I often see this given as an excuse for the U.S.'s prison system, but it seems a sort of non-sequitur along the lines of "difficult to compare the two, because

I often see this given as an excuse for the U.S.'s prison system, but it seems a sort of non-sequitur along the lines of "difficult to compare the two, because Finland is named Finland". Is it just a codeword for the sentiment that the U.S. has black people, and they're inherently evil, so cannot be rehabilitated or treated nicely like Finland? That seems to be the only explanation that fits. If that's what you think, why not say it? If that isn't what you meant, maybe you can explain further. For instance, you could try to finish these sentences: "The USA is a larger, richer, country, and therefore it cannot build a prison facility that holds 300 people and is rehabilitative rather than punitive because......" or for homogeneity: "The USA has a somewhat more diverse population than Finland, and therefore it cannot build a prison facility that holds 300 people and is rehabilitative rather than punitive because......" I'm curious to see what the explanation is. It certainly isn't anything obvious to me.