[im3w1l]

> The original intent of incarceration was to remove those from society who we could not trust to peacefully participate in it.

Do you have a source for that? The Code of Hammurabi seems to talk about imprisonment as the appropriate punishment for defaulting on your debt, and the ancient Greek seem to have used it for that reason as well.

[zanny]

Talking more about modern incarceration. Historically, banishment, exile, or execution were much simpler solutions to those who could not peacefully participate in society.

The intent of modern incarceration, at least in civilized nations, is the recognition (through study) that punishment is not rehabilitative or particularly beneficial for society as a whole. To use prison as a punishment can only act as a deterrent, not as a remedy.