I was thumbing through the 2008 AP Stylebook while I was on the phone and ended up on the entry for “jail” on page 139. The stylebook was rather cryptic: “Not interchangeable with prison. See prison, jail.”
I was intrigued. I thought the two were simply synonyms for buildings that housed criminals. As it turns out, in daily English usage they are interchangeable. The online Merriam-Webster Dictionary supplies identical definitions for “jail” and “prison.” They are even listed as synonyms for each other.
But according to the AP Stylebook, on page 215, prisons are facilities that only confine felons. On the other hand, if someone is in jail, she may be serving a sentence for a misdemeanor or for civil matters like contempt of court. Jails also confine people awaiting sentencing or trial on either felony or misdemeanor charges. Feel free to check out the full-length entry under “prison, jail.”
So, there you have it—another nit-picky quirk of beloved AP style.
