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Jails ARE absolutely supposed to punish people kept inside. They aren't called penitentiary for nothing, literally meaning "a place for punishment" [1] [1]: h

Jails ARE absolutely supposed to punish people kept inside. They aren't called penitentiary for nothing, literally meaning "a place for punishment" [1] [1]: https://www.etymonline.com/word/penitentiary https://www.etymonline.com/word/penitentiary

drdec 5y ago
I believe the GP was making a distinction between jail and prison. Jail is where you are held until your trial or you make bail. Prison is where you are sent after you are convicted. A penitentiary would be a prison, not a jail.
- Andrew_nenakhov 5y ago
  If he was talking about it in this sense, I agree. However in my native language these terms are used interchangeably, both meaning "prison".
  - drdec 5y ago
    To be fair, it is not unusual for native English speakers to conflate the two words as well.
- javajosh 5y ago
  Even prison should be without "cruel and unusual punishment", with emphasis on "cruel". For example, letting prisoners die in extreme heat is cruelty on its face. John Oliver had a thing on this recently[1]. Looks like Texas has done the minimal thing, which is effectively nothing [2]. 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fiRDJLjL94 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fiRDJLjL94 2 - https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/14/texas-prison-air-conditioning-legislature/ https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/14/texas-prison-air-con...
deleted 5y ago
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KorematsuFredt 5y ago
I would like to point out that there is a huge difference between codified punishment vs how it is in practice. For example I am pretty sure if you create a bill that says prison inmates are required to give a fellatio to other inmates it will not muster a single vote in Congress. Yet, it is reality of prisons. Now, is penitentiary supposed to punish people like this ? No. Do most Americans find pleasure in the fact that inmates in prison are treated like this ? I think Yes. The point is once you are in prison for whatever reason, your life is essentially done even if the punishment was for few years. You wont get a job, no one will rent a place to you, you wont get a loan and so on. Unless you have a pretty big community safety net you wont survive. Jails any ways are not supposed to punish people.

drdec 5y ago

I believe the GP was making a distinction between jail and prison. Jail is where you are held until your trial or you make bail. Prison is where you are sent after you are convicted. A penitentiary would be a prison, not a jail.

Andrew_nenakhov 5y ago
If he was talking about it in this sense, I agree. However in my native language these terms are used interchangeably, both meaning "prison".
- drdec 5y ago
  To be fair, it is not unusual for native English speakers to conflate the two words as well.
javajosh 5y ago
Even prison should be without "cruel and unusual punishment", with emphasis on "cruel". For example, letting prisoners die in extreme heat is cruelty on its face. John Oliver had a thing on this recently[1]. Looks like Texas has done the minimal thing, which is effectively nothing [2]. 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fiRDJLjL94 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fiRDJLjL94 2 - https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/14/texas-prison-air-conditioning-legislature/ https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/14/texas-prison-air-con...

deleted 5y ago

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KorematsuFredt 5y ago

I would like to point out that there is a huge difference between codified punishment vs how it is in practice. For example I am pretty sure if you create a bill that says prison inmates are required to give a fellatio to other inmates it will not muster a single vote in Congress. Yet, it is reality of prisons. Now, is penitentiary supposed to punish people like this ? No. Do most Americans find pleasure in the fact that inmates in prison are treated like this ? I think Yes. The point is once you are in prison for whatever reason, your life is essentially done even if the punishment was for few years. You wont get a job, no one will rent a place to you, you wont get a loan and so on. Unless you have a pretty big community safety net you wont survive. Jails any ways are not supposed to punish people.