User blog:Arathorstories/Azeroth's Law: Gaol, Prison and Exile

For our second installment, we'll take a look at one of the most common penalties for crimes. Prison. Or, to start, we'll look at what people often confuse for prison: Gaol.

Gaol, or to you Yankees, Jail
Gaol is pre-trial holding as opposed to post-trial holding (prison). This is an important distinction, both in real life and in the Laws of Azeroth. The current system prevailing in Stormwind is pretty much this:

- You are arrested. Yes, of course you're innocent.

- You are given a usually cursory at best examination and interrogation.

- You are then detained, either in the Watch house (or Guard command centre, or...) or in the Stockades.

- IF the people involve care, they present you to a magistrate within an hour or as soon as is possible if one is not online. (The good news is that if they don't, it really helps your case!)

- Your case is then either found to be without merit or with sufficient merit that there is a case to answer. It's the latter because, while you're innocent, you kind of look like scum with that guild tag.

- If you are not then bailed, you go back to lockup. That's not prison - that's gaol. You are technically still innocent even though you may be behind bars!

The important distinction here is bail. You can - unless a judge prohibits it for non-nobles - be bailed out of gaol freely by, well, anyone. Nobles are guaranteed the right of bail, in fact, so at this stage nobles can walk out of the court room in their own power and only worry about a cell later on.

Try doing that in a prison and see where it gets you.

The Prison
Alright, so. You're taken out of lockup and you have a trial. You're found guilty. Now it's time for sentencing. The judge dismisses everything else - fines are too soft, mutilation or death too harsh - and gives you a, say, three month sentence IC. You're a real trooper for going along with that, by the way.

Now you're officially guilty and officially locked up. You cannot be bailed, though you may be able to get early release, especially with noble patronage. At this point, you'll probably be held in the Stocks - before, probably somewhere else.

Gaol, Prison and Exile in Azeroth
With that quick distinction out of the way in a colourful manner, let's get to to the nitty gritty: Who, where, how.

We'll start with my particular speciality, which is Arathorian law. Arathorian law: Arathorian law is fairly primitive in this area, quite deliberately. Note that this applies only to my work on the Laws of Arathor, not Blood of Arathor's courts or the Arathorian Coalition.
 * Does not use prisons. Gaols are involved for pre-trial holding when necessary, but under the law no prison sentence will ever be handed down. If you can't pay the compensation for the matter at hand either you're exiled or, in a particularly ugly trait of the system, enslaved. This applies only to citizens.
 * Prefers exile, as noted above. Put simply, the Highlanders are an individualistic group and not only believe in freedom (while at the same time being the only Human kingdom to still practice a limited form of slavery), but don't want to support a captive population of people with little value.
 * Actually condones private vengeance. You're more likely to be stabbed over a crime than see a court - and that's 100% legal.
 * Will release long-term prisoners into the custody of nobles, to live in their household.

Stormwind's system:
 * Uses both prisons and gaols. Prison sentences are up to the magistrate, but should be decided on roughly similar grounds each time, and based on OOC consultation with the player.
 * Does not practice exile.
 * Practices forced conscription. Though not one of the three main topics, it's worth mentioning. Rather than a prison sentence, convicts may instead be pressed into the front lines or the navy.
 * Maintains one main prison, being the Stockades, and numerous village gaols (which may double as prisons if need be) and castle cells for lesser offenders. Major felonies should be sent to the Stockades.
 * Allows torture in its prisons. It's not pretty, but the evidence is undeniable.
 * Maintains a system which is, broadly, inhumane. The Stockades is a cramped underground pit, which poses a serious disease risk to all inhabitants, especially due to its underwater construction.

Gilneas's system, though now largely defunct:
 * Prisons. Quite a big one, too.
 * Practices long-term imprisonment.
 * Can probably be said to have had gaols, etc.

Ironforge's system:
 * Uses prisons, though gaols are uncertain. Presumably, both are in use. Little else is known from lore.

Dalaran's system:
 * We're all familiar with the Violet Hold. Dangerous magicians, etcetera, are sent to either the Hold or (until its fall) Tol Barad for confinement. This does NOT mean that every criminal will necessarily be sent to the hold, but the precedent established in the purging of Dalaran is suggestive.
 * Maintains a comparatively humane prison system, being above-ground, without major overcrowding, and with no evidence of torture.

Shadowforge City's system:
 * Maintains extensive cells for prisoners, and presumably as a gaol.
 * Appears to prefer enslavement and forcing convicts to fight to the death rather than holding them long-term.
 * Practices - or practiced, at the least - torture in its prisons.
 * Maintains prisons in the Slag and the City proper.

Darnassus's system:
 * We're all familiar with the imprisonment of Illidan Stormrage and others. Prisoners convicted of a sufficiently serious offence are imprisoned for a very long time.
 * Utilizes Barrow Dens for imprisonment as a matter of course for serious offenders.
 * Practices forced labour for PoWs and potentially other prisoners.

Orgrimmar's System:
 * Maintains gaols and prisons.
 * Sells prisoners into slavery. Really very ugly for a people always complaining about the Alliance's 'enslavement' of them.
 * Forces prisoners to fight to the death, at least in military prisons.
 * Also practices capital punishment in military prisons.

The Undercity's system:
 * Maintains at least some prisons.
 * Utilizes prisoners for medical experimentation.

Theramore's system, though now defunct, could be characterized by:
 * The use of gaols and prisons.
 * The use of a prison of significantly worse conditions than Stormwind's, with exposure punishments in evidence.
 * The use of capital punishment at that prison.

It's impossible to generalize for goblins, but they do have prisons and gaols. And will probably sell you out of them, or harvest your organs, or turn your teeth into currency, or use you for rocket tests.
 * Don't go to goblin jail.

Summary:
So, as can be seen, prison is a pretty common thing in Azeroth, as are gaols. The Alliance's prisons are generally unpleasant. Penal slavery is alive and well. Any questions or comments, feel free to ask.