Prison ship
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A prison ship is a boat or ship that is used as a prison. More American prisoners of war during the American Revolutionary War died on British prison ships than died in every battle of the war combined. One such Revolutionary War ship was the HMS Jersey.
They are considered an antiquated method of housing prisoners and have largely been replaced by land-based prisons. The United Kingdom Government established in 1997 a new prison ship, HMP Weare, as a temporary measure to ease prison overcrowding. Weare was docked at the disused Royal Navy dockyard at Portland, Dorset. On 9 March 2005 it was announced that the Weare was to close.
The HMS Maidstone was used as a prison ship in Northern Ireland in the 1970s for suspected Nationalist guerrillas and non-combatant activist supporters held without trial. Current president of the Nationalist political party Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams spent time on the Maidstone in 1972. He was released at the time in order to take part in peace talks.
See also
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