From the US Bureau of Justice Statistics site

In 2007, over 7.3 million people were on probation, in jail or prison, or on parole at yearend -- 3.2% of all U.S. adult residents or 1 in every 31 adults.

State and federal prison authorities had jurisdiction over 1,610,584 prisoners at midyear 2008: 1,409,442 in state jurisdiction and 201,142 in federal jurisdiction. (That's actually in prison)

Local jails held 785,556 persons awaiting trial or serving a sentence at midyear 2008. An additional 72,852 persons under jail supervision were serving their sentence in the community.

Those statistics are pretty damning.

Since many federal prisons are over crowded the US Government buys places in State prisons which are only too happy to sell beds in their own already overcrowded facilities.

The whole system is rotten with corruption from top to bottom.

Convicts and their families pay unfairly for this incarceration too. Check out how much phone calls from prisoners to family members. When Virginia prison inmates call home, their families pay almost $3 for just one minute of talk time. Multiply this by one half hour weekend call to family who lives too far away to visit. It is not in Virginia. See this about Masachusettes inmates phone charges to families

Many prisons work with a supplier who provides a catalogue from which inmates can purchase goods. But cost of items (both necessary and not) toothpaste, underclothing/socks, books, music, electronics, art supplies is ludicrously inflated compared to what the free citizen can purchase.   

Here is a bit more from a another site about Pennsylvania which has the highest proportion of Federal prisons in the North east US.

U.S. Prison Labor

While U.S. politicians criticize China for their use of prison labor, U.S. federal and state prisons have been using prison labor for some time. Even companies like Microsoft have used prison labor. Many states have furniture made for their state institutions (including public universities) in their state prisons. Prison factories compete with jobs on the "outside," deny worker rights and provide cheap labor to private corporations.
Toxic Computer Recycling Operations Enter U.S. Prison Labor Factories
One computer monitor can contain 4-6 pounds of lead. Do we really want these toxic, hazardous jobs to be held by people who have no rights to unionize or protest dangerous working conditions? If we want prisoners to be able to be rehabilitated, why enable them to be brain damaged by exposing themselves to toxic metals like lead?

The diet is atrocious in many institutions as is the medical and dental care. Many prisoners are released with serious medical conditions because the diet is so poor. And this alarming report about the correlation between poor diet and tuberculosis in prisons.

All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with
respect for the inherent dignity of the human person."
-Article 10 (1), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

This is not happening. Don't tell me federal prisons are better than state facilities. They are all inhuman and something to be ashamed of.