Early n our history, we sent criminals to do penance. They were given a Bible and a cell. This is where the word penitentiary came from.
“In Texas, for example, reoffending dropped from 55 per cent to eight per cent for those who took part in his InnerChange prison programme.”
In Texas, we lock the scum up for a very long time and kill the ones who commit murder.
If you wind up in a Texas prison for a short stint, after seeing those things you will try your hardest not to want to go back there. Add in religion and accountability and the rate of recidivism goes down.