When I ask him if the experience of prison - the locked cell, the hard bed, the dreadful food - had made him question his lifestyle, if it made him fearful of returning there, he is confused.

当我问他，监狱里紧锁的牢房，硬板床，难吃的食物这种蹲监狱的经历是否促使他对自己的生活方式有所质疑，他是否会害怕再回到那儿时，他有感到困惑。

youdao

He was brutalized by the experience of being in prison.

牢狱生活使他变得残暴了。

《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》

People who experience low self esteem feel imprisoned but there is a likelihood of the prison doors being wide open without anyone imposing their stay in there.

经历过自卑的人们会感觉到“下狱”，但是可能会有一扇敞开的牢门，没有任何人强制他们呆在里面。

youdao

As Haney observed in a review of research findings, prisoners in solitary confinement must be able to withstand the experience in order to be allowed to return to the highly social world of mainline prison or free society.

NEWYORKER: Hellhole

Since his release from a Florida prison, Joseph had been making a living talking against the death penalty, based on his personal experience of coming within hours of being executed for a crime he didn't commit.

MSN: Death penalty activist charged with wife's murder