Rehabilitation: a convenient fiction --- a little white lie

In Finland, at least, prisons certainly are for rehabilitation.  Prison terms are much much
shorter than in the U.S., and conditions are generally quite comfortable.

Recidivism rates in Finland are also much lower than the U.S.  Even though the prisons aren't
so bad, people who are given an opportunity to turn themselves around during their time in
prison are less likely to commit more crime upon their release.