Progressives viewed prisons as the ideal means of accomplishing the dual criminal justice goals of protecting society from criminal behavior and using a controlled environment to accomplish offender rehabilitation. The prison came to be viewed by progressives as similar to a hospital, where offenders would stay until they were cured of their behavioral maladies, thus leading to the concept of the indeterminate sentence, which would extend indefinitely in accordance with the offender's responsiveness to rehabilitative efforts. Whether because of the inadequacy of mandated funds to train and entice skilled personnel or because of the custodial requirements of managing a large number of persons with deviant attitudes and behavior, the visions of progressives for prisons have not been fulfilled. Instead, prisons have become brutalizing and dehumanizing institutions that aggravate rather than dispel criminal tendencies. An historical analysis of the impact of prisons suggests that incarceration sentences should be shortened and limited to overtly dangerous offenders. Further, a mainstream effort must be undertaken to experiment with alternatives to imprisonment.