A prison or penitentiary or jail (in British English, sometimes spelt gaol) is a building or system used to hold persons convicted of crimes. Many private companies in the prison industry provide services to prisons. In the US they are organized in the American Correctional Association. Their lobbying arm is ALEC which advocates legislation favorable to the industry. The practice of undergoing punishment via a prison sentence, is colloquially expressed as: "doin' time".
Mark L. Taylor, The Executed God: The Way of the Cross in Lockdown America, Augsburg Fortress Publishers, Publishing House of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 2001, ISBN 0800632834.
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... spread out with 28.2% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 6.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 ...