In everyday speech, the terms jail and prison are used interchangeably in many situations. However, my understanding is that, at least in the US, they actually refer to slightly different things. For instance, it appears to me that it would be rather unusual for an American to use the expression federal jail. He'd most probably say federal prison instead.
Am I right? What is the correct usage of jail vs prison? Are there any (historical or legal) differences between the US and the Commonwealth?
Best Answer
I consider "jail" to mean a temporary, local facility where suspects are held until and during trial. In general, you can get out of jail by paying a bail bond. "Prison" is where convicted felons are sent to serve their sentence.
Thus, there aren't a lot of federal jails--there's not much point to the local and federal governments having two jails in the same city--the feds just pay the locals for use of their jails.