"Prisons are called 'correctional facilities' because the goal is to correct the behavior that sent people there"
About this Quote
The subtext is more telling than the claim. By treating the label as proof of purpose, it collapses a contested reality into semantics. “Called” becomes “therefore,” as if naming were policy and branding were outcomes. That move conveniently sidesteps what prisons actually optimize for: control, incapacitation, and, often, political safety for elected officials who benefit from being “tough on crime.” It also places the burden of “correction” on the incarcerated, implying the system’s legitimacy is settled and only the individual needs fixing.
Context matters because the American prison system has spent decades advertising rehabilitation while delivering overcrowding, violence, limited programming, and reentry barriers that practically engineer recidivism. “Correctional” is aspirational at best, propagandistic at worst. Kirk’s formulation works because it’s simple, moral, and emotionally soothing: it lets audiences believe punishment is benevolent, and that the system’s harshness is just a misunderstood form of care. The rhetorical trick is that it asks you to trust the sign on the building over what happens inside it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Justice |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Kirk, Charlie. (2026, January 15). Prisons are called 'correctional facilities' because the goal is to correct the behavior that sent people there. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/prisons-are-called-correctional-facilities-173256/
Chicago Style
Kirk, Charlie. "Prisons are called 'correctional facilities' because the goal is to correct the behavior that sent people there." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/prisons-are-called-correctional-facilities-173256/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Prisons are called 'correctional facilities' because the goal is to correct the behavior that sent people there." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/prisons-are-called-correctional-facilities-173256/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.







