What's untrue? The main goal being punishment instead of rehabilitation is pretty widely known to be true. Solitary confinement is torture. The death penalty is

What's untrue? The main goal being punishment instead of rehabilitation is pretty widely known to be true. Solitary confinement is torture. The death penalty is still legal and carried out in several states. Even if there are rehabilitation programs in place, the off-the-record treatment of prisoners and prison violence don't make for an environment conducive to rehabilitation. I wasn't implying there's some big conspiracy where the State _wants_ more prisoners because it's profitable. According to this[1] the average cost of incarceration is around $35k/y, much higher than the $6-14k that can be generated from each inmate, according to the article I linked above. Still, the incarceration cost is covered by taxpayers, and there is a lot of private and side business that also benefits. The bail bond system alone reeks of corruption, where the wealthy can walk away while those unable to pay get to wait for trial in jail. And let's not forget the racial and ethnic discriminations, "war on drugs" and similar farces... It's a complex topic and we can argue about the details, but there's not much worth defending about the current US prison system. Disclaimer: I'm speaking as an outsider with layman familiarity, but please include links to backup any counter arguments. [1]: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/04/30/2018-09062/annual-determination-of-average-cost-of-incarceration https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/04/30/2018-09...