to an offense. It grounds imprisonment in deserved punishment rather than primarily in future benefits.
Prison: An institution where people are held in secure custody, commonly after criminal conviction. Imprisonment is carried out through confinement in a prison.
House arrest: A restriction requiring a person to remain at home, sometimes monitored electronically. It limits liberty without placing the person in a prison.
Collateral consequences of criminal conviction: Legal and social restrictions that can persist after a criminal conviction or sentence. Imprisonment can accompany consequences that continue long after release.
Penitentiary: A prison designed around the idea that confinement and discipline could encourage penitence and reform. The penitentiary model helped establish imprisonment as a reformative punishment.
Deterrence: The prevention of conduct by threat or experience of punishment. Whether prison sentences discourage crime is a central test of their claimed purpose.

Linked from 3 pages