[ajsnigrutin]

Don't prisoners already work in prisons, atleast in US ones? (although my knowledge comes mostly from movies and new articles).

[londons_explore]

I think the US is pretty unique in this regard. Most other countries don't allow this for the moral/ethical reasons in the parent post.

[d_tr]

In Greece you can optionally work while incarcerated, provided there is work to do for some of the prison's facilities, and each workday counts as two regarding your stay there.