In justice and law, house arrest is the situation where a person is confined (by the authorities) to his or her house, possibly with travel allowed but restricted. It is a lenient alternative to prison time.
House arrest is typically enforced with the use of an electronic sensor strapped to the offender's ankle, not removable by the subject. If the subject and the sensor venture too far from the home, the violation is recorded and the proper authorities are summoned.
Notable instances of house arrest:
- Aung San Suu Kyi, pro-democracy activist, has been under house arrest for extended periods.
- The movements of Zhao Ziyang, former Premier, have to be approved by the Communist Party of China's Central Office, which only allows him to travel quietly to different places inside China.
- Riddick Bowe, a former African-American boxing champion, was sentenced to be under brief house arrest after being released from prison.
- Former premier Nikita Khrushchev was placed under house arrest for the seven years before his death after being deposed in 1964.
House Arrest in Fiction
In the Walt Disney film, First Kid, Luke Davenport (portrayed by Brock Pierce) was house arrested and confined to the White House for getting into a fight with a bully. An electronic sensor was strapped onto his wrist, not his ankle. However, he used a chatroom and communicated with his mysterious online friend to seek assistance in removing the electronic sensor. He did what his online friend said and used an unknown technique to remove the electronic sensor and moved it to a dog. At the end of the film, his warrant of punishment was nullified.
Also children may be grounded as punishment. It is house arrest except for going to school, church, etc.
