convict
Sentenced criminal behind bars
A convict is a person found guilty of a crime and serving a prison sentence.
The word carries a harsher edge than "prisoner" or "inmate," often implying serious offenses: escaped convicts, a gang of convicts breaking rocks.
As a verb (stress on second syllable), to convict is to find guilty in court: The jury convicted him of murder.
A conviction is the resulting judgment.
Serious crime perpetrator
- offenderOne who breaks rules
- inmateConfined facility resident
- prisonerConfined criminal detainee
- jailbirdRepeat offender serving time
con · crook · outlaw · lawbreaker · culprit · wrongdoer · recidivist · lifer
Confinement for offenders
- jailDetention facility
- cellBasic unit of life
- penitentiaryFacility for convicted criminals
- correctional facilityInstitution housing convicted offenders
bars · lockup · detention · confinement · custody · imprisonment · solitary · warden
Recovery from injury/addiction
- reintegrationRestoration to a group
- paroleConditional early release
- probationSupervised trial period
- second chanceRenewed opportunity after failure
recidivism · vocational training · counseling · therapy · reentry · halfway house · work release · good behavior
Responsible for wrongdoing
- condemnDeclare wrong or guilty
- pronounceUtter distinctly, vocalize
- judgmentReasoned decision-making capacity
- determinationFirmness of purpose
adjudication · prosecution · trial · jury · evidence · testimony · beyond reasonable doubt · unanimous
Penalty for an offense
- termFixed period or word
- imprisonmentLegal detention in jail
- life sentenceImprisonment without release
- death penaltyLegal execution for crimes
hard labor · time served · mandatory minimum · consecutive · concurrent · commutation · suspended sentence · capital punishment
Log of past convictions
- discriminationUnjust differential treatment
- background checkInvestigation of someone's history
- scarlet letterMark of public shame
- outcastShunned, rejected person
marginalization · housing discrimination · voting rights · civil death · branding · mark · taint · label
felon
Serious crime perpetrator
jailbird · con · crook · outlaw · lawbreaker · culprit · wrongdoer · recidivist · lifer · repeat offender
prison
Confinement for offenders
- jailDetention facility
- cellBasic unit of life
- penitentiaryFacility for convicted criminals
correctional facility · bars · lockup · detention · confinement · custody · imprisonment · solitary · warden · guard
rehabilitation
Recovery from injury/addiction
- reintegrationRestoration to a group
- paroleConditional early release
- probationSupervised trial period
second chance · recidivism · vocational training · counseling · therapy · reentry · halfway house · work release · good behavior · early release
guilty
Responsible for wrongdoing
- condemnDeclare wrong or guilty
- pronounceUtter distinctly, vocalize
- judgmentReasoned decision-making capacity
determination · adjudication · prosecution · trial · jury · evidence · testimony · beyond reasonable doubt · unanimous · deliberation
punishment
Penalty for an offense
- termFixed period or word
- imprisonmentLegal detention in jail
- life sentenceImprisonment without release
death penalty · hard labor · time served · mandatory minimum · consecutive · concurrent · commutation · suspended sentence · capital punishment · execution
criminal record
Log of past convictions
- discriminationUnjust differential treatment
- background checkInvestigation of someone's history
- scarlet letterMark of public shame
outcast · marginalization · housing discrimination · voting rights · civil death · branding · mark · taint · label · redemption
- prisoncell block, inmate, jail, prison, prisoner
- prisonsprison, inmates, cells, prisons, prisoner
- Outlawsoutlaw, bandit, desperado, highwayman, robber
- outsidersoutcast, outsider, outcasts, pariah, misfit
- Great ExpectationsEstella, Miss Havisham, benefactor, gentleman, forge
- Penal Coloniespenal colony, penal settlement, transportees, Botany Bay, Norfolk Island
- wrongful convictionErroneous guilty verdict
- criminal convictionLegal determination of guilt
- escaped convictPrisoner who fled custody
- convicted felon
- felony convictionGuilty verdict, serious crime
- wrongfully convictedJudged guilty without cause
conviction, convince, convincing, convinced, unconvinced, convicted, convicts, convictions, convinces