Prisons have a history of thousands of years. Historically, slave countries, feudal countries, capitalist countries and socialist countries all had prisons. Its characteristics are as follows:

Slavery National Prison: The concept and execution of punishment are aimed at revenge, and the main punishment means are life imprisonment and corporal punishment. Prisons are used to hold prisoners awaiting execution and undecided criminals.

Feudal state prisons: the concept and execution of punishment are aimed at intimidation, and the prison system and prison management are cruel and dark.

Prisons in capitalist countries: In early capitalist countries, the purpose of prisons was retribution. In the 1920s of 19, with the development of penalty theory, it gradually changed into correction and education.

Prisons in socialist countries: aimed at transforming criminal citizens into law-abiding citizens.

In the later period of prisons in capitalist countries, prisons gradually moved closer to legality, adaptation of crimes and punishments, and humanization of punishments.

At present, China's prisons belong to the prison system of socialist countries, and the policy is "combining punishment with reform, aiming at reforming people". This embodies the characteristics of the socialist legal system.