In Finland, prisons are designed to correct criminal ways, not refine them. That the US has almost one percent of its population in prison is a scandal. That there are countries like Finland and others in Europe that have one-tenth the rate of imprisonment of the US, and most US politicians aren't the least bit interested in learning from them, is outrageous. It appears that only impending bankruptcy is likely to bring meaningful prison reform in this country. Read The Perpetual Prisoner Machine for more on the methods and motives of the US penal system. (Thanks to Sanjay for the link about Finnish prisons.)