The available evidence indicates that prisons contribute to crime. They are also expensive and are useful only for the 20 percent of current prisoners who have been convicted of dangerously violent crime. Better alternatives are restitution, community service, house arrest, probation with intensive supervision, deferred and suspended sentences, fines, alcohol and drug treatment orders, and work requirements. Incarceration itself also needs improvement. Shorter sentences, weekend sentences, better prisoner classification, earned-time credits, protection against inmate violence, smaller units, and repealing mandatory and habitual offender sentencing laws would all be desirable. Public awareness of the failure of the current system and the advantages of alternatives will be necessary for reform to occur. Photographs and 30 reference notes.