There are many ways to assess changes in human use of corrections from ancient Greece to the present day. Jim Finckenauer, a professor at the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, shared his observation about how U.S. history is best explained as a failed panacea by saying that correctional programs promised far more "crime control" than 'they could not offer any (Bryne & Brewster 1993). In the 1960s and 1970s, the United States believed that the use of treatment (therapy/conditioning) could reduce the increasing number of crimes. The method of correction instead of imprisonment was institutional and community rehabilitation programs, used and evaluated to see how they treated criminals during these times. It was discovered that these programs were not as effective as the government would have liked.Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Lawmakers at the time decided that instead of focusing on rehabilitation methods for correction, policies should be modified to support more of a punitive aspect (Bryne and Brewster 1993). One of the greatest upheavals in the history of corrections in the United States occurred in the 1970s when the "war" on drugs was launched by President Richard Nixon. He is known for getting Congress to declare drug abuse "public enemy number one." During this period, the number of people arrested, prosecuted and convicted was far higher than at any other time in the history of the correctional system. The results were an increase in the number of inmates and prison residents, prison overcrowding, and correctional budgets by the end of the decade (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1993). These types of correctional methods are very different from the way punishments were applied in late antiquity. Instead of indefinite confinement, ancient prisons served as holding cells where prisoners could sit until the end of their sentence; the cells were used in very different ways. Those in power wanted these prisons to serve as halfway houses for those awaiting trial or for perpetrators destined to die (Olsen 2008). Not only was the purpose of prison different from today, but there were also big differences in how prisoners felt while spending time in prison. Christianity was seen as one of the ways that prisoners could isolate themselves, reflect, and grow spiritually (Olsen 2008). Time was spent in prisons reflecting and looking inward; those who practiced the religion felt it was a good place to prepare for the transition to the other world (death). However, not all prisoners felt this way about being locked up. Most reflections throughout history recall the horrible living conditions. There are several memories in the philosopher's writings which recall the unsatisfactory conditions. Compared to current prisons, living conditions have improved, from a health point of view, as well as what is consumed daily. Like the colonial era of the 18th century, punishments and crimes were the great differentiator of this era. There has been a significant increase in the number of crimes classified as capital crimes. However, the types of crimes that qualify as punishable crimes.