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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: jane k on Thursday 13 March 25 14:28 GMT (UK)
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I have noticed that several prison sentences are for so many months, "last month solitary".
Please could anyone explain what this means. I`m looking particularly at records for 1830s
Many thanks
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Solitary confinement?
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I would think 'Solitary Confinement' also - but think it's odd.
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I had a look at newspaper items with the phrase ‘last month solitary’. There are lots of them suggesting it was quite a common element of a sentence. But I didn’t find anything discussion of the thinking behind it. What I did see however were quite a few ‘first and last months solitary’.
Perhaps the idea was to encourage convicts to reflect upon their choices before being released.
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I had a look at newspaper items with the phrase ‘last month solitary’. There are lots of them suggesting it was quite a common element of a sentence. But I didn’t find anything discussion of the thinking behind it. What I did see however were quite a few ‘first and last months solitary’.
Perhaps the idea was to encourage convicts to reflect upon their choices before being released.
Thanks for that, I think you are probably right. For the case which I saw reported in a newspaper, the offender was urged to reflect upon the teachings of the priest in the prison. I did wonder how the "solitary" element was managed but it sounds like that will remain a mystery