two decades ago, a simple robbery led to a tragic crime. >> i saw my wife and my son, then i started getting mad. >> and a ride through modesto turned deadly for two brothers. >> that's where the big snowball effect started coming in. >> come here. >> finally, an inmate tells his story about the night that ended the lives of joe and gilbert

flores. >> it sounded like a machine gun. there were so many shots. >> now comes the part which i really don't want anybody to know. >> the judge told me that i had become such a monster that i had to be put away. ♪

>> california state prison solano is a level 3 security facility with over 6,000 inmates, and each one has a secret. admitting your crime can get you killed in prison. but for six months, our cameras will follow as five inmates do the unthinkable. tell the truth about their crimes. this is eddie haro's story. >> my name is edward haro. i'm serving a sentence of 31 to life for two counts of kidnap and two counts of second degree murder. >> 21 years ago on a dark, dirt road, two men were murdered.

and eddie haro was there. >> it's like i allowed this to happen. >> he was convicted of the kidnap and murder of his two friends, joe and gilbert flores. he has rarely spoken about the crime since that night. >> i turned 30 in prison, i turned 40 in prison, and i just turned 50 in prison. >> but with his parole hearing only months away, haro is prepared to do whatever it takes not to spend another birthday behind bars. the prison yard operates under a code of silence. the last thing you speak to other inmates about are your crimes. letting your guard down and talking to the wrong person could put your life on the line. >> 2:00, it's meeting time.

go see marcia, diane, the rest of the group. take another brick off that wall today. >> solano offers several therapy programs, but this one is unique. it asks inmates to share personal stories with a very difficult audience, their fellow inmates. they start at the beginning, their childhood. last week, convicted murderer jack mcgarey shared his story with the group. he talked about his traumatic childhood and the road that led to his heinous crime. >> the crimes were not okay because they had a difficult or challenging family life or childhood. this is about understanding where you come from and holding yourself responsible for what you have done. choices you've made. >> today is inmate haro's turn

to begin his story. >> so today what we have to do is we had you do your time line of events in your life. everybody good to go on that? okay. who would like to go first? all right, eddie. >> as a native american and a son, the task is difficult for haro. he had planned to be home from prison in time to take care of his ailing father, but time ran out. he died only a few months ago. >> part of our beliefs is when the older people die, your parents die, you kind of let them rest for at least a year before you start -- some people don't want you to say their name or think bad thoughts. but i couldn't leave it blank. they had -- our parents interacted with us. i remember we're going camping and all that. i remember disneyland and going down the matterhorn.

it was hard to look for something negative. so i was born in modesto and grew up there. my childhood days, i remember a whole lot of good times, having fun, and we didn't have a whole lot of things, but we had what we needed and we had some things that we wanted. the native american, that upbringing, we're taught to be quiet and listen. my father said, when you kids were born, you didn't come with instructions. and he said, your mother and i did the best we could. and if you have any complaints, he says, talk to god. >> not everyone believes haro's story of an idyllic childhood. >> if that's what it takes to get you to do the work because

it's hard. this is not easy stuff. >> inmate jack mcgarey pushes him to share more. >> i don't know if i offended you when i said that sounded like a cop-out. i don't really care if i offended you. that's not the point. it upsets me because i spilled my guts. i tried my hardest, and so if someone's not going to give it their all, i'm going to call them on it. >> what i remember with my parents was they didn't tell us they loved me. they didn't say, i love you, jack or, eddie, i love you, eddie. but we still got the hugs and everything, but just those words weren't there. i'm kind of missing them. >> to never have heard i love you would have been something. just do me a favor and think about it.

>> haro shared a piece of his story, but it's the darker events of his past that are hard for him to talk about. >> that's partly how i ended up in here by not having the nerve to speak up and do the right thing. i became a follower. and today i'm learning how to speak up and not be a follower. coming up, in his quest to get released, inmate eddie haro comes face to face with his victim's wife. >> when the inmates come up for parole, the victims have the opportunity to speak. >> and later, haro breaks his 21-year silence about the murders. >> i should have stopped everything and called the police. i should have. what is it about taking a first step that we find so compelling? is it because taking a step represents hope?

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two decades ago in modesto, california, a simple robbery led to a tragic crime. what happened in the orchard that night remains a mystery. but eddie haro knows the truth. it's morning at california state prison solano. and while some inmates linger on the yard, the inmates with jobs are hard at work. eddie haro heads into the prison's metal factory four days a week where he works as the lead welder. >> haro, 192. >> he earns 95 cents an hour. the highest pay rate for an inmate. >> my job, it's very important to me. i enjoy it. >> for eddie haro to have any

chance for parole when he goes before the board in two months, he must prove he has the skills to support himself and his family when he gets out. for him, this job is essential. >> i already have -- i have five job offers right now. they're waiting for me to come home. we have already contacted them, and they're very interested. they said i could work for them the first day i go home. >> but being the lead welder comes with a lot of responsibility and headache. >> you better get your hustle on. >> some of the guys at the shop are on haro's case, questioning his participation in the therapy program. >> some don't like it. they think we're doing something wrong, something bad. something that will keep us in prison instead of showing change. >> but proving you're a changed man is easier said than done when you're behind bars, and sometimes eddie haro needs to escape.

>> it's the best view of the prison right here. we can see the hills, see the trees, see some birds and animals once in a while. >> but the guys at work on his back and the parole hearing looming, the stress is finally getting to haro. >> so many things go through your mind when you're sitting up here and watching all this. if you could only go back in time and correct all them mistakes. it puts a lump in your throat whenever you think about it. >> inside this fence is eddie haro's refuge from prison life. >> you set them right there and face to the east. >> a sacred space that only the

native americans on the yard can enter. and haro is their leader and mentor. >> we all depend on each other every day. every night i go out and i can see them and we can sit there and talk, sing songs. but we still have to live with everybody else. >> outside this fenced area, drug deaths and gang affiliations rule the yard. at any moment your number might be up. >> everyone down. >> have a seat. >> down on the yard. >> an incident between two inmates stops the yard in its tracks. for the officers' safety, every inmate hits the ground or risks being considered a threat. moments like these make it hard to know who to trust, so haro keeps his circle small. >> i take care of the sweat

lodge, run ceremonies. it's a trusted position. everybody depends on you. >> the native americans drum on the yard every day. but today's ceremony is significant. >> they're focusing, putting their energy in to try to help me go home. if i go back to the parole board and try to get a release date, it's a big thing going through my mind because it's the rest of my life in their hands that day. >> it's not only his life that hangs in the balance, at his home in modesto, california, haro's family has been dealing with the aftermath of his crime for two decades. >> this man eddie and little

eddie, we had a picture taken at our house. >> i don't know if they were getting ready for church or what. >> junior. that's junior. you know, it's sad to, you know, see all the -- see how long, you know, he's been gone and how he's missed out on so much, we've missed out with him. >> eddie haro's wife and mother have waited 21 years for him to come home. but for his son, it's been a lifetime. >> boy, he's been gone since i was about 7, 8 years old, in between then, and since he's been in there, he's been as -- he hasn't been here physically but he's been here emotionally a lot. >> that's eddie. >> this is my dad. >> you're flying kites. >> flying a kite. >> you know, it's just he's a big part of my life. you know, i'm excited that he's getting the opportunity to come home.

>> every day i think about them, my family and not being there with them. not being there to provide for them. >> being behind bars and away from his family is hard for haro. but this is the price he pays for what happened to joe and gilbert flores that night. >> i go through that every day. if i don't shut the door and it's gone, it's with me. coming up, a confession in the group reveals the beginning of haro's downward spiral. >> i was using. it was crank. i would use a half a gram a week. and later, the parole board decides if haro goes free. >> it's kind of like the rest of your life rides on tomorrow. it seems like for every anti-aging problem, there's a different cream. i challenge that with olay. i've found one cream with everything i'm looking for... olay total effects. with 7 age defying effects in just one, easy to use cream.

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in prison, it's too dangerous to tell another inmate your secrets. they can always be used against you. in today's therapy session, eddie haro is about to violate that rule. >> we're going to be talking about cycle of offense, and that's where we ask them what decisions that they made that appeared to be irrelevant but had a huge impact on them committing their crime. >> he must reveal the details about what led to his crime. >> my mistakes were later. i made them myself. >> so, eddie, take it away when you're ready. >> where it started was when i hurt my back. to me, that's when it all started. i made the wrong choices to get money in order to support my family.

and i started a -- somebody gave me a bright idea, and i went with it. at that time, i was just about i think 20 years old. i got myself involved in the drug business, and i would hold some drugs for people, and i would end up selling some. and it was easy money, the money was good. it started interfering with my family life. but i still sold them. people coming over wanting this and that, but i wasn't able to stop. it's time to step back. and right when i was trying to do that, this crime happened. >> haro thinks he's finished,

but the group presses him for details. >> so what we want you to do is take responsibility for what your actions were. you have to deal with the fact that you started selling drugs and you brought this kind of thing around your family. take responsibility for what you really did. >> eddie, were you using drugs? >> i used drugs, but i was using -- it was crank. i would use maybe a half a gram a week at the most. >> admitting the details about his drug use was an important step for inmate haro. >> like i wanted to learn from the very beginning was learning how to speak up. you can see i'm having trouble doing that right now. it's breaking the barriers down. >> but how does dealing drugs translate into murder? the parole board will want to know, and haro is running out of

time to get his story straight. with a shot at freedom right around the corner, the native americans on the yard have gathered to send eddie haro on his way. in less than a week, he will stand before the parole board. >> thank you for this day. today we're having a circle meeting like we do every saturday. we come here to say some words, some good words to ed, some words of encouragement, some words of hope. see him on his way, creator, hopefully soon. >> although haro will miss being a part of these ceremonies, his thoughts remain focused on the family he left behind in modesto. >> he's going to go in front of the parole board for the third time. and i'm scared, i'm excited, and nervous and hopeful and everything. >> you guys ready?

you ready? >> i just hope everything goes through because i have been disappointed so many times. >> the inmates spend two hours praying for haro inside the sweat lodge. in today's sweat, haro's thoughts were on the family he loved while behind bars. >> i was singing some songs for my dad. sometimes it's hard to sing because the tears get in the way. >> feeling safe to open up in this space is easy for haro.

now his chance at freedom hangs on his ability to speak up outside this fence. tonight could be one of eddie haro's last inside a prison cell. >> here's my little place of residence. i sit right here and i do all my beadwork. it's kind of like my therapy, when i'm putting the beads down, i think about everything, how my day was. and say my little prayers before i go to sleep. >> like most inmates, eddie haro has tried to make this prison cell feel like home. but tonight all his thoughts are focused on leaving. in less than 12 hours, he might have a release date. >> i've been waiting for it and

waiting for it and trying to prepare for it, but you can never really prepare for it. you think you're ready, but you always have the knot in your stomach and worrying. because it's kind of like the rest of your life rides on tomorrow. not only for me, but for my family. they're waiting. >> tomorrow morning, the board will decide whether or not he is suitable for parole. but haro is already making plans. >> then i'm going to go to the fruit stand and get me an avocado and a big juicy hamburger. sing a song with my granddaughter. coming up, a thoughtless crime tears a family apart. >> but then when i got home, i saw my wife and my son and then i started getting mad. >> it wasn't my fault! and later, a victim finally

gets her chance to speak. >> the pain is so great that you can't deal with it. [ male anno] how'd you learn to do that? when did you start that project? every new year comes with a few stories waiting to be built. it's when our brand-new to-do lists become "you did that yourself?" so when we can save more on the projects that let us build, make, and even store more, well, that just makes the stories even better. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. make room for savings with these sterilite totes for a new lower price of just $5.88. kids make stains i use tide boost to super charge our detergent. boom. clothes look amazing, and daddy's a hero. daddy, can we play ponies? right after we do foldies. tide boost is my tide. what's yours? what is it about taking a first step that we find so compelling?

is it because taking a step represents hope? or triumph? at genworth, we believe in taking small steps every day to keep your promises, protect what matters, and prepare for a secure financial future. no matter where you want to go, one step at a time is the only way to get there. go to genworth.com/promises. diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'.

msnbc now. the gop front-runner is taking a detour from campaigning in iowa. mitt romney was in new hampshire today. ron paul is taking time off in texas. and police in maine now have a suspect in the toddler's disappearance or suspect foul play but say they're not giving up home. the child disappeared two weeks ago after her father put her to bed. now back to our program.

two decades ago, eddie haro's silence the night of a double murder cost him everything. today he hopes to finally bury the past. haro sits in a holding cell, waiting r the parole boacall hi. >> good morning. how are you doing? >> fine, thank you. how are you? how are you feeling? >> okay. >> good. >> nervous but a little more confident. >> he and his lawyer take a few moments to discuss their strategy. >> you're to think about that, they'll probably ask you again and you get to tell them.

okay? >> okay. >> yeah. >> during the hearing, haro will be asked to talk to the board members about the night of the murders in explicit detail. to add to his anxiety, one of his victims' family members is attending the hearing. >> when the inmates come up for parole, the victims have the opportunity to speak, you know, whether they're for them getting out or against them getting out. >> cecelia kletke was the wife of joe flores and sister-in-law of gilbert. >> it's just important because of what i went through. unless you've experienced being a victim, you know, of a crime, you really don't know how it feels, you know, and the pain is so great, it's just that you

can't deal with it, you know? for me, i spent ten years in a depression and suicidal thoughts, and it still hurts. it's always going to hurt, but the things that i went through in those ten years, you know, it was unbearable. >> this is the moment eddie haro has been dreading for weeks. during the parole hearing, he'll have to convince the board that he's accountable for his role in the murders of joe and gilbert flores. haro has asked us not to film inside the parole hearing, however, we are able to watch by using the prison's closed circuit cameras. the family members of the victims are also given the opportunity to speak to the parole board. cecilia kletke has been waiting

all year to share her feelings about haro with the board, feelings that some might find shocking. >> i have come to let eddie know that i forgave him for what he has done, and that i'm not against him being out. i don't feel eddie is a danger for society. >> in the hearing, eddie haro walks the board through each gunshot. cecilia relives the crime's aftermath. now that the parole board has heard all the testimony, all haro can do is wait for their decision.

the board now holds his fate in their hands. >> that's one thing i thought about is if eddie does come out and if he can change one life or save one life, then maybe the deaths of gilbert and joe won't be in vain, you know, won't be a waste. >> i think you did well. you spoke, you spoke up, you looked at them for the most part. >> with so many questions about that night still unanswered, what haro didn't say may cost him his freedom. >> there's still things i wanted to say but didn't say. coming up, the fate of an inmate rests in the hands of the parole board. and later, haro finally reveals the details of his crime. >> it sounded like a machine gun, there were so many shots. [ snoring ] [ thunder crashes ]

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eddie haro has been in this holding cell for almost an hour. while only a room away, the members of the parole board are deciding if he's ready for freedom. >> are they ready for us? >> yep. >> the board has reached their decision. >> i'm hoping that he will get out and that i can move on with my life.

>> the decision is read. >> their decision was they said i was unsuitable for parole. >> they feel that there's something he's not coming to terms with as far as admitting what the whole, whole story is about why they died. >> they don't believe my version of the crime that happened.

they said i guess those two people lost their lives and i don't have enough time to go home. >> instead of preparing himself to go home, eddie haro braces himself to walk back onto the yard without a release date. >> it's been two weeks since the parole hearing, and haro has had time to consider what went wrong. as he prepares for his next therapy session, he tries to remember the details of that

night. >> now that i'm writing it down, it brings it out in a little more depth, a little more detail. it puts me back where it was and where i made my mistakes. and how it -- how my mistakes ruined so many lives, changed lives, ruined lives. you want to say it's not fair. >> come on, man. >> i say not fair to me but it's not fair to the people that were hurt. >> haro has been given another chance to speak up about what happened that night at the orchard. he knows the other inmates in the group won't let him off easy. >> this is the first time he's telling the story in such detail

and yet what the emotional impact of what they did. so it's a really powerful -- important -- without -- this is like without this part of the program, there wouldn't be a program. this is where they also begin to know that the survivors need details. >> with my impact statement, it's more or less my whole crime. and so i'll share that so everybody knows where i'm at and why i'm here. i was at work and then i got a phone call from my wife. she called and said our house had been burglarized. at first, i really wasn't mad or angry. i was numb. but then when i got home, i saw my wife and my son. then i started getting mad, you know. she said, the house is broken

into. what do i do? and i said, well, just don't touch nothing, just call the police. and she said, well, i can't. i said, what do you mean? she said, i talked to so-and-so and they said, don't call the police. they know where your stuff is at. that's where the big snowball effect started to come in. i started making even more poor choices by going along with not calling the police and then these other people showed up. so it ended up being five people, my brother, myself and three other guys. we went right to the house where he said my property was at. but they had me look in there and the property wasn't in there. but when we were leaving the

other two guys pulled up that was gilbert and joe. they were brothers. so i asked them if they saw anything or knew anything, and they said no. >> calm down, all right? >> calm down. >> i thought their broert jesse might know. they said, we'll go show you where he's at. you can ask him if he knows anything. >> i know the guy. i know the guy. >> gilbert got in the car in the front seat, joe got in the truck with jesse and my brother. we followed them to gilbert's house. he said, don't worry, i'll take care of it. because he knew every -- it seemed like he knew everybody and where everything was at. he made it sound like all we're going to do is go pick up our property.

and when we're supposed to turn to the neighborhood, we turned the other way where there's orchards and little farmhouses and so i thought that was a little odd. gilbert had gotten out of the car, and i was trying to get out. >> time's up! >> i took one step out, and that's when i more or less clammed up and went into shock myself, numbness. then fear set in. coming up, the group forces haro to reveal the final moments of a callous crime. >> when i looked up, joe and gilbert's bodies were right there.

and later, haro surprises the group. >> i don't accept responsibility for my part in this crime anymore. what is it about taking a first step that we find so compelling? is it because taking a step represents hope? or triumph? at genworth, we believe in taking small steps every day to keep your promises, protect what matters, and prepare for a secure financial future. no matter where you want to go, one step at a time is the only way to get there. go to genworth.com/promises. how about both? with covergirl lashblast fusion. our biggest brush meets our fiberstretch formula for a blast of volume and length. lashblast fusion. from easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl.

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ in today's therapy session, inmate eddie haro is finally talking about the night of his crime. >> i was at work, and then i got a phone call from my wife. she called. our house had been burglarized and that's when the big snowball effect started coming in. ♪ ♪ >> and i started making even more poor choices and going

along with not calling the police, and then these other people showed up. and made it sound all we were going to do was go pick up my property. and we were almost there. we can either make a right or we can make a left and we made a left. i was kind of wondering why we were going there, but we turned in an orchard and my brother started turning around and his truck had stalled. they got out of the car and the driver got out, and i was trying to get out. >> time's up! >> i took one step out. it sounded like a machine gun.

panic. i didn't know what to do and when i looked up three guys were standing there and joe and gilbert's bodies were right the there. one of them said well, i got my money's work. are you open for feedback? >> yeah. >> so she comes home and the house was broken into, and then she gets a phone call from the bad dude saying i know who took your stuff. i'll help you get it back. don't call the cops? >> he's the one, later that i -- i feel took advantage of the situation because they owed him money. >> one of them, yeah. >> according to haro. it was only one of the flores

brothers that broke into his home and the two were not killed that night over the stolen property. it claims it was their unpaid drug debts to the gunmen that cost them their lives. >> what's going on with you internally as this unfolds? i understand they're looking down at the bodies and they're standing there looking, what are you feeling? >> at that time we just kind of -- shock. you know, it just happened i still thought of them as my friends. i trusted them, and i didn't know why they were killed. >> did they burglarize your home? >> they burglarized my home. >> the court did not accept this version of the events.

>> the jury felt that without the kidnapping the murders could not have occurred. although the gunmen were charged with first-degree murder, eddie haro was also held responsible. he was sentenced to two counts of 15 to life for kidnap and murder. ♪ ♪ >> i was there, and they weren't kidnapp kidnapped. they were killed, but they weren't kidnapped. ♪ ♪ >> because eddie haro believes there was no kidnapping, accepting responsibility for the crime, but what he says next still comes as a surprise. >> i don't accept responsibility for my part in this crime anymore.

i need to stand up, and i take responsibility for it, because the poor choices i made led up to all this, so i no longer accept responsibility. i take it, it's mine. i own it. it's my fault. even though eddie haro didn't pull the trigger that night, he is ready to take responsibility for the things he could have done differently. things that might have saved the lives of joe and gilbert flores. >> he's beginning to really take responsibility and accept some things like he said. i knew something was wrong, and i didn't do anything. so that's a deeper level of responsibility for the crime. >> in this harsh environment, a

life-changing revelation in therapy means very little. admitting his role in the crime has given eddie haro a new sense of freedom, but he still has to survive in this place. >> everybody is always worried and they tell you what to do. it's people telling you what to do. it's not your time. you're doing what you're told. living behind bars as a changed man might be even more difficult than the battle to accept responsibility for his crimes. >> i want to show people out there we can change. we're not the same people we were 20 years ago. we can change for the better and live life.

after all these tests and challenges, however we choose to respond to them. though eddie haro feels he's accepted responsible for the murder of gilbert flores, there are questions remaining about what really happened that night. >> they don't believe my version of the crime that happened. they want me to change my story to go along with the d.a.'s. they believe his. they don't believe mine. he has changed, but he's still trapped by the things that cannot be undone. two men are dead and downless lives have been ruined. >> i'll never get used to being responsible for the lives that were taken and everybody who was affected by this crime. i go through that every day. i don't shut the door and it's gone.