Difference Between Prisoner and Inmate

Prisoner vs Inmate

The term “prisoner” and “inmate” refer to anyone who has been deprived of his liberty or freedom against his wishes and is confined due to forcible restraints and captivity. This term is mainly used for people on trial or people who are serving a sentence in prison. A judge sentencing a person to imprisonment and the person going to prison due to the sentence is called a prisoner or inmate. “Inmate” can also refers to patients living in a hospital.

Inmate
“Inmate” refers to one of the residents of a house or dwelling where;

Everyone has been confined due to a sentence of imprisonment passed by the judge.
Confined in a hospital due to some medical problem for a very prolonged period of time.
Someone who was born under that roof.

The person being treated in the hospital under supervision and under confinement is also called an inpatient whereas the person serving the sentence for a crime is called an inmate.

According to Michael Santos, who is himself an inmate serving a sentence for more than 25 years in prison, “inmate” refers to those prisoners who become closely aligned to the rules of the institution. They try to engage in casual conversation with members of the staff, sometimes identifying more with the captors or the staff rather than the other prisoners. “Model inmates” does not refer to being snitches, but they might report anonymously to staff members about some misconduct if they do not like the behavior of other prisoners. Inmates try to advance their standing in the prison by trying to communicate with the staff members, and staff members in return count on them for helping them maintain order in the prison. Inmates are considered very different from other prisoners who are considered convicts. Only the prison environment and experience in the prison environment can actually explain the difference in the behavior between the two.

Prisoner

A prisoner is anyone who has been deprived of his liberty or freedom against his wishes and is confined due to forcible restraints and captivity in a prison. Prisoners can be men or women who have been captured by the enemy in times of war or people who have been sentenced by a judge to serve a term of imprisonment for a particular period of time in a prison.
“Prisoner” is a legal term which is used for a person who is prosecuted for some felony. The term “prisoner” is not used for a person being prosecuted for a misdemeanor.

Summary:

1.“Prisoner” and “inmate” refer to anyone who has been deprived of his liberty or freedom against his wishes and is confined due to forcible restraints and captivity.
2.Prisoners could be POWs (Prisoners of War) or people serving time in prisons. However, “inmate” refers to prisoners who are in the prison serving time or patients confined to hospitals for some kind of treatment.

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