I think calling it “hell” is a bit silly. It’s only hell if you are a loud mouth idiot who can’t stop getting into drama. Is being out with a good job better, yes. But TV and the news dramatize it drastically. You basically sit around and read / watch TV most of the time in medium security. I think most people would be surprised how much less terrible it is than it’s hyped to be. If I had to choose prison or being incredibly poor / homeless - I’d choose prison.