However, the horrors of the American prison system are pretty well documented, and I'm not sure it's really controversial to say that these are very bad places to find oneself, significantly worse than the prisons of many other western developed nations, and a much larger percentage of America's population is in prison than any other democratic nation.
besides, a misdemeanor & driving w/ a suspended license hardly confirms that "horrible things" have been done to other people. I'm sure even the most casual observer of the US has some awareness of the vast numbers in jail for non-violent drug offenses.
quite aside from the above, even the assumption that committing a crime is what's put an inmate inside is off the mark: https://csgjusticecenter.org/publications/confined-costly/
But... there's nothing in the article that suggests that they were treated particularly poorly. He was called "big bang theory", the basketball hoops were different heights, letters were opened and pictures were confiscated, and somebody referred to people with mental health issues as "screws and schizos". That's it? That's your entire indictment of the unfair treatment of people who actually did do horrible things to other people? Sure, there's room for improvement, but... not really that much room.