gaol-delivery
Definition
Noun: - The act of clearing a jail by trying all prisoners at once: "gaol-delivery" refers to the historical legal practice of emptying a prison by bringing all inmates to trial in a single session, often to alleviate overcrowding.
Usage Examples
- (The sheriff arranged for all prisoners to be tried at once to free up space.)
- (The judge oversaw the mass trial of inmates to clear the prison.)
Advanced Usage
"Commission of gaol-delivery": a historical legal commission authorizing judges to try all prisoners in a specific jail.
- The royal commission of gaol-delivery was issued to the circuit judges. (The judges were given authority to clear the jail through trials.)
"General gaol-delivery": a complete clearing of a prison through trials, as opposed to partial releases.
- The king ordered a general gaol-delivery to mark his coronation. (All prisoners were tried and the prison was emptied as a ceremonial act.)
Variants and Related Words
Jail delivery (n): a variant spelling of "gaol-delivery," meaning the same process.
- The jail delivery was completed in one week. (The prison was cleared through mass trials.)
Gaol (n): (British English) a prison or jail.
- The gaol was overcrowded before the delivery. (The prison was full of inmates.)
Synonyms
- Mass trial: the simultaneous trial of multiple defendants.
- Prison clearance: the emptying of a jail through legal proceedings.
Related Idioms
- To make a clean sweep of the gaol: to clear the prison entirely through trials or releases.
- The new judge aimed to make a clean sweep of the gaol within a month. (He wanted to try or release all inmates to empty the jail.)