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The first recorded prisons occurred in southern Mesopotamia during the time of Ur-Nammu, who was a king of the Ur III state at around 2000 BCE. The king was attributed with a law code, which spelled out the types of crimes people were put in prison for. This included kidnapping and extortion. At this time, prisons were presented as part of punishment, where people would be placed in these facilities for some period. It is not evident that prisons were intended to reform or change the behavior of the person incarcerated. In effect, prison was part of the punishment and it may have not been used for anything else. In ancient Egypt, prisons seem to be very unpleasant places that were purposely made uncomfortable, suggesting that prisons served as part of punishment and deterrent of crime, but not for any reform.<ref>For more on ancient prisons in Mesopotamia and early punishment, see: Tetlow, E.M. (2004) <i>Women, crime, and punishment in ancient law and society.</i> New York, Continuum.</ref>

In ancient China, the so-called Legalism teachings were influential, where punishment was a focus and often applied harsh penalties even for petty crime. Prisons used as deterrent for behavior appears to be the focus. One difference, however, is that there is evidence by the Tang Dynasty, in the 1st millennium CE, prisons were also located near Buddhist monasteries, suggesting that by that period the idea of using religious teaching to reform prisoners may have taken hold. In effect, this could represent that prisons served more than just punishment, but religious reform, and by extension behavior, could have been a key focus.<ref>For more on criminal punishment in China and philosophy, see: Mühlhahn, K. (2009) <i>Criminal justice in China: a history</i>. Cambridge, Mass, Harvard University Press, pg. 363.</ref>

In ancient Greece, prisons and punishment were also harsh, where punishment often included various means of torture, stoning, burning, and other very harsh treatments. However, from Plato, it is evident that some philosophers began to see that prisons and punishment should be used to reform individuals. Plato noted that punishment mostly made someone suffer, while it provided relatively little benefit to anyone. Plato discusses the idea that reform or rehabilitating a prisoner could be a focus of punishment.<ref>For more on Plato and his philosophy on punishment, see:Ritter, C. (2015)<i> The Essence of Plato’s philosophy</i>. London [u.a., Routledge, pg. 317.</ref>

For the Romans, it seems most prisons were temporary places where people were kept before the final punishment was delivered. For instance, hard labor was a form of Roman punishment, but keeping someone in prison, unlike Mesopotamia, was not often a final sentence. Wealthy or high status individuals could be incarcerated, but they were often kept in a form of house arrest. In effect, another wealthy person or citizen may be in charge of a wealthy or well known person. The best known Roman prison was the Tullianum, where people believe Christians, including Apostles, were kept there before they were given their final punishment, in many cases being death.<ref>For more on Tullianum and Roman punishment, see: Norval Morris (ed.) (1998) The Oxford history of the prison: the practice of punishment in Western society. Oxford paperbacks. New York, Oxford Univ. Press, pg. 18.</ref>