"Prisons are generally much nicer places than jails"
If this piqued anyone's interest, you can see this in a little more detail in Louix Theroux's "Miami Mega Jail" two-part documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSM_UvZ-Jic (part 1 only, if you enjoy you should be able to find part 2). Like the GP I originally thought jail = prison, but it's definitely not and could even be a good deal worse in some cases.
Thank you for that last part. As a non US citizen i never knew there even was a difference between jails and prisons. Interesting :)
I should have added that prisons are physically different. Most of the structures recognizable in the OP are prisons, multiple buildings separated by open yards. Jails are more likely to be a single converted building, with the roof open for exercise. They cannot be spotted on google maps.
Take a look at this infamous jail.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Towers_Correctional_Facili...
As a general rule, US "jails" house people awaiting trial and/or serving short sentences. "Prisons" house people with more than one year to serve. Prisons are generally much nicer places than jails.
(I went to a US law school, spent lots of time dealing with low-level offenders all of which were drug related. It's a horrible horrible system.)