A detailed analysis of the evolution in forms of punishment is followed by a discussion of the goals said to be achieved through punishment by incarceration. These goals include deterring law-abiding persons from criminal behavior; rehabilitating the offender; incapacitating the criminal; creating fear among prisoners to deter their future criminality upon release; and achieving justice for crime victims, for other citizens, and for the convict who is punished. Further chapters focus on changes in American prisons over the past four decades and on the nature and costs of incarceration. The adjustment strategies used by male and female inmates, the ways correctional officers cope with the prison environment, the effects of the entrance of female correctional officers into maximum-security prisons for men, and inmate-staff relations are examined. Additional chapters examine the role of courts in prison management and programming, with emphasis on the nature of prisoners' rights, on judicial decisions affecting prison conditions, and on the effects of these decisions on the morale of prison workers. Substantive rights of inmates are also examined, including rights under the First, Fourth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments and issues related to receiving and refusing treatment. Figures, excerpts from other writings, list of cases cited, name index, subject index, and over 600 references. (Author summary modified)