I had forgotten that they were the descendants. I must hang my head in shame for such an inexcusable mistake in my chosen field of “sci-fi-geek-pop-culture-trivia-with-a-pre-1980’s-speciality.”
It’s probably been 30 years, so I could certainly be wrong.
According to Wikipedia, it was still functioning as a prison planet during the time of the Dune story.
I could probably give you a run in that category.
I don’t think that could work in the real world. By the same token, how come Australia is no one’s idea of a hellish society? Aren’t the Aussies proudly descended from the criminal scum of the british empire?