1984

The common prisoners are Proles. The party does not care about Proles as long as they remain ignorant and compliant. The Party does not care if one Prole kills another prole or really any crime that a Prole might inflict on another Prole as long as the crime does not challenge party doctrine. The Party puts Proles in prison to maintain the idea that law and order exists. Prole prisoners have a lot of freedoms in prison simply because the party doesn't care about them. Political prisoners, like Winston becomes, are considered mere dangerous and dealt with a lot more severely. Political prisoners are believed to have inflicted "thought crime". They have challenged ideas or doctrines of the party. The perpetual existence of the Party depends on total conformity of thought.