Prison vs. Jail

Prison
Prison is a place people are kept for committing serious crime and so,they must serve long sentence.

- He was sentenced to life in prison.
- He was sent to prison for a very long time.

Jail
Jail is where people are only kept in custody for ,or committing much less serious crimes than the ones in prison.For people with small offense(Bre:offence) awaiting trial.

- He was jailed for one year and ordered to pay $500 costs.
- Dough was found guilty of criminal assault and sentenced to six months in prison.

Gaol
This is the British variant of jail.

Penitentiary
An American word meaning a prison for persons guilty of major crimes.A State or Federal prison in the U.S. used especially in names:

- Texas State Penitentiary.
- He was sent to the state Penitentiary after being arrested twice for possession of cocaine and firearms.