Jail is better than the “freedom” to live in isolation?

When I read this today I was shocked at first but after a few seconds it made started to make sense, which is very sad.

In Japan, the number of elderly people commiting crimes is increasing because they want to go to jail. In jail they have company, they are treated well and confinement is preferable to the extreme solitude they suffer from.… In Japan, the number of elderly people commiting crimes is increasing because they want to go to jail. In jail they have company, they are treated well and confinement is preferable to the extreme solitude they suffer from. … an old man who threatened a woman in the park with a knife. He had no intention of hurting her, simply of scaring her enough to call the police. Eight years of confinement guaranteed him a roof, food¹

Later in the same essay the author says the following, which I believe is very important for all of us to consider.

Human beings cannot bear too much of either life or freedom. For a large majority, life and its uncertainties are something they prefer to avoid; freedom is too heavy a burden to carry on their back.²