“This term means merely the strictness of imprisonment which a creditor is entitled to enforce, with the view of compelling the debtor to pay the debt, or disclose any funds which he may have concealed. It does not imply (as it did with the ancient churchmen, from whom the term is derived) anything loathsome or unhealthy in the imprisonment in Scotland, which is indeed less close than in England. Squalor carceris is not necessary in imprisonment on meditatio fugae warrant, security being all that is required in such cases.” William Bell, Bell’s Dictionary and Digest of the Law of Scotland 1032 (George Watson ed., 7th ed. 1890).
squalor carceris
squalor carceris (skway-lor kahr-s[schwa]r-is). [Law Latin] Scots law. The strictness of imprisonment.
