Why would anyone commit a felony seeing how crappy U.S. prisons are?

Honestly, I’ve been scrolling through this subreddit and can’t wrap my head around why anyone would willingly risk ending up in a U.S. prison. The food posts alone are enough to make you lose your appetite for crime—literal slop that even stray animals wouldn’t touch. Add in overcrowded cells, broken facilities, and the constant threat of violence, and it’s like… who in their right mind wants to sign up for that?

And let’s not forget, once you’re in, you’re basically living for the government. Every move you make is controlled by guards who don’t care about your humanity, and your life is reduced to counting days and following orders. No freedom, no privacy, no dignity.

I get that life on the outside isn’t easy for everyone, but trading that for THIS? Committing a felony almost feels like volunteering to give up your basic rights and live like cattle.

So here’s my question: knowing how absolutely inhumane the system is, why do people still make choices that could land them there? Is it desperation, lack of awareness, or something else? I’m genuinely curious because it seems like the worst possible outcome for anyone’s life.