Prisons would be used to hold prisoners until trial. There was no such thing as being condemned to serve a sentence in prison. Although people would spend a lot of time in prison. During the Roman Empire Roman prisons were used mainly for holding prisoners condemned to death. Private prisons called Carcer Privatus would be used to hold debtors. There was a public prison called Custodia Publica which held people awaiting trial. Prisons were meant to be a fate worse than death, to discourage crime.
