The Big House

Built in 1932, the federal penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, looks more like a church than a prison. When it opened, it was considered the most modern and humane prison in America.

The Florida State Prison at Raiford was built on 18,000 acres of farmland in 1913. The original maximum-security housing unit, nicknamed "The Rock", gave the prison its notorious reputation.

Located near Belfast, Maze Prison holds both Catholic and Protestant prisoners, members of paramilitary groups like the Irish Republican Army. The prison consists of 8 H-shaped cellblocks with cameras, searchlights, 16-foot walls, and guard towers.

The State Penitentiary in Auburn, New York is the centerpiece of a city and a monument to one of America's first attempts at criminal rehabilitation.

State Prison, Parchman, Mississippi, a land without visible boundaries. Originally a slave plantation ruled by the whip, today its most important crop is neither food nor cotton, but prisoners. And 75 percent of them are African American.

Called the "Castle on the Cumberland", its inspiring medieval presence is a focal point on the landscape.

The largest prison system in the free world, its 20,000 male and female inmates reflect the crimes and racial tensions of Los Angeles County. The challenge is staggering--feed 75,000 meals a day and keep 16,000 gang members from killing each other!