text: There are several philosophy of incarceration and corrections theories. Retributive and utilitarian punishment are two. The word penitentary you may know originates from the Christian concept of peitence that was used by the nation's first penitentiary in Pennsylvania influenced by friends. It isolated inmates and tried to train them toward socially constructive works. In isolation they were supposed to reflect and become repenitent. Eastern State Prison became the archetype for that sort of structure.
  
  The course I am taking allows one to develop an awareness of the history of prisons from ancient times to the present. The goal is to innovate new ways to address criminal convictions with corrections that work. Retributive justice, or lex talionis (an eye for an eye) was suitable for a more primitive time. The Salic law circa 600 a.d. had many interesting ideas including heavy fines. That was somewhat unfair for the poor, who had unequal rights after feudalism developed.