Almost all the prison money goes to paying guards and for medical care. Guards are paid better than school teachers. Guards are parasites who do almost no work and nothing constructive. In Pennsylvania the staffs of the 24 prisons are notoriously lazy and there are twice as many state prisons as state universities. After the huge expense for staff, medical care of prisoners is an enormous expense.
Prison sentences are vindictively lengthy.
Prisoners grow old and feeble in the unhealthy prisons. They go mad from the cruel and unusual conditions, they get sick from the unhealthful environment. They need a lot of medical care. In Pennsylvania's prisons there is no effort at rehabilitation and almost none at education. The whole Pennsylvania prison system is focused on cruel and expensive punishment.