Prison should serve two goals.  It should rehabilitate those who can be, and it should sequester away the people who are too mentally unstable to be in the general populace.  These should be two separate institutions.  Yes, there&#x27;s a punishment aspect for being away from people, but that shouldn&#x27;t be the main goal.<p>Jails, on the other hand, should be terrible places for people who have been convicted of crimes and will be there for short stays, but they should have a time limit for how long someone can be there (longer than that, go to the prison to get your rehab).  Slap them hard enough on the wrist and hope they get the message.