When talking about deprivation of liberty, in Spain we commonly use terms such as jail, prison or correctional facility interchangeably. In practice, they all refer to the same reality.
However, in the United States this distinction not only exists, but is essential to understanding how its criminal system works.
In one of our TikTok videos, Ignacio Estradé explains why the terms “jail” and “prison” are not synonymous and how this difference directly affects the type of detainee and the length of the sentence.
In Spain: equivalent terms
All these terms are used to describe institutions where custodial sentences are served or where individuals are held in pretrial detention.
This distinction has no significant practical consequences regarding the type of facility or the legal status of the inmate.
In the United States: an essential distinction
In the United States, by contrast, legal and penitentiary language draws a very clear distinction between “jail” and “prison”.
The term “jail” refers to detention facilities used for individuals in pretrial custody, awaiting trial, or serving short sentences, generally of less than one year.
These facilities are usually managed at a local or county level and have a more temporary or provisional character.
What is a “prison”?
The term “prison” is reserved for correctional facilities intended for serving long-term sentences.
These institutions house individuals who have already been convicted of more serious offences, with sentences exceeding one year.
Prisons are typically managed at the state or federal level and have a structure and regime that are very different from those of jails.
More than a matter of vocabulary
This distinction is not merely linguistic. It affects the type of inmate, the length of incarceration, the conditions under which the sentence is served and the applicable penitentiary regime.
For this reason, understanding this difference is essential to truly grasp how the U.S. criminal system operates.
Two systems, two ways of understanding incarceration
While the Spanish penitentiary system is organised in a more uniform way, the separation between “jail” and “prison” in the United States reflects a more fragmented and differentiated approach to criminal punishment.
As Ignacio Estradé explains, understanding these nuances helps clarify why serving a sentence in the United States is, in many respects, not comparable to doing so in Europe.
Because in law, words matter.
And sometimes, a simple terminological difference changes everything.
