^Yes, not every prison is as bad as that one, but most are not the cushy places people make them out to be. Maybe minimum security prisons are, but for someone who would be getting life without parole, especailly in a high profile case like this one, they wouldn't send him to a cushy prison because of the backlash that would earn.
And yeah, I saw the Shawshank Redemption too.
So most prisons are run pretty corruptly. And Sleepers. Horrible horrible book.