Are there countries where children born in prison must serve the sentence of their parent?

[jabarl]

I know that this was a Comic Book story, but it was the retconn of a supervillain, that put him in greater perspective ("Not Evil- just misunderstood, is all...! Yeah, right!)" But in some Latino Island nation, they had a Medieval Law, under which the unborn male offspring of a convicted criminal was made to serve the Life Sentence (!) of his father. So that he went on to grow up to hand a previously undefeated superhero his backbone.

Whereas it is "only a story," the writers for that publishing house have a reputation for being careful to do their research, and not just write something silly off-the-cuff. It sounds very compelling that there may well have been nations with such laws, and some countries might even have them on their books, unrepealed, ready to be resurrected at the slightest provocation.

Some may even do this as a matter of course, without apology.
Do you know any references on this?

[deangelo51]

I don't think it existed in such a form, but in the Middle Ages prisons were not state run, the guard had to make a living from it, those who could afford it were able to live in a 'luxury suite', with a fire, water food brought to you, etc. Much like a hotel out of which one was not allowed to leave and that had different classes, like trains still have. So there might have been a similar system, although I doubt it. What did exist was that someone else would serve the punishment, a monarch once sinned so badly during a war that he was punished to a thousand years of prayer or else he would go to hell, so he assembled many monks who would pray for him.

But by the time the Europeans began colonizing, the Middle Ages and the situation I've drawn up were long gone, the judiciary codices were written.
It would be possible under common law and local law, but I don't think it was widely spread, or even if it was I don't think it would have been done as an infant in prison is only a bother to the warden.

[caffar]

Nope, not even poor countries like south africa.