No, that's not really accurate. Crime and punishment are part of an important narrative in American conservatism. Making prisoners suffer, especially black prisoners, is viewed as a plus, and that creates a climate where overt cruelty is condoned and even encouraged.
The article talks about Jim Crow juries, unconstitutional jury rulings where the defendant gets convicted even when the jury is split. These were created to try and stifle the voice of black jurors, and they did, right up until just a couple years ago. Sheriffs like Joe Arpaio stay in office by marketing themselves to voters as being as cruel to prisoners as possible; it's just another facet of the enduring Southern Strategy. The system is working as intended.
This brings back memories of Tank (1984) which was my first contact with the concept of prison violence as an 8 year old. The movie itself is rather B-ish, but it was still the first time I realized that police dealing with judges and the prison system is a rather horrifying concept which would literally require military force to actually win against...
I'd go as far as to say that prisons are a profitable business, and if the prison operators or their cronies can convince the masses that stuffing prisons to the brim is a good idea, that's just more profitable business.
I don't think the prison industry or upper class are cruel for cruelty's sake. The American Conservatism is simply convenient to them. I'd go as far as to say that even voters who appear to embrace being cruel to prisoners aren't deliberately trying to be cruel, but are by and large the disenfranchised poor people with zero upward mobility, whose miserable existence is made slightly more bearable by having a class with even fewer privileges than them.
The article talks about Jim Crow juries, unconstitutional jury rulings where the defendant gets convicted even when the jury is split. These were created to try and stifle the voice of black jurors, and they did, right up until just a couple years ago. Sheriffs like Joe Arpaio stay in office by marketing themselves to voters as being as cruel to prisoners as possible; it's just another facet of the enduring Southern Strategy. The system is working as intended.