English Law
Prisoner is a legal term for a person who is imprisoned.
In section 1 of the Prison Security Act 1992, the word "prisoner" means any person for the time being in a prison as a result of any requirement imposed by a court or otherwise that he be detained in legal custody.
History
Prisoner was a legal term for a person prosecuted for felony. It was not applicable to a person prosecuted for misdemeanour. The abolition of the distinction between felony and misdemeanour by section 1 of the Criminal Law Act 1967 has rendered this use of the word obsolete.
Glanville Williams said that referring to a person who had not been convicted as a prisoner was "invidious".
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