jail delivery

American  

noun

1. a liberation of persons from prison, especially by force.

2. the act of clearing a jail of prisoners by bringing them to trial, as at the assizes in England.

---

jail delivery British  

noun

1. forcible and illegal liberation of prisoners from jail

2. English law (formerly) a commission issued to assize judges when they come to a circuit town authorizing them to try all prisoners and release those acquitted

---

Etymology

Origin of jail delivery

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

jail delivery

"If," says the Chief Justice, "we could conjure up in our minds a President willing to paralyze courts by pardoning all criminal contempts, why not a President ordering a general jail delivery?"

From The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation Annotations of Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of the United States to June 30, 1952 by Corwin, Edward Samuel

"Why, it's the jail delivery off to Botany Bay," was the answer.

From Highway Pirates or, The Secret Place at Coverthorne by Avery, Harold

"There has been a jail delivery at the prison," he said in answer to the "hello" of the desk-sergeant at the other end of the wire.

From Elusive Isabel by Kimball, Alonzo

As the day set for Rebstock’s trial drew near, rumors were heard of a jail delivery.

From The Mountain Divide by Both, Armand

The Fleet, King's Bench, the Marshalsea, Wood-street Compter, and Clerkenwell Bridewell, were all opened, and such a jail delivery effected as the citizens had never witnessed before.

From London in Modern Times or, Sketches of the English Metropolis during the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. by Unknown