Article traces the gradual encroachment of penal institutions outside the jail and prison walls and the negative impact this has had upon rehabilitative techniques and for society. As crime has decreased the American penal system has ironically expanded its hold upon an increasing percentage of America's citizenry. California's realignment offers an opportunity to reinstate a rehabilitative agenda and abandon counterproductive practices which have served to make the state's penal institutions a breeding ground for criminals. Monterey County's failure to embrace realignment's vision is critiqued.