It was apparently not the idea of prison itself that discouraged these unfortunates, but the idea that they shared with everyone else, namely that a prison term was equivalent to a death sentence, because of the very high mortality rate found in the municipal jail. Of course, this belief was not without foundation.
Eta, ezbairik gabe, ez zen espetxea izan dohakabe haiek atzera bota zituena, baizik eta, biztanle oro jabetuta zegoen legez, espetxe zigorrak, heriotza-zigorraren balio berdina baitzuen, udal presondegian suertatzen zen hilkortasun handiaren ondorioz.