due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >> msnbc takes you behind the walls of america's most notorious prisons. into a world of chaos and danger. now, the scenes you've never seen, "lockup:raw." >> in every jail or prison we visit -- >> this is a north american sewer salamander. be a nice trophy to put right up on the wall. >> there are people and things that make lasting impressions. from transgender inmates. >> myself and my cellee were bestest girls. most of them are always dressed as guys. >> i run this city with an iron fist. >> and dreams of stardom.

>> i been moving on these kids, i do it for the shot. >> and our production team reveals what it's like to be up close and personal in a maximum security lockup. >> you go! >> life for most inmates in jail or prison consists of long, monotonous days, broken up with the occasional moments of sheer terror. so when our "lockup" production team shows up, there's a lot of buzz. at first the inmates are very cautious, and play it close to the vest. but as the interviews go on, they become more comfortable and start to reveal things about themselves. and some even become showmen. ♪ >> i see the clock on the wall the rhyme is still ripping, he's

got the mike and [ bleep ] dripping. >> i'm through drinking juice and tang give me a chance today. >> head back to the streep [ bleep ] being legit. >> lockup lockup everybody lockup. >> when mean inmates are eager to share their stories, dellshawn an inmate at suffolk county jail took things to another level. >> i get ready for my video shoot [ bleep ] and show my biceps, you know, my abs [ bleep ] you know. about to be -- >> dell shawn caught our attention right away. he had a really big personality. >> so yo. >> i think he saw our presence as an opportunity to showcase himself, and he was constantly concerned about how he was coming across to our viewers. >> i look good? >> dude, you look fine. >> my hair look good? my face -- see all my -- you know i mean, i did it up with

the razor. i want to be famous. i want to be someone that everyone remembers. i want to be not just locally famous. i want to be internationally famous across the world. i want -- >> for what? >> for rapping. ♪ i run this city with an iron fist you going against it i'm going to have to break your wrist ♪ ♪ i can't have you shooting at my team that's a big no-no i been a rebel since before my teens ♪ ♪ teachers told me sit down, i was like police said freeze, i was like, because i'm always in that rebel state of mind ♪ ♪ i ain't that hard to find ♪ watch how easily you crewing up this time, i be moving on these kids, i ain't do it for the shine ♪ >> that was good. that was good. >> blackworth didn't just rap about a life of crime. he came to jail on charges of armed robbery and assault and battery.

>> they say after we took the guy's money, allegedly, that i punched him in his face, thinking i was going to beat my charge. i was wrong. and i'm still in jail ever since. >> blackworth's stay at suffolk county was also marred by violence. he and his cell mate, david peters, were both in the jail's segregation unit. after they attacked another inmate. >> feeling like a real -- >> and on the first day we met him, he decided to put on another display of violence. though cuffed and shackled for his one hour of recreation time per day, bloodworth attacked another inmate as we followed behind. >> usually when you're filming an inmate, they're a little more

cautious about what they're doing because they know they're on camera. this was blatant. this was right in front of us. it happened right there. he knew that he was being filmed at the time that he started this fight. >> central control, we have two restraints. >> there you go. >> the door was open. >> we later learned that this fight was the result of a dispute that followed bloodworth from the streets into the jail. >> he has the distinction of allegedly trying to switch his gang affiliations. he went from one to another and it's a constant battle with different feuds. and now he's fighting his old friends from the old neighbor. that's what dell shawn's problem is right now. >> if you're jumping in the game and you don't know that these things are part of the -- the gangster package, then you shouldn't be in it. simple as that. >> so basically i'm getting it straight, you made a decision to live your life in a perpetual war.

that has no end in sight? and that's okay. >> i never -- i never said it was okay. you know what i mean? i don't feel -- i don't feel it's okay. but what i sit back and allow them to always be on offense coming at it all the time? no. i'm going to put them on defense. which means i will be running through your hood, and i will be running. they want to white flag it we can do that. but as star as on this side, we never white flag it. >> bloodworth was put in a single-man cell following his late's tack. and for all his bravado our next visit revealed some of his fears. and not just any ordinary fears. >> hopefully the world don't blow up, because i don't want to die in here. 2012, the world might end. the world might end. you all believe that? >> you're going to actually now

reference the mayan calendar? >> the mayan calendar, yes. socrates said it himself. i just find it funny that all the philosophers all point to 2012 as it blowing up. boom! that's it. it's over. i want to get some [ bleep ] before i die. i want to smoke a cigarette. i want don't want to be with a bunch of dudes. >> it would be another month before our next check-in with bloodworth. and it was clear he had missed the attention. >> yo, crazy. what's up? you just going to swear? >> i was going to say bye. >> the most unusual things. the way that he would kind of interact with us. he was really interested in us coming up to his door. >> you'd be on some funny [ bleep ] come on, i just want to say hi and then you just walk away. like we used to have deep conversations like we used to -- we used to go, tracy.

what happened? like you getting tired of me. that's what it is. >> we have to have someplace scheduled to be. >> i thought i was the main person. i thought i was the main person, me right there. it's everybody else is just, you know -- >> what like dellshaun? >> yeah, that's what i was thinking, no dull. i was really thinking that. it's crazy. >> coming up -- >> that don't look good. makes me look like a suck-up. >> dell shawn bloodworth is caught in a lie. and -- >> experienced "lockup" with a field team. >> something could really happen.

during our extended stay shoot at the suffolk county jail

in boston, inmate delshaun bloodworth quickly warmed up to our cameras. and seemed determined to make a lasting impression on us. >> aye, aye//. >> we were also with bloodworth when his life reached a major turning point. he accepted a plea deal on his armed robbery and battery charges. and was sentenced to 2 1/2 years. we followed him from the suffolk county jail facility for pretrial detainees to the nearby house of correction where he would serve his sentence. >> got to school these young boys about the television business. you know. >> gentlemen, listen up. >> our next interview with bloodworth was more serious. he had told us earlier that the victim of his crime was a man. but later, we discovered that wasn't true. >> the police in your charges said that you robbed a woman. what was the deal? >> that don't look good. makes me look like a sucker. when you hear someone robbed a

female, they say, really? you that much of a coward you have to rob a woman? i for shame to rob a female. >> after the robbery, bloodworth and his accomplice were quickly apprehended. but for bloodworth, the arresting officer added the ultimate insult. >> he step on my shoe. my new, all-white adidas. i was mad! i was mad! it was fresh. >> you just robbed someone with a gun and you were mad because a policeman stepped on your new tennis shoe? i just want to make sure i'm getting this right. >> yeah, you know, i know. i like to give punishment. i don't like to receive it. >> our final interview with bloodworth ended with one last revealing exchange. >> do you think you deserve to be in here, delshaun? >> no. no. i don't think i deserve to be in here. >> what do you think you'd be doing if you were out on the street right now? >> the same thing. >> so you don't think you should be in here?

>> i don't think i should. the people, the law-abiding citizens do who don't want to get robbed. it's a cold world. it's a cold world. i need money. you have it. the way i get it is by robbing you. i'm saying, i know it's wrong and what's right, you know what i mean? i'm not dumb. >> no, you're not. that's why i'm giving you such a hard time. you're very far from dumb. >> you know, i just -- it's just -- it's plenty -- it's plenty of ways to make money, you know. but, that's -- that's the way i just chose how to make it. >> by making the world a colder place. that's all i'm saying delshaun. that's all i'm saying. >> you know, i think if i was, for example i think if i was to go out to, to, let's say, one of the supermarkets -- not supermarkets, one of the retail stores or something like that,

as soon as i get out, i don't think they're going to hire me. >> you could work somewhere where they don't have cash registers, i'm just saying. >> so what would your suggestion be? what would you -- >> it's a big responsibility. you've got to own what you do. >> yeah. i do own what i do. i own a gun and i own robbing people. >> am i giving you enough grief for the day? >> no, but if y'all want to leave. bye. y'all look like y'all tired of me. y'all getting tired of me. i can tell. >> i'm not tired of you. >> yeah, you are. >> because we haven't been around for awhile? >> that, too. >> we have about 20 other people we're following. >> bloodworth's interview where a serious moment suddenly turns humorous. >> get a shot of that. >> is not uncommon. >> one of the things i love about raching the raw footage

come in from the field, are the kind of twists and turns these interviews take. because our producers are talking to these inmates about usually some pretty serious topics. sensitive topics. and inevitably, there will come a time where the producer and the inmate are laughing. some humorous topic came up in the middle of one of these interviews. and i think it's a testament to our field teams that they're able to get these intimate, personal interviews in a really extreme environment like prison. >> i want to be -- >> i've got to get signatures from all you guys. and you guys might make it on there. >> i love your show! >> not only are the rules at the prison or jail gives you, there's rules that i've just grown accustomed to live by while being in a facility. and one is just, you know, never become too comfortable. because you are in a prison or a jail. >> are you nervous at all, sir? >> i do this all the time.

>> okay, let me get my picture first. >> you all will, don't worry. >> you guys are on tape there? >> okay. >> we got to -- >> no, no, it's good. >> yeah, yeah, that's different though. this is for the big camera right here. that's what this is for. >> you can't forget that. because then something could really happen. >> i've gotten a little superstition and i've been wearing the exact same baseball hat and i figured, we've gotten this far safely, why change up the program now? so i'm going to wear the same baseball hat until the shoot is over with. >> people often ask me, and other members of the "lockup" crew, if we've ever been attacked, assaulted, if we are scared or intimidated. >> i've never really been scared. i've never felt in danger. because of the bond that i feel like we have with these inmates and the understanding of why

we're there and what we're there to achieve. ♪ i got to get back home >> having said that, though, i'm not my ef. there is always the possibility that something could happen. >> we're told we have to prepare for that. but we always have staff around us, in the case of doing a one-on-one interview, i tend to get fairly close to the person i'm interviewing, because it's how i can engage and have communication, and i've always talked to my camera crew that, you know, god forbid something happens, i have faith that they, as well, would step in because they're usually right around me, so they actually might be able to help me quicker than a staff member. >> but ultimately the crew's safety come down to the inmates' own code. known as the convict code. >> there are certain prisons where even when you've established a certain rapport with inmates, they've made it very clear to me that if something happens, if another inmate attacks me, they will not come to my aid. that's against their convict code.

other prisons i've filmed in, inmates have told me they will protect me. i've even been told they are watching me to make sure nobody hurts me. >> in certain high security housing units, "lockup" field teams are required by the prison to wear staff approved vests before intering. >> putting on the vest. >> the first time i put on a staff vest was in wabash valley. it was an uneasy feeling knowing i needed to wear this to walk onto the next unit that i was going to. that the potential to be stabbed was higher here. it definitely makes you a little more on your toes and a lot more alert of your environment. >> we notice that these vests had lockdown. while we're here going to slowly but surely change every logo. >> if i'm required to wear a stab vest i usually just make light of it. when i'm interacting with inmates i joke around how it adds ten pounds to me. how the color doesn't really go

with my outfit. i just make it into a joke. >> and a sense of humor goes a long way in breaking the ice. with many of the inmates featured on "lockup." coming up, the one "lockup" crew member inmates love to rib. >> sometimes i'll hear people say stuff through their cell. hey fat boy. i got to look at myself, really? >> and later, previously unseen clips from one of the more memorable inmates we ever met. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. introducing the perfect situp. invented by the u.s. navy seal who brought you the perfect pushup, the perfect situp re-invents the situp by combining the upper ab crunch with the lower ab leg lift. then the perfect situp adds an audible coach. you'll hear a click when you've done the exercise correctly.

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"lockup: extended stay" field teams spend weeks at a time in maximum security prisons throughout the nation. we cover stories that range from horrifying to heartbreaking. and sometimes the only way to get through it all -- >> hey brian, think fast! >> is with a sense of humor. especially for our director of

photography, brian kelly. >> in my former life i was an expert camera operator. >> and he's shooting at the same time. >> look at that. >> one of the things that makes this shoot enjoyable -- >> amazing. >> wow. >> under some pretty difficult circumstances, is the humor. and i'll be the first one to admit, i get made fun of a lot. and it's okay. i laugh with them. it's almost like a bonding situation. >> and just real quick -- >> oh, no, not a retake. >> look at -- >> i like -- i like the voice like brian's voice coming out of you. >> hey, fellas. >> brian is definitely a target for some of the teasing that we get on the inside. >> one more thing -- >> i got to ask -- >> is that how i sound? >> absolutely. >> yeah, yeah.

>> i've been asked the most embarrassing question i can think of. look at susan. >> remember how yesterday when you rubbed you face and you were deep in thought, can you do that deep in thought thing again? can you cry on cue? can you make a deardrop? >> that's not really what happens. just for the record. but, sometimes i see a creative angle that i like, and i will have them do the exact same action again, so i get a lot of heat. oh, come on, could you just do that one more time, you know? it's like, do i really -- do i sound like that? i mean, maybe i do. but -- but it's okay. like i said, i take it. it's no big deal. >> chili cheese fritos. >> they do like him. and they like being around him. and they like to try and tease back and forth and get a rise out of him or something. >> sometimes i'll hear people say stuff through their cell. you know, hey, fat boy.

>> i want a picture. >> and you know, i got to look at myself, really? >> sometimes there are opportunities for the production team to try their hand at some of the more creative methods inmates use to pass time in prison. through a technique known as fishing, inmates pass everything from notes to books and snacks by tying thome a string they call a fishing line. they then skillfully drag the item from one cell to another. the more advanced practitioners even fish from one floor to another. >> it's a big fish. >> it is a skill that requires a lot of practice. >> while the crew was filming i came across i think it was a mouthwash with a fishing line wrapped up around it. i had only heard about fishing at this point, so when i saw the fishing line i immediately wanted to try it, and i asked

the c.o. if it was okay for me to try to fish. so they said, sure. >> tracy, what are you doing? >> fishing. >> and we looked inside one of the units and there was a note on the floor. so i immediately tried to start fishing for that note through the door. i wish i could get it. i had no idea what i was doing. i was not even throwing the line right and just had no clue. >> oh, wow. >> they started giving us little pointers on hold it tighter or try to go to the left. >> which way? >> this way. okay, so come this way. >> oh. >> none of us actually ever got it. ♪ >> the great thing about field producing "lockup" is we witness firsthand how these diverse groups of people, under very adverse and extreme circumstances, form societies. they have laws.

they have rules. they have corporal punishment. they oftentimes have their own language. they form their own cliques. to me that's fascinating. it's watching human nature at its very basic level and seeing how we all are. >> no two days are alike. >> if you give me like 30 more seconds we'll be done with this. >> we'll set out to have a plan on what we're going to shoot, and we'll arrive at 8:00 in the morning and by 8:10, a.m., everything has changed. so it creates its own issues. but i wouldn't trade it. i love dealing with the inmates. i love talking to them. i love learning about people. >> it's a way to also look at yourself. because, there but for certain fates could be any of us. so for me it's just an amazing observation of human nature, an amazing chance to experience ourselves. coming up -- >> the judge is out there listening to this right now? mr. judge, may i say you look marvelous today.

>> more from the inmate "lockup" viewers know the indiana cat man. >> see you later.

msnbc now i'm veronica de la cruz. nbc news has declared mitt romney the projected winner of the nevada caucus. cruising to victory over his rivals. newt gingrich and ron paul battled for second place. rick santorum finished fourth. nbc's "meet the press" later this morning for david dwregry's one-on-one interview with former house speaker newt gingrich. i'm veronica de la cruz. now back to "lockup." due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. during the "lockup: extended stay" shoot our production team spends months inside a single

prison or jail. they interview close to 100 inmates and staff in that period. everybody has a story. and some of the inmates we meet in prison are truly unforgettable. so it was really surprising for us to run into one of those inmates a few years later in another facility. >> hello, everybody. it's me, the stone. i guess you people probably seen me once before at michigan city. now i'm down here at wabash. >> few inmates have ever made more of a lasting impression on us than james stone. we first met him at michigan city, indiana, during our extended stay shoot at indiana state prison. >> say hi to the public out there, jinx. >> he was probably best known for his constant companion jinxster, the cat he was allowed to adopt through a special prison program. >> try to make a swimming pool in here. >> he was also known for his off-beat sense of humor. >> it's a bird, it's a plane, no it's the bio bucket man.

through the back gate. >> three years later, when we returned to indiana to shoot our extended stay series at the wabash valley correctional facility, we were surprised to see stone again. he had recently been transferred there. >> i talk to guys come in here from all the other prisons that recognize me. hey, you're the cat man, ain't you? so best thing i could do is say yeah, i'm him, see you later. >> stone is serving 101 years for attempted murder and criminal deviant conduct. but after 26 years in prison, he says he's a changed man. >> jinxster. >> he credits that to his relationship with jinxster and a nearly identical cat he had in prison years earlier named jinx. >> as you can see, he was a large cat. he wasn't fat, either. he was muscle bound. >> because wabash doesn't have a cat program, jinxster now lives with stone's family.

but while he lost his cat, stone hadn't lost his sense of humor. >> trying to keep me happy go lucky attitude and stay in stone land for awhile there, you know. >> what's stone land? >> just so i don't have to think about stuff, you know. i take things how i like them. >> how grandpa wears them nowadays. >> don't care what other people think. i stay in stoney land. you know. i don't need no psychotherapist. i don't need no medication. >> oh, man. if i had an "s" right there, that's right. that means stone. >> being in stoney land is how he sort of got through being in prison. and just, you know, he did keep us laughing. hey, can you show me your tattoos? >> i show you mine, you show me yours. just had to take a shot somehow. it's nickname i picked up down

there at tijuana. they called me tijuana tom down there, because nobody beat me arm wrestling. >> you're going to stoney land. >> he's hilarious. he's constantly messing with our gear. you know, once there's a boom mike over you, he'll start playing with it like it's a cat toy. he's constantly kind of laughing and making jokes of a situation. >> this is a north american sewer salamander. be a nice trophy put right up on the wall. >> he had a bunch of great one-liners. >> hello, grandma, are you still working as a stripper? >> according to marcus murray, who did time with him at indiana state prison, and was also transferred to wabash, stone's cat and his sense of humor aren't all he's known for. >> yes, i know stoney. all his tallness and his big hair. that is awesome '70s hair. it's an icon, actually. it's him and conan o'brien. they're synonymous with having

the best and most awesome ''dos of all time. >> getting hair cuts, they don't have a barber shop. they sit everyone down there and cut everyone's hair. not me. i got hair. i'm keeping my hair. you ain't taking my hair off. i like getting it trimmed up and thinned but don't cut me bald you know. so it makes it sort of rough getting haircuts around here. >> the lack of a good haircut wasn't stone's only complaint about wabash. >> this here is probably one of the best meals we got out of the whole menu and we still ain't figured out what the meat is. we've narrowed it down to alpacas or guineas or could be a combination of both. an alpac guinea. mainly what you get down here seven days a week, you can count on it like clockwork, that's rice and dehydrated potato flakes. and as i was saying, rice. that means tonight we'll have potatoes on here. dehydrated potatoes. you know they add water to them,

poof. it's like see monkeys, they add water, poof. you know. >> stone says he had a better diet back at indiana state prison. because the inmates were allowed to tend gardens and grew their own food. >> this place here has got so much wide open area that's not being used, they could do the same thing down here if they allowed gardening. this place could self-feed itself even. >> this place has got so much potential, but yet they don't use it. they don't have no cats down here. they don't allow no gardens down here. they don't allow no hobby crafts down here. you're in pretty much not even allowed responsibilities down here. it's not a place to where you have a way of life, you know. instead it's just, you're here. that's it. you're just here. >> rehabilitation is sense of responsibility, sense of duties, and stuff like that. if you're not given those, or not given the opportunity to

accept those, then the word rehabilitation just don't exist in the first place. we were locked up for rehabilitation. that's what the judge said. which i don't see how 101 years got anything to do with rehabilitation unless i'm going to be a mummy. >> after 26 years of incarceration, stone says he deserves the second chance on the outside. >> i mean, really. i've gone through all these different courses, na, aa, bas, whatever hell has got an "a" on the end of it, i went through them. the cat program. the landscaping program. i've done so many different programs, it's just, you know, i've been reprogrammed more or less. >> i don't i've earned my freedom. i've been doing 26 years already. all i'm trying to do is just get my charges that ran together from consecutive to concurrent, walk out of here and leave. go home. >> stone hopes a judge will some

day accept his request for concurrent sentences. that would reduce his term from 101 to 51 years. and since inmates in indiana are eligible for release after serving half their time, he would finally be able to go home. >> the judge is out there listening to this right now, mr. judge, may i say you look marvelous today. >> you were last out it was 1985. things have changed pretty radically. >> i figure it would probably be like being 8 years old and going to disney land. going to be pretty amazed at everything, you know. >> like what? >> for one cars talking to you. and guys saying you need to know how to work computers. because you can't survive out there without a computer. and i'm thinking forget about it. i could survive. i don't need a computer. i don't need something to do my own thinking. >> what would you do on the outside?

>> what would i do? i just want to dance. no, really. i want to open me up an animal shelter. open me up an animal shelter/woodwork shop. >> it was good to see him. it was good to hear updates on what he had gone through. and you kind of cheer for james stone. >> i'll be back. >> coming up. >> i think that it's amazing the stuff we can do. we can curl our hair with toilet paper. >> improvised fashion tips from behind bars. >> if we get caught with this in our hair, we will get in trouble. >> yes. >> get a write-up for contraband. [ male announcer ] in blind taste tests, even ragu users chose prego.

prego?! but i've been buying ragu for years. [ thinking ] i wonder what other questionable choices i've made? [ '80s dance music plays ] [ sighs ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. any inmate confined to prison or jail is well aware of the many freedoms they are

forced to sacrifice. and while some losses might impact them more. >> the green line into the green door. >> the loss of individual style is an irrefutable reality of incarceration. >> it all starts when a new arrival must give up his street clothes for an inmate uniform. >> one thing people don't often realize is when you're doing time, you will be in basically the same outfit every day for years. you might have a few of them, so you can keep it clean. but essentially you're going to be in the same jumpsuit or stripes or khakis almost every day. >> the philosophy behind most uniforms is to clearly identify inmates from staff or civilians who might be visiting a facility. including our production teams. who just adhere to dress codes themselves. >> dress codes for the film crew vary from prison to prison. in california, for instance, film crew can't wear blue jeans. the inmates wear blue jeans.

so if something breaks out on the yard, and an officer in the tower needs to shoot a bean bag, they have to quickly discern who's an inmate, who's a non-inmate. >> different color uniforms are often used to identify the security levels of various inmates. but at the maricopa county jail in phoenix, arizona, sheriff joe arpaio personally choose the black and white striped uniforms, along with the jail issued pink underwear and socks to send a message. >> this is joe arpaio's place to express how we're paying back to society. the pink, i just think it's his way of keeping us a little bit of humble, you know. it's just the way of separating us from regular society. >> put them in pink underwear. because they were smuggling the white underwear out of the jail. that's the official reason. the unofficial reason, they hate pink. so you never give them a color they like. why would you give them things they like?

>> though generally not allowed, inmates sometimes alter their uniforms to fit their own fashion sense. at the orange county jail in southern california, we met transgender inmate alejandro cortez. who prefers to be called alexis. >> myself and my cellie, you know, we're always dressed as girls. all of them are always dressed as guys. >> despite his physical appearance, cortez was, in fact, a male inmate housed in a men's unit. >> if you are in the process of having a sex change, let's say, if you still have your male genital parts, you are considered a male, and you will be housed there, whether or not you have breasts or, you know -- it's who's below the belt that counts. >> so at first it was a little startling watching these tapes when they came in from the field because we thought we were seeing inmates wearing women's gowns, or miniskirts, and we were thinking to ourselves, gee

it seems kind of odd that jail officials actually allow this. but it turned out that they were actually just standard jail issue t-shirts and bed sheets that these inmates had actually converted into women's clothing. and they actually did a pretty convincing job of it. >> yeah! try to make the best of it you know. just try to doll up a little bit. we got our own personal revlon, maybe lean. want me to show you makeup? lore yol, mac. >> mac? >> crayons. we wet them. get it nice and dark. and it goes into the eyes. just -- and she's about ready to go. i don't know where she's going to but she's ready to go. >> we've seen female inmates come up with all sorts of substitutes for eye liner. which, like most other cosmetics, is banned from the majority of jails and prisons we've been to.

but we encountered one inmate who dug deeper than most to find a substitute. >> there it is. got it. it's the black stuff from the window, and you put that on and activate and makes an eye liner. just like real eye liner out on the street. nobody can make it as black as me, though. they can't do it like that. >> curlers are also on the list of banned items. but that didn't stop orange county jail cell mates michelle and stacy from making their own. >> we don't have things that people on the outs have. so we make do with what we have. and i think that it's amazing the stuff that we can do. >> we can curl our hair with toilet paper. twist it like this. >> just fold it in half. you fold down. and this goes around the curler. lick it and then fold it. >> voila.

>> there's your curler. >> now if we get caught with this in our hair, we will get in trouble. >> yes. >> get a write-up for contraband. >> it's just toilet paper. >> exactly. >> i know. tell them that. >> it's alternating what it's supposed to be used for. >> yes. altering. >> they're jealous. because we could use this as a weapon and like hurt somebody really bad with toilet paper. >> so? >> hold on. you have to do the whole pantene commercial thing. >> while some orange county inmates concern themselves with appearances, michael charles was all about function over fashion. >> when we first met michael charles we could see that something was immediately going on with his glasses. when we got closer to talk to him, we could see that the arms were either broken or lost or destroyed, and he replaced them with plastic spoons. >> my glasses broke so i'm going to have to make another one.

can you give me another spoon? thank you. i'm going to have to bend this. you bite it. when we beat it we make a hole and we put the hole into here. there we go. so now we got them fixed. stip them on. they should be tighter. and there we go. we got them set. we have to make out with what we got in here and this is what we have so we're making out. >> coming up -- >> they are lonely. they -- they make what is called a fifi. >> we discover the inmate known device known as the fifi. >> you ever made a fifi? >> yeah. >> and they call it their lady. >> and viewer discretion is definitely advised. >> nicest y to put it without

getting beeped off msnbc.

no matter where in the nation or world we travel, we find that inmates are profoundly resourceful when it comes to replacing the small luxuries they used to take for granted on the outside. for example, inmates can have tvs. they're just not allowed to have remote controls with their tvs. because they could be taken apart and turned into weapons. still, there are plenty of ways to change the channel without getting up. prison toilets don't come with lids. they, too, can be broken and weaponized. >> when you flush the toilet at night, it makes a loud noise. >> so james stone made his own and he decorated it, too. orange county jail inmate daniel liked to wash his towels in his sink. but he had no way to dry them.

so he showed us his improvised clothes line. >> what you do is you grab a bag for the soap in it, a little bit of water, makes it into a clay after awhile. when you stick it to the paul and put a little hard board and you have your string already, makes it strong. very strong. >> while these items meet a few minor needs, there is a more personal need that inmates long to have met, as well. >> with the exception of the very few facilities that actually allow for conjugal visits, which are overnight stays between an inmate and their spouse, usually in a private area some place, sex in prison or jail is basically considered a rule violation. but like so many other things, inmates are going to find ways to get around it. >> listen [ bleep ], they done wrote me up. >> a sexual toy. >> a sexual toy? >> a sexual toy. >> what kind of sexual toy? >> oh, [ bleep ] >> what it says that they found

a glove and two trash bags and a tampon. >> that's it? >> they trying to say that i had -- they try to say i had a dildo. >> well, this is the first time i've had to deal with contraband of this nature being probably something other than what it was supposed to be. sometimes we have to deal with preponderance of evidence. >> we eventually learned that the illicit sexual aid industry in prison is not limited to female inmates. male inmates have an artificial substitute, as well. and we were surprised to hear it's known by the same slang word in prisons and jails nationwide. >> sometimes there are certain words or phrases with universal meaning that arise each location we film at. one of those words was fifi. >> we heard the term used in indiana. >> men, they are lonely, they --

they make what is called a fifi. which is -- it's a glove and some other items, and they call it their lady. that's the nicest way to put it without getting beeped off msnbc. >> we kept hearing this word fifi. and it kept coming up in conversations, but no one was willing to admit to having one. >> we heard the term again in tampa, florida. >> i can't make a fifi in here. i can't get my hands to make no fifi. >> they got two, three, four life sentences, they got to find something to keep them busy in their spare time. >> you ever made a fifi? >> yeah. >> but at the famous tent city housing unit in phoenix's maricopa county jail, the inmates volunteered to make one for us. >> we were shooting some night time shots at tent city, and there's -- there's quite a contrast between tent city during the day, when people are working and going about their

business, and tent city at night. what happens when the tent flaps go down is one of those things that they do is the male inmates make homemade sexual pleasure devices. >> all right. today you guys asked me what a fifi is. so since there's other people that did not want to demonstrate what it is for i, i personally do not use them, because i don't have that much time in here. i'm going to basically show you what it was. >> we thought about it and figured it might really be in bad taste to show you how one of these devices is actually made. but suffice it to say it only takes a few items, and they're all legally accessible by just about any inmate. >> i don't touch it. i usually find a new guy to touch it for me. throw it away. >> yeah. >> i've been here awhile. i can designate that to someone else. i'm not touching it. that's disgusting.