I agree that the comparison is poor.

I do imagine that behavioral science probably has allot to tell us about how we run our prisons and how to get what we want out of a prison and it's population. Unfortunately I don't think we have any sort of consensus on what the desired results should be:

• punishment
• rehabilitation
• health of the prisoners
• safety of the guards
• safety of the outside population at large

At times these goals run counter to each other, like in these supermax prisons. Surely rehabilitation or the health of the prisoners is not high on the list in the design of the facilities. Maybe this is how it should be, but quite honestly I think a society that puts an entire population of prisoners in solitary confinement has no interest in these people as humans any longer.