Imprisonment

"Imprisoned" redirects here. For the film, see Imprisoned (film).

Restraint of a person's liberty by judicial or other detention

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Antti Rannanjärvi and Antti Isotalo, the infamous Finnish "puukkojunkkaris", imprisoned in 1869

Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessarily imply a place of confinement with bolts and bars, but may be exercised by any use or display of force (such as placing one in handcuffs), lawfully or unlawfully, wherever displayed, even in the open street. People become prisoners, wherever they may be, by the mere word or touch of a duly authorized officer directed to that end. Usually, however, imprisonment is understood to imply actual confinement against one's will in a prison employed for the purpose according to the provisions of the law.[1] Generally gender imbalances occur in imprisonment rates, with incarceration of males proportionately more likely than incarceration of females.[2]

Although reforms have targeted conditions of imprisonment on human rights grounds, imprisonment itself and the length of sentences has largely escaped scrutiny on human rights grounds despite similar evidence for its harm compared to recognized forms of ill-treatment and torture.[3][4] Prison abolition is a growing movement but has not become a mainstream position, despite the criticism of mass incarceration in the United States and the defund the police movement.[5]

## History

[edit]

### Africa

[edit]

Before colonisation, imprisonment was used in sub-Saharan Africa for pre-trial detention, to secure compensation and as a last resort but not generally as punishment, except in the Songhai Empire (1464–1591) and in connection with the slave trade.[6][7] In the colonial period, imprisonment provided a source of labor and a means of suppression.[6] The use of imprisonment has continued to the present day.[7]

### Australia

[edit]

Incarceration in what became known as Australia was introduced through colonization. As noted by scholar Thalia Anthony, the Australian settler colonial state has engaged in carceral tactics of containment and segregation against Aboriginal Australians since colonizers first arrived, "whether that be for Christian, civilizing, protectionist, welfare, or penal purposes." When settlers arrived, they invented courts and passed laws without consent of Indigenous peoples that stated that they had jurisdiction over them and their lands. When Indigenous peoples challenged these laws, they were imprisoned.[8]

### England and Wales

[edit]

In English law, imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty.[9] The 17th century book Termes de la Ley contains the following definition:

> Imprisonment is no other thing than the restraint of a man's liberty, whether it be in the open field, or in the stocks, or in the cage in the streets or in a man's own house, as well as in the common gaols; and in all the places the party so restrained is said to be a prisoner so long as he hath not his liberty freely to go at all times to all places whither he will without bail or mainprise or otherwise.[10]

Imprisonment without lawful cause is a tort called false imprisonment.[11] In England and Wales, a much larger proportion of the black population is imprisoned than of the white.[12]

## Release

[edit]

When a prisoner completes serving their sentence, starts probation, or is given a compassionate release[13] they are no longer considered prisoners and are released to the outside world. A prisoner of war may be released as a result of the end of hostilities or a prisoner exchange. Prisoners serving a full life or indefinite sentence may never be released.[14]

Released prisoners may suffer from issues including psychiatric disorders, criminalized behaviours and access to basic needs. Some criminals, particularly criminals convicted of serious crimes (felonies or indictable offenses,) are given restrictions after release, including bans from buying firearms or jury duty exclusion. Post release resources may be provided by the authorities.[15] Various factors have been investigated as to their influence on post-release recidivism, such as family and other relationships, employment, housing and ability to quit drug use.[16]

## See also

[edit]

* Criminal justice
* Detention (imprisonment)
* Imprisonment for public protection
* Life imprisonment
* List of countries by incarceration rate
* Prison
* Prisoner of war
* Rehabilitation (penology)
* Restorative justice

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Imprisonment". The New International Encyclopedia. Second Edition. Dodd, Mead and Company. New York. 1915. Volume XII. Page 35.
2. ^ Codd, Helen (Winter 2013). "WOMEN AND IMPRISONMENT". Wagadu, Journal of Transnational Women's and Gender Studies. 11.
3. ^ Oette 2024, pp. 51, 85, 87–93.
4. ^ Cakal 2023, pp. 248, 250.
5. ^ Oette 2024, pp. 92, 93.
6. ^ a b Sarkin, Jeremy (December 2008). "Prisons in Africa: An Evaluation from a Human Rights Perspective" (PDF). International Journal on Human Rights. 5: 24.
7. ^ a b Isaac Weldesellasie, Kebreab (2017). Chernor Jalloh, Charles; Bantekas, Ilias (eds.). The International Criminal Court and Africa. Oxford University Press. pp. 253–254\. ISBN 9780198810568.
8. ^ Anthony, Thalia (2019). "Settler-Colonial Governability: The Carceral Webs Woven by Law and Politics". In Nakata, Sana (ed.). Questioning Indigenous-Settler Relations: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Springer Singapore. pp. 33–40\. ISBN 9789811392054.
9. ^ Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice. 1999. Chapter 5. Section II. "Sentences of Imprisonment".
10. ^ John Rastell. Termes de la Ley. 1636. Page 202. Digital copy from Google Books.
11. ^ Clerk and Lindsell on Torts. Sweet and Maxwell. Sixteenth Edition. 1989. Paragraph 17-15 at page 972.
12. ^ Flynn, Nick (1998). Introduction to Prisons and Imprisonment. Introductory Series. Winchester: Waterside Press. p. 79\. ISBN 9781872870373. Retrieved 19 August 2019. "Black people are eight times more likely to be in prison than whites. Home Office figures show that the incarceration rate for black people is 1,162 per 100,000, compared to 146 per 100,000 for whites."
13. ^ "Compassionate Release/Reduction in Sentence: Procedures for Implementation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 3582(c)(1)(A) and 4205(g)" (PDF). United States Federal Bureau of Prisons. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 September 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
14. ^ "Types of prison sentences: Life sentences". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
15. ^ Stanton, Ann E.; Kako, Peninnah; Sawin, Kathleen J. (2016). "Mental Health Issues of Women After Release from Jail and Prison: A Systematic Review". Issues in Mental Health Nursing. 37 (5): 299–331\. doi:10.3109/01612840.2016.1154629. PMID 27100407. S2CID 35846437.
16. ^ "The Reentry Process: How Parolees Adjust to Release from Prison". Retrieved 2022-04-29.

* Cakal, Ergün (2023). "Torture and progress, past and promised: problematising torture's evolving interpretation". International Journal of Law in Context. 19 (2): 236–254\. doi:10.1017/S1744552323000010. ISSN 1744-5523.
* Oette, Lutz (2024). The Transformation of the Prohibition of Torture in International Law. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-888577-1.

## External links

[edit]

* The dictionary definition of imprisonment at Wiktionary

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Incarceration

Science|

* Criminology
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* Stanford prison experiment

Prisoners|

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Prisons|

| Types|

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|

Security levels|

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Components|

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Escape|

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Culture|

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Organizations|

* Association for the Protection and Assistance of the Convicted (Brazil)
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By country|

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