The Big House

Built in 1932, the federal penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, looks more like a church than a prison. Its history and inmate roster includes Alger Hiss, Morton Sobel and Al Capone.

At the height of its infamy, Florida State Prison at Raiford was the scene of stabbings, beatings and even a decapitation. Today, Raiford is home to Florida's death row inmates awaiting execution.

Maze Prison near Belfast holds both Catholic and Protestant prisoners, including paramilitary groups. Investigate the Dirty Protest, when prisoners smeared human waste on prison walls.

Auburn State Penitentiary is one of America's first bids at criminal rehabilitation. Founded by liberal prison reformers, they believed this could be attained through penitence, hard work and silence.

State Prison in Parchman, Mississippi is a land without visible boundaries. Embodying the traditions and folk wisdom of the South, its legacy includes brutal executions in a gas chamber.

Called the "Castle on the Cumberland," Kentucky's maximum-security prison houses the "worst of the worst" and holds a gruesome national record of seven executions in a single day.

The largest prison system in the free world, Los Angeles County Jail faces a staggering challenge--feed 75,000 meals a day and keep an estimated 16,000 gang members from killing each other.

Opened in 1880, Folsom Prison experienced many escapes that same year. Designed for habitual felons doing hard time, its violent history includes 93 hangings between 1895 and 1937.

Attica was hailed as an architectural landmark in rural NY State and a model for the confinement of dangerous criminals. In September 1971, it became home to the worst prison riot in U.S. history.

McNeil Island has been the scene of daring escapees and home to train robbers, gangsters and even politicians. Interviews include a former inmate who attempted to escape and former wardens.