'Cure' or 'rehabilitation' implies that a person has been relieved of impediments to healthy and normal functioning. 'Care,' on the other hand, in accepting that in particular cases cure is unlikely involves making life as satisfying as possible within the limitations of an illness. In the correctional system, wishful thinking and the need for public support combine to foster denial of the overwhelming evidence that cure and rehabilitation are not within the power of the correctional system. The promise of cure thus becomes nothing but a ploy to gratify the public's expectations and gain financial support for the correctional enterprise. By focusing upon 'cure' activities, the essential daily physical and mental 'care' requirements for inmates are deemphasized or blocked. The inadequate care provided for inmates produces powerful psychic stress that leads to a high incidence of psychotic morbidity and aggravation of criminal tendencies. Professionals in the fields of psychiatry, law, and penology should mount a campaign to inform the public of cure limitations and show the importance of adequate care in maintaining if not improving the mental health of inmates. Footnotes are provided.