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 and prison we visit. >> it is a sewer salamander. be a nice trophy for the wall. >> there are people and things. >> i run this city with an iron fist. >> to those with dreams of stardom.

>> i be moving on these kids i don't do it on the shine. >> and our production team reveals what it's like to be up close and personal in a maximum security lockup. >> you want to be on tv? >> i want to be on tv. >> cool, cool. >> boom. life for most inmates in jail or prison consists of long monotonous days broken up with the occasional moments of sheer terror. when the production team shows up, there is 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. >> hey. ♪

♪ i see the cloak on the wall the rime is still ripping ♪ >> back to the strip [ bleep ] legit. ♪ lockup, lockup >> while many inmates are eager to share their stories or talents with us -- delshawn bloodworth took things to another level. >> you know i'm about ready to get ready for my video shoot and about my show my biceps and abs and [ bleep ] and about to be wavy. ain't that right? >> he had a really big personality. he caught our attention right away. >> i'm going to show you that in a minute. >> i think he saw our presence as an opportunity to showcase himself. and he was concerned about how he was coming across to the viewers. >> do i look good? >> you look fine. >> my hair look fine?

do you see all my features? i did it with the razor. i want to be famous. i want to be someone that everyone remembers. i want to be not just a locally famous. i want to be internationally famous across the world. >> 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've been a rebel since before my teens ♪ ♪ teachers told me to sit down, and i was like ♪ ♪ police told me freeze and i was like ♪ ♪ because i'm always in that rebel state of mind ♪ ♪ i ain't that hard to find >> that was good. >> he 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 if his face thinking i was going to beat my charge. i was wrong and i'm still in jail ever since. >> both these guys are coming right? >> yeah. >> bloodworth's stay at suffolk county was also marked by violence. he and his cell mate were both in the segregation unit after they attacked another inmate. >> you guys feeling like a real criminal here. >> and on the first day we met bloodworth he decided to put on another display of violence. though cuffed and shackled he 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 he was being filmed at the time he started this fight. >> central control we have two restrained -- >> you thought it was over, huh? you thought it was over. >> we later learned that this fight was the result of a dispute that followed bloodworth from the streets into the jail. >> he has a distinction of trying to switch his gang affiliations. he we believe from one to another. he was in a constant battle with different feuds and he is fighting his old friends from the old neighborhood. that is his problem right now. >> if you are jumping in a gang and you don't know that these things are a part of the gangster package you shouldn't be in it, simple as that. >> basically if i'm getting this 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 said it was okay. you know what i mean. i don't feel it's okay. but will i sit back and allow them to always be on offense coming at us 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 letting that thing go. they want to white flag that we can do that. but on this side we never white flag it. >> bloodworth was put in a single man cell following the latest attack and 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 don't believe that? >> you're going to reference the

mayan calendar? >> the mayan calendar, yes. socrates said it himself. all the philosophers point to 2012. boom, that's it, it's over. i want to get some [ bleep ] before i die, i want to smoke a blunt before i die, i want to smoke a cigarette. i don't want to be with a bunch of dudes. >> it would be another month before our next check in with bloodworth. it was clear he missed the attention. >> trace. what's up? you are going to swerve and not say nothing? >> i was going to say hi. >> the most unusual thing is the way he would interact with us. he was interested in us coming up to his door. >> you be on some funny [ bleep ] i just want to say hi and you just walk away. we used to have deep conversations. what happened?

like -- see you all be getting tired of me. that's what it is. >> we have some place scheduled to be. >> you see? i thought i was the main ka cojones. i thought i was the main person. me right there. everybody else is just -- >> like what? lockup delshawn? >> yeah. that's what i was thinking. no bull. it's funny because i was really thinking that. it's crazy. coming up -- >> that don't look good. makes me look like a sucker. >> delshawn bloodworth is caught in a lie. and -- >> can we throw a gang sign? >> and experiencing lockup with our field team. >> if you get lackadaisical about it, then something can really happen. one chance to hunt down the right insurance at the right price. the "name your price" tool, only from progressive.

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during our extended stay shoot at the suffolk county jail

in boston, delshawn bloodworth warmed up to the cameras. >> i work with what i got. >> and seemed determined to make a lasting impression on us. 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 sentenced to two and a half years. we followed him from the suffolk county jail to the house of correction where he would serve his sentence. >> got to school these young boys about the television business. >> 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 blotter on your charges said 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're that much of a coward you have to rob a woman. i'm ashamed of robbing a female. >> after the robbery bloodworth and his accomplice were apprehended but for bloodworth the arresting officer added the ultimate insult. >> they stepped on my shoe, my knew all-white adidas. i was mad. i was mad. >> you 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 get thing right. >> yeah, you right. i like to give punishment not receive it. >> the final interview with bloodworth ended with a revealing exchange. >> do you think you deserve to be in here? >> no. i don't think i deserve to be in here. >> what would you be doing on the street right now? >> the same thing. >> 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. >> you're not that's what i am giving you a hard time. you're far from being dumb. >> you know i just -- it's just -- it's plenty of ways to make money, you know? but that's the way i just chose how to make it. >> you don't have to do it by making the world a colder place. that's all i'm saying delshawn. that's all i'm saying. >> you know i think if i was to go out to, to let's say one of the supermarkets -- not supermarkets but a retail store

or something like that as soon as i get out i don't think that they're going to hire me. >> you can work somewhere where they don't have cash registers. >> what would you suggest? >> take responsibility is what i would suggest. you have to own what you do. >> i own a gun and i own robbing people. >> all right. have i given you enough grief for the day? >> no but if you all want to leave, bye. you look like you're tired of me. you all getting tired of me. i can tell. >> no we're not because we haven't been around for a while? we have 20 other people that we're following. i think you are taking it a little personally. >> bloodworth's interview where a serious moment suddenly turns humorous. >> look at that stance. get a shot of that stance. >> is not uncommon. >> that is steady. >> one of the things i love about watching the raw footage

come in from the field are the twists and turns that the interviews take. the producers are talking about usually 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. it's a testament to our field teams that they get these intimate personal interviews in an extreme environment like prison. >> do you mind being on tv? >> no i want to be on tv. >> i have to get your signatures and take a quick polaroid. >> i'm second. >> i love your show. >> not only are there the rules at the prison but there are rules i have grown accustomed to live by while being in a facility, and one is just never become too comfortable. you are in a prison or a jail. >> are you nervous at all sir? >> i do this all the time.

>> let me give my picture first. >> can we throw a gang sign? >> can we throw a gang sign? >> no. it's good. >> is that our picture up there? >> this is for the big camera right here that's what this is for. >> you can't forget that. if you get lackadaisical about it then something could really happen. >> i got a little superstitious i've been wearing the exact same baseball hat and i figure 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 ask me or the members of the lockup crew if we have been attacked or assaulted or been scared or intimated. >> i've never been scared or felt in danger. because of the bond that i feel like we have with the inmates

and the understanding of why we are there and what we are there to achieve. having said that, though, i'm not naive. 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 always talked to my camera crew that god forbid that something happens that i have faith that they would step in, because they're usually right around me. they might be able to help me quicker than a staff member. >> but ultimately the crew's safety could come down to the inmate's own code known as the convict code. >> there are certain prisons where even if you established a rapport with the inmates they made it clear that if another inmate attacks me they will not come to my aide that is against

their code. other prisons inmates say they will protect me. i have been told they are watching me to make sure nobody hurts me. >> in certain high-security housing units lockup field teams are required to wear stab-proof vests before entering. >> the first time i put on a stab vest was at wabash valley. it was definitely an uneasy feeling knowing i had to wear this to walk on to the unit an that the potential to be stabbed was higher here. it makes you more on your toes and more alert of your environment. >> we noticed that these vests at lock down while we're here we are going to change every one of them. >> if i'm required to wear a stab vest i make light of it. when i'm interacting with

inmates, i joke around about how it adds ten pounds to me and the color doesn't go with my outfit. i make it 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 have to look at myself, really? >> and later previously unseen clips from one of the more memorable inmates we ever met. chocolate lemonade ? susie's lemonade... the movie. or... we make it pink ! with these 4g lte tablets, you can do business at lightning-fast speeds. we'll take all the strawberries, dave. you got it, kid. we have a winner. we're definitely gonna need another one. small businesses that want to grow use 4g lte technology from verizon. i wonder how she does it. that's why she's the boss. because the small business with the best technology rules.

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lock up extended stay field teams spend weeks at a time in maximum security prisons throughout the nation. we cover stories that range from horrifying to heart breaking. and sometimes the only way to get through it all -- >> ryan, think fast. >> -- is with a sense of humor.

especially for our director of photographer, brian kelly. >> this was my former life before i was an expert camera operator. >> and he is shooting at the same time. >> one of the things that makes this shoot enjoyable. >> amazing. >> wow. >> under some pretty difficult circumstances is the humor. >> take it one day at a time. >> 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 like a bonding situation. >> play that part one more time. >> i like the voice. i like brian's voice coming out of you. >> i like it. >> hey fellas. >> i think it's good. >> brian's a target for some of the teasing that we get on the inside. >> one more thing. >> is that how i sound? >> absolutely.

>> yeah. yeah. >> i have to ask the most embarrassing question i can think of but look at susan. >> remember yesterday how you rubbed your face and were deep in thought can you do that deep in thought face again? can you cry on queue? can you make a tear drop come out? >> that's not really what happens just for the record. but sometimes i see a creative an than i like and i will have them do the same action again so i get a lot of heat. >> could you just do that one more time? do i really sound like that? maybe i do. 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. they like to tease back and forth and get a rise out of him or something. >> sometimes i will hear things

like hey fat boy through their cell. >> i don't want a picture. >> and i got to look at myself. really? >> sometimes there are opportunities for 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 them to a string they call a fishing line. they drag the item from one cell to another. the more advanced practitioners can even fish from one floor to another. >> it's a big fish. >> is it 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 around it. i had only heard about fishing. when i saw the line i wanted to

try it. i asked the c.o. if it was okay for me to try to fish. they said sure. we looked inside one of the units and there was a note on the floor. i 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 throwing the line right. i just had to clue. they were giving us pointers. hold it tighter or go to the left. >> they are saying this way. so come this way. 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 clicks. 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. >> you can give me 30 more seconds, we'll be done with it. >> we'll set out to have a plan on what we're going to shoot and arrive at 8:00 in the morning and by 8:10 a.m. everything had changed. but i wouldn't trade it. i love dealing with the inmates and talking to them and learning about people. >> it's a way to also look at yourself because there but for certain fates could be any of us. for me it's an amazing observation of human nature and an amazing chance to experience ourselves. coming up -- >> if the judge is out there

listening to many right now, mr. judge, may i say you look marvelous today? >> more from the inmate lockup viewers know as the indiana catman. is it fast? it's got 10 speeds, my friend. ♪ is it fast? it's got a lightning bolt on it, doesn't it? ♪ is it fast? i don't even know if it's street legal. ♪ is it safe? oh ya, it'volkswagen. [ male announcer ] the security of a jetta, one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick.

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i'm mel a very strong car bomb exploded in eastern afghanistan. so far no reports of injury. this comes after at least seven u.s. soldiers were injured in afghanistan today. two american military advisers were killed yesterday inside a ministry building. and three people are dead after a train derailment west of toronto, canada. all three were railroad employees. now back to "lockup." during a "lockup: extended

stay" shoot, our production team spends months inside a single prison or jail. they interview close to a hundred inmates and staff in that period. everyone has a story and some of the inmates are unforgettable. it is surprising to run into one of them a few years later in another facility. >> hello, everybody it's me the stone. i guess you people have seen me once before in michigan city, and 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 in michigan city, indiana, during our shoot at indiana state prison. >> say hi to the public out there jinxster. >> he was known for his constant companion jinxster the cat he was allowed to adopt through a special prison program. he was also known for his offbeat sense of humor. >> it's a bird, it's a plane now it's the biobucket man.

to the bat cave. three years later when he returned to indiana to shoot our extended stay series at the wabash valley correctional facility we were surprised to see stone again. he had been transferred there. >> i talk to guys who come in here who recognize me that say you are the catman, ain't you? the best thing i can do is say i'm him, meow, see you later. >> stone is serving 101 years for attempted murder and deviant conduct. but after 26 years in prison, he says he's a changed man. he credited that to his relationship with jinxster and a nearly identical cat he had in prison years later named jinx. >> as you can see he was a large cat. he wasn't fat either. he was muscle-bound. >> you miss your papa.

>> because wabash doesn't have a cat program, jinxster lives with stone's family. while he lost his cat he hadn't lost his sense of humor. >> i try to keep the happy go lucky attitude and stay in stoneyland for a while there. >> tell me about stoneyland. >> stoneyland is just so i don't have to think about stuff. i take things how i like them. that's how grandpa wears them nowadays. >> don't care what other people think. >> it's a home run. >> i stay in stoneyland. i don't need no psycho therapists, i don't need no medication. if i had an s right there it would mean stone. >> being in stoneyland is how he how he got through being in prison. he did keep us laughing. >> can you show me your tattoo? >> i'll show you mine if you show me yours.

it's a nickname i picked up in tijuana. they call me tijuana tom because nobody beat me in arm wrestling. >> you're going to stoneyland. >> he is hilarious. he's constantly messing with our gear. once there is a boom mic over you he will play with it like it's a cat toy. he is constantly laughing and making jokes of a situation. >> it's a north american sewer salamander. be a nice trophy to put on the wall. >> he had a bunch of great one-liners. >> hello grandma. you still working as a stripper? >> according to marcus murray who did time with him at indiana state prison, stone's cat and his sense of humor aren't all he's known for. >> yes, i know stoney all his tallness and big hair. that is eye saw '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 haircuts out here whoever wants to sit down out there cut everyone's hair and it's usually with burrs. you ain't taking my hair off. i like getting it trimmed up, but don't cut me bald. it makes it rough to get a haircut around here. >> the lack of a good haircut is not his only complaint about wabash. >> this is one of the best meals on the menu and we still ain't figured out what the meat is. we nar low -- narrowed it down to alpackas or guineas or a combination of both. mainly what you get down here seven days a week you can count on it like clock work that is rice and dehydrated potato flakes. as i was saying, rice.

that means tonight we'll have poe tays on here. >> they add water to them and it's like sea monkies. add water and poof, you know. >> stop 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 has so much area that is not being used. they could do the same thing over here. if they allowed guardening, this place could self-feed itself. this place has to much potential but yet they don't use it. they don't have no cat programs down here. they don't allow no gardens down here. they don't allow no hobby crafts down here. you're pretty much not even allowed responsibilities down here. it's not a place where you have a way of life, you know? you east jury here, that's it. you're here. rehabilitation is a sense of responsibility, sense of duties and stuff like that.

if you're not given those or not given the opportunity to accept those the word rehabilitation don't exist in the first place. we were locked up for rehabilitation. that's what the judge said. i don't see how 101 years have anything to do with rehabilitation unless i will be a mummy. >> after 26 years of incarceration, stone says he deserves a second chance on the outside. >> really i've went through all these different courses na, aa, ba's whatever the hell's got an a at the end of them i've been 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 would think i earned my freedom after doing over 26 years already. all i'm trying to do is just get my charges ran together from consecutive to condition

current, walk out of here and leave. >> stone hopes a judge will accept his request for concurrent sentences. >> open the door. >> 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. >> if the judge is out there listening to this right now, mr. judge, may i say you look marvelous today. >> when you were last out it was 1985. things have changed pretty radically in the world. >> i figure it would be like being 8 years old and going to disney land. i'm going to be amazed at everything else. for one cars talking to you. guys saying stone you need to learn how to work computers. because you can't survive out there without a computer. and i'm thinking forget about it. i can survive. i don't need a computer. i don't need something to do my own thinking.

>> what will you do on the outside? >> what will i do? i just want to dance. no, really, i want to open me up an animal shelter. open up an animal shelter/woodwork shop. >> it was good to see him and your cheer for james stone. >> i'll be back. coming up -- >> i think it's amazing the stuff we can do. we can curl our hair with toilet paper. >> improvised fashion tips from behind bars. >> we get caught with this in our hair we will get in trouble and get a write up for contraband. [ female announcer ] the best things in life are the real things.

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any inmate confined to prison or jail is well aware of the many freedoms they are forced to sacrifice.

while some losses might impact them more -- >> 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 that when you are 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 are going to be in the same jump suit 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 the facility including the production teams who must adhere to dress codes. >> the dress codes vary from prison to prison. in california the film crew can't wear blue jeans. the inmates wear blue jeans. if something breaks out in the

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

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

that jail officials allow this. but it turned out this that they were standard jail issued t-shirts and bed sheets that the inmates converted into women's clothing and they did a convincing job of it. >> try to make the best of it you know. we have our own personal revlon and l'oreal, crayons. we wet them. and it goes into the eyes. all we do is 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 substitutes for eye liner which like most other cosmetics is banned from the majority of prisons but we

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

>> if we get caught with this in our hair we will get in trouble. >> get a write up for contraband. >> it's just toilet paper. >> i know. tell them that. >> it's altering what it's supposed to be used for. >> altering. >> we could use this as a weapon and like hurt somebody really bad with toilet paper. >> see? hold on you have to do the pantene commercial thing. while some orange county inmates concern themselves with appearances michael charles was all about function over fashion. >> when we first met him, 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 broke up 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 get me another spoon? thank you. so i'm going to have to bend this. you bite it. when we bite it we make a hole. and we put the hole into here. there we go. now we got them fixed. slip them on. they should be tighter. and there we. go we got them set. we got to make with what we got in here. this is what we got in here so we're making out. >> coming up -- >> the men are lonely. they make what is called a fifi. >> we discovered the inmate made device known as a fifi. >> you ever made a fifi. >> dwra. >> yeah. >> and they call it their lady. >> and viewer discretion is definitely advised. ok, guys-- what's next ?

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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. inmates can have tvs, they're just not allowed to have remote controls for their tvs because they can 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 nice. >> james stone made his own and decorated it too. >> muffles the sound almost all the way out. >> daniel liked to wash towels in the sink but no way to dry them.

he showed us his clothesline. >> you grab a piece of bag, put soap and water in it. when you stick it to the wall and you have a string, it is nice and strong, very strong. >> while these meet a few minor needs there is a personal need that inmates long to have met as well. >> with the exception of the few facilities that allow for conjugal inmates which are overnight stays between an inmate and their spouse, sex in prison or jail is basically considered a rule violation. but like so many other things inmates are going the find ways to get around that. >> listen to this. they wrote me up. >> what? >> a sexual toy. >> a sexual toy? >> what kind of sexual toy? >> oh, man [ bleep ]. >> it says that they found a

glove and ace bandage and tampon trying to say that i had a dildo. >> this is the first time i've had to deal with contraband of this nature being something other than what it is supposed to be. sometimes we have to deal with the preponderance of the evidence. >> we have learned that the elicit sexual aid industry in prison is not limited to female inmates. male inmates have a substitute as well. and we were surprised to hear it's known as the same slang world in prisons and jails nationwide. >> sometimes there are words that have universal meanings. one of those words was fifi. >> we heard the term used in indiana. >> these men are lonely.

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 of msnbc. >> we kept hearing this word fifi and it was coming up in conversations but no one would admit to having one. >> we heard the term in tampa, florida. >> i can't make a fifi. i can't get to my hands to make no fifi. >> they have two or three or four life sentences. they have to have something to keep their busy in their spare time. >> have you ever made a fifi. >> yeah. >> but at the tent city housing unit in maricopa county jail the inmates volunteered to make one for us. >> we were shooting nighttime shots at tent city and there is 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 the things is they do is the male inmates make homemade sexual pleasure devices. >> today you asked what a fifi is. since there's other people that didn't want to demonstrate, i personally do not use them because i don't have that much time in here. >> we thought about it and figured it might be in bad taste to show you how one of these devices is made. but suffice it to say it takes only a few items and they are legally accessible by any inmate. >> what do you do with them when you find one? >> i don't touch it i find a new guy to touch it for me and throw it away. i have been here a while and i can designate it to someone else. i'm not touching it. it's disgusting.