IMPRISONMENT (ante) is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause what ever, whether by authority of the government or in defiance thereof. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment." It does not necessarily imply a prison with bolts and bars, but may be exercised by an array of force, lawfully or unlawfully, in the open street. A man becomes a prisoner wherever lie may be, by the mere word or touch of a duly authorized officer directed to that end. Usually, however, imprisonment is understood to imply an actual confinement in some jail or prison employed for the purpose accord ing to the provisions of law. The power to imprison is, in many cases, inherent in courts or magistrates, and in others conferred upon them by statute, and it may he employed in civil as well as criminal proceedings. Imprisonment for debt, once universal in this country, under the operation of the English common law, is now generally abolished by statute, except in cases where the action of the debtor is tainted by fraud, or he is reasonably suspected of an intention to avoid his debt by concealing his property, or removing that and himself from the state. Witnesses whose testimony is necessary for
the conviction of a criminal, often are imprisoned to prevent their escape from the jurisdiction of the court. Persons accused of crime are either confined till the day of trial, or released on bail, according to the gravity of the offense. Courts have the power to imprison for contempt of their authority, and persons found guilty of crime are imprisoned for periods definitely fixed by statute or by the judgment of the court. Time i confinement of lunatics in asylums appointed for the purpose is not here considered, as such asylums are not usually regarded as prisons. A person who wrongfully or illegally deprives another of liberty may be sued in a civil action for false imprison ment by the person aggrieved, or prosecuted as for a criminal offense. A prisoner desiring release is entitled to a writ of habeas corpus to obtain the judgment of a com petent court as to the legality or illegality of his imprisonment.