tv Lockup Santa Rosa MSNBC April 14, 2012 7:00pm-8:00pm PDT
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>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >> an inmate known for deviant behavior prompts response. >> come over here and cuff up. >> another inmate turns his fury on two officers. >> he blew up like a roman candle. he went off. >> i slammed him on to the wall. the other little dude grabbed on to me again the i kind of shrugged him off a. >> a new arrival raises serious
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concerns. >> he is a predatory inmate. he has the a history of that outside of prison and inside of prison. >> we can all get through this the we have not lost anybody yet. >> young cadets, experience the burn as each takes a pepper shot in the eye. >> is it that bad? >> hell yes. >> you can do it. you can do it. just east of senpensacola, 80 acres of some of the most dangerous land in the state. this is the santa rosa correctional institution, maximum security prison with more than 2,800 inmates.
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i have over 200 inmates that are serving life sentences and over 200 serving 25 mandatory sentences. the population at santa rosa consists of inmates violation of probation to drug charges to burglary to rape, or murder. just coming to work, the correctional officers in an institution put themselves in danger every day. >> back up, kneel down. i worry about them 24 hours a day. the worst thing you can have happen as a warden is one of your staff members hurt or loss of one of your staff members. >> i am going to put it in these terms to just be honest and understanding that this is a war. so you don't know what to expect from day to day, minute to
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minute. you can't beat the people who made the system and made the rules and have all the power. >> j.c., your locker is open! >> you have nothing. you have yourself. you are your only weapon in this war. >> richard penn has spent the last ten days in disciplinary confinement. due to an assault on two officers. he has been moved from general population to a single-man cell. he is on heightened security. and must wear a spit mask any time he is out of his cell. sergeant carter was one of the two officers involved in the assault. >> when i ask an inmate a question i expect an answer. if i tell them to do something, i expect them to do it. this is not a place where things are optional. >> the assault occurred after penn had been escorted by sergeant carter and another officer to medical for some tests. >> while we are in medical, inmate penn the whole time sat there giving me this evil look. and i didn't understand what was going on. i told the other officer i was with when we get back to the
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dorm i want to talk to this inmate and find out what is going on. >> he's like so what is up with you giving me the evil eye in medical. i said i wasn't giving you the evil eye in medical. he said so you don't have any problem with me. i say, no, sir. >> the whole time we are talking to him, he is not, he is showing no respect. >> now he says, what the [ bleep ] is wrong with you, you can't look a man in the eye when heap is talking to you? i was looking at the floor because i see how this can possibly go. so i am trying to stay calm and not take any of the bait. >> i told him to go ahead and turn around so i can apply wrist restrain restraints. >> i said no i'm not cuffing up. i want to speak to the captain. >> i reach and turn him around. he pumd out away from me. the officer standing here the he punched him. >> he grabbed me by the throat. the other one grabbed my arm. we took off from there. >> he blew up luke a roman candle. he went off. >> i slammed him on to the wall. the other little dude grabbed on to me again. i shrugged him off. >> and he just, hocked it up
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from the pit of his stomach. he spit on me. and it hit me on the shoulder. >> he charged at me. i kind of grabbed him by his back and his shirt and slung him towards the wall. and he hit the wall hard. and the little dude again, he jumps on me. and again, i just, pushed him, to the floor. >> he had his back against the door. and i was kind of tired. so i let my guard down like this. that's when he came across and he punched me. >> hit him with two punches, two silent punches. he is staggering, stum bum aid little bit >> my reaction was to come back at him. >> so, sarge charges me again. and now the little dude has had times to get his hand on his gas. >> you want me to gas him? yes, gas him. he pulled out his mk 4, sprayed him >> he sprayed, sprayed me in my eyes. that's what slowed me down. >> had he had a weapon there was many times i was open and, where any kind of vital body parts that i had were, were, could have been -- you know, attacked. you know? i, i could have been killed.
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you know? i don't want to beep theatrical. but if he had something that we had not found, he could, could have hurt us severely. >> penn, now placed in the spit mask, will be escorted to a hearing, with the institutional classification team. they will decide if penn should be reclassified as a close management one inmate. meaning he will be house add loan in the prison's most restructive high security housing unit. the hearing is penn's one chance to change their minds. >> recommendation is post man one based on an assault on a staff member that results in a mandatory referral for a year. with everything you said -- >> yes, sir, we get back, it as it bout 3:30ish. he told me to cuff up. i told him i wanted to speak to the captain and not cuff up. he said no you cuff up now. i said i would look to speak to the captain. before i cuff up at all. he put his hand on me.
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it took off from there. i understand you gentlemen are the authority figures and i respect that to the utmost here. i am also a man while i am still in blue the he put his hand on me as a man i felt i had the right to defend myself as the a man. it wasn't a custodial touch. he grabbed me by my neck. i'm sorry. i am a man. i have to defend myself, gentlemen. >> did the officer order you to place your hands behind your back and for hand restraints? did you comply withed orrers? >> no, sir. >> if you had complied with orders would we be here today? anything else? >> all right, i mean -- no. >> no, sir. >> no, sir. >> need you to step out. >> coming up -- richard penn learns his fate. and. >> he does have an extensive disciplinary history beginning in 1981. >> a convicted rapist runs into
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>> santa rosa correctional institution houses some of the most difficult to manage inmates in the state flaof florida. even in general population, inmates follow strict rules. for instance, talking is prohibited in chow. >> there is no talking, it minimizes the noise, confusion, so many inmates were trying to get them in and out. >> got them all over the walls, talking, don't say nothing at all. >> they usually warn you. but they can lock you up if they want to. >> let's go. inmate kitchen worker, george ellis has done time at other prisons. and finds the atmosphere at santa rosa to be oppressive.
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>> we have unity up north. inmates -- ain't no unity here. inmates they're scared. they're scared of being locked up. they're scared, period. they don't stand up for themselves. >> richard penn says he was standing up for himself but he recently attacked two officers. and now he could face an indefinite stay on close management level one, florida's most restrictive housing unit. >> penn was ordered to submit to hand restraints. he refused to do so. at that time he became combative, belligerent and struck sergeant carter and burns in the face, and he spat on sergeant carter as well. >> it is up to the institutional classification team to decide penn's fate. if he goes to close management level one he will face an array of new restrictions including only being aloud out of his cell six hours per week for recreation. >> 10 drs, on a year and three
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months. he meets the criteria of the rule. >> he meets the criteria of the rule. >> not just one, but two battery. >> and not to mention, i mean, if he would have cuffed up he wouldn't be in here. >> yes. >> all right. come on back. >> inmate penn, ict has the deliberated on this. we are going to recommend that you beep pla placed on close management one. do jununderstand that? yes, sir. that's all. >> every six months you are up for a review. where you can be dropped to the lower level. but for at least my first six months, i will be in pretty much confinement for -- for six straight months. you know, not necessarily how you want to be -- >> while close management,
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serves as a prison within the prison. many of santa rosa's general population inmates have been transferred hereafter proving to be too much to handle at other florida state prisons. among them, is danny pritchett. >> pritchett was recently received here at santa rosa. he is a predatory inmate, has a history of that outside of prison and inside of prison. >> i never got along with anyone, i was always stando standoffish, a loner, staying away from everybody. i would never understand them or nothing. i came to prison when i was 22 years old. i am in here for -- a rape charge. i had a minor problem. i became, oh, lustful within my mind. and i was -- i was always thinking about it.
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it's like the more i thought about the more it increased in my life. >> pritchett is serving a life sentence for sexual battery, kidnapping and attempted kidnapping. >> i want to this mall and i was sitting there lusting over the women getting out of their cars and going to places. just as i was getting ready to get up and go home. a lady got out of a car and she was dressed like she was, i don't know, a prostitute or something. and something about her triggered, triggered me. >> pritchett abducted his victim in her own car and sped away. >> then as i was driving out of the parking lot she was started to reach for the door handle to get out. and i grabbed her arm and pulled her back. and then it, she didn't try anymore after that. >> were you threatening her? >> no, i did verbally say, "don't do that again or i'll kill you." when this took place -- i wanted
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something that i didn't have. i wanted to try all of the different positions and ways to have sex. it became an obsession with me. >> pritchett released his victim and eluded capture. but his obsession soon returned. >> it was three, four weeks later the thoughts come up again. you got away with it this time. go into it again. get what you want this time. i went to another shopping center. i stopped at this lady's car. and i like put my head in -- like i was getting in the car. and she, like freaked out. grabbed my hair. and then i just pulled myself away thinking i am going to get caught. i just ran away. within 15 minutes i was picked up. and brought in for questioning. >> pritchett was eventually convicted for both attacks.
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and during his more than three decades in prison he posed numerous disciplinary problems prior to his transfer to santa rosa. >> pritchett does have an extensive disciplinary history. beginning back in 1981, he has several disciplinary reports for possession of narcotics, use of drugs, sex acts, sexual activity, theft, lewd and lascivious behavior. pritchett says he brought some of his feelings from the street into prison. >> the lusting became something that i couldn't have because there is no women. i guess i became a homosexual. i started having sex in that way. so the other men would be the substitute for the women. it made me feel real bad because it's evil. evil meaning it is an abomination with god. if you do that, you can't go to heaven. >> so do you feel that you are
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not going to heaven? >> no, because i am no longer in that situation. it's been -- let's say five years since i have done anything like that. >> but soon after his arrival at santa rosa, officials say pritchett begin to act out in other ways. >> i was here three days and i was -- i received a dr. they said that i -- i was gunning down a woman officer, looking at her, in the -- and the officer's station as i was in the shower. awe gunning is prison slang for masturbating in front of others. >> i didn't do it. wasn't thinking about her. wasn't looking at her at all. didn't know she was there. >> while he denies inappropriate conduct in front of prison staff. anthony bell freely admits to it. >> ha-ha! like i say, it's like this, you know what i say. i am a man. you know what i'm saying. yeah, i gun. you know what i am saying. i am not going to lie.
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yeah, i gun. you wake up that morning, that, that urge, you feeling that urge, you know what i am saying? you see a female, you know what i'm saying, you masturbate, you get off, that's your choice of sex. to me that is sex, that's sex, straight up with you. i have nothing to hide. >> bell has accumulated more than 20 disciplinary reports for obscene or profane acts. >> we take the charge, the obscene and profane act charge very seriously. it's some times referred to as gunning wec gunning. we keep a database of our gunners. we use door magnets. any time a female enters the wing. a magnate is placed over the door. they cannot see out of the cell. you can't see out of the cell. they can't gun what they can't see. >> while bell has been a problem inside prison it was a three-day reign of terror that brought mill here. convicted of 21 separate charges
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including attempted murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and battery on a law enforcement officer. he is now halfway through a 30-year sentence. five months ago he lost the person closest to him when his mother died. >> only thing i had was my mom. you know what i'm saying? she is gone now. so you know, no, ma'am. the only thing i got was the obituary. >> did you cry over her? >> yes, ma'am. i got feelings. that was my everything. you know what i'm saying? so when you lose your everything your feelings come out. i'm not afraid to cry in front of no man. you know what i'm saying. i am going to let it rip. i am not here to impress nobody. i'm doing my time. >> coming up, an inmate faces a tough job interview. >> the part about interacting with staff, you understand that you got to keep that relationship on a scertain leve
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and not let it go beyond that. >> yes, sir. >> later, richard penn has an epiphany. >> i'm fighting the wrong fight. the fight is not against the system. the fight is me. ♪ lord, you got no reason ♪ you got no right ♪ ♪ i find myself at the wrong place ♪ [ male announcer ] the ram 1500 express. ♪ it says a lot about you. ♪ in a deep, hemi-rumble sort of way. guts. glory. ram. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.
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>> [ bleep ], show them how we do it here, man! santa rosa. >> one, two -- >> [ bleep ], straight up. >> knowing they house some of the most dangerous inmates in state flaof florida, officials santa rosa correctional institution have a few creeds they look to instill in their staff. and they're prominently displayed. one resonates with the warden more than others. >> we never walk alone. just saying that the staff and this agency are a family. we are going to be there for each other in times of need and we're going to be there in tough times and we're going to be there in the best times and ain time of dangers. we have staff members we, could have an injury to one of the staff members at any time.
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>> 2119. >> santa rosa houses more inmates in close management confinement because of violent behavior than any other florida state prison. william has met a few of them over the past nine years. >> is it frustrating? sure it is frustrating sometimes to see somebody who has the potential not to be an idiot but wants to be cool for their home boy, their friend, you know. and he's fixing to go home. and he don't give a rat's behind about you saying here. ♪ but you can't tell a grown man how to do his time. because he is not going to listen to you. i didn't. i cuss you out and send you back to business. >> mccrory once served time for identity theft and credit card fraud in alabama before getting 15 years for accessory to robbery in florida. he says his job as a band bus
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driver, led to drug addiction and it was a slide downhill from there. >> so it was, a little different world out there. >> during his first prison term, mccrory was less than ape model inmate. >> the first couple, smoked a little reefer, drank me some wine, didn't care. did what i wanted to doch this time i tried to do it the way it should be done. the staff looks at you a little different than when you are not an idiot, just all the time getting in trouble. >> mccrory has another reason for wanting to stay out of trouble. two years ago he found out he had a 16-year-old son. >> his mother kept him, when we separated. she was a couple months pregnant. i didn't know. she was so tiny. i had no idea. she kept him hid for 16 years of his life. >> mccrory's son, now comes to visit him a couple time of year. >> are you proud of him?
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>> oh, absolutely. for him to just graduate from high school and not be untrouble is enough for him to be proud. for him to take after me. that is a different route. that comes from his mama. >> his son who has just scheduled another visit has inspired mccrory to be a better role model he has a nonpaying prison job as an orderly but today is applying for a much better job as staff in the can teen. a awe hoop >> how much does it pay? >> $75 a month. >> mccrory must interview for the job with the team. >> you have past experience working at a can teen? >> yes, sir. >> how long did you work in the canteen? >> one year, sir. >> did you have any problems while you were doing it? >> no, sir. >> you will be working with staff directly. it is a good job. you need to have the appropriate mannerisms. >> yes, sir. >> do you have any questions
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about the job? >> no, sir. >> you understand this is cash money. you will be held very responsible for this? >> yes, sir. >> you understand about interacting with staff, you have to keep the relationship on ape certain level and not let it going beyond that. not start feeling luke you got any friends or something look that and get yourself crossed up? >> yes, sir. >> it is a very monitored job. so you can't be a penny off. you going to be able to deal with senate athat? >> yes, sir. >> you are going to make a job change. continue to do a good job. you have done a good job since you have been here. continue to do a good job. >> yes, sir. >> watch the callout for the job change. >> i got the canteen job offered by the team. it is absolutely wonderful. take some weight off my family. and have a little extra money. you work are, do what you are supposed to, and you can promote like anywhere else. >> coming up -- >> open your eyes. >> young cadets are put to the
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hello, dozens of tornados have touched down in the midwest tonight including this twister captured by a storm chaser in kansas. severe storms have caused damage but no serious injuries. forecasters expect the tornado threat to continue throughout the night. north korean leader, has spoken publicly. his speech at a party marking the 100th birthday of his grandfather, kim il song.
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its location on the florida panhandle, exposes the santa rosa correctional institution to tropical thunder and lightning storms with little warning. the climate between correctional staff and the 2,800 inmates here can be equally as turbulent. so the prison leaves little to chance. >> we're constantly adding more security procedures to assure that we are providing the best and safest environment for our staff, inmates and general public. santa rosa is surrounded by two secure, 10-foot perimeter fence. it has razor wire on the internal and external fences. and we provide armed security, roving posts and stationary posts outside the secure perimeter. >> other forms of security, utilize a much lower degree of
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technology. >> all ties inside the facility are clip-on ties, it its a security issue. if an inmate was to get ahold of your tie and start pulling on it. you have got a ready made noose around your neck already. just for safety purposes we use clip on ties. >> lieutenant williams its a 17-year veteran of the florida department of corrections and has spent the past seven years at santa rosa. now, his 19-year-old son, joe, is prepaured to follow in his footsteps. >> growing up i have seen my dad working every day. every kid wants to be look their father i guess. i just it just sort of fell into place for me. >> he along with several other young men and women is currently in training to be a correctional aufl officer through the firearms training center located adjacent to santa rosa. >> if you can use a can of bug spray to kill a wasp or roach, then you can use pepper spray to spray a person. >> pepper spray is the only weapon most correctional officers carry when on duty.
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>> just a little bit. get it on the forehead, get it in the eyes. all you have to do. >> but when it is used to barre up a disturbance officers are exposed to its effect. yet they must continue to gain the upper hand. today's drill will test their ability to do so. >> we are going to be doing a direct exposure on all of the people in the class to pepper spray. and, they have some tasks that they have to pr foerform after have been sprayed. and they will decontaminate. >> you have got to maintain control of yourself. throughout the whole course. that any the whole thing. control. control. control. control. you can all get through this, we have not lost anybody yet. everybody has gone through it. everybody has done fine. okay. >> now with his father looking on, it's time for cadet williams to experience the debilitating effects of pepper spray. >> cover one eye. close your eyes. hold your breath.
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open your eyes. >> go. go. good job. good job. good job. >> yeah, i found with a little bit of your eye, wet the paper towel, it works wonders. >> one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. >> yea! >> one, two, three, four, five. >> don't kill the person with the bag. >> one, two, three, four, five. >> go, go, go! >> right there. knees. >> one, two, three, four, five. one, two, three, four, five. >> one more. go, go! >> one, two, three, four, five. >> face in the water right here. >> uh-huh. >> you got it. >> wipe that on your face.
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>> too much pep near your system. too much pep near your system. >> now i guess i know how bad i will feel if i have to gas an inmate. they're not going to have the water in there either. they're going to just sit in the cell. that's pretty bad. >> oh, that hurts. >> were you able to see when you were doing the challenges? >> no. no. >> was it what you expected? >> it was -- it was everything and then some. >> i was very proud. he did a good job. of course, it hurt him at first. as it would anybody. but, he kind of surprised me. he did a good job. >> keep your eyes open. the more you blink the more they'll tear. now stay away from the water. don't go back to an water. >> that is some bad [ bleep ]. the side of my face is still burning.
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>> yep. >> i said welcome to my world. >> is it swollen? >> i get gassed on a wokely basbas -- weekly basis. intended or not. >> oh, god, it is in the tear duct. >> on thing that will help you now its air and time. >> is it that bad? >> oh, yeah. >> you can do it. >> oh, man. for those of you at hope, me, dt go to jail. i prop is you this is not a fun thing to do. >> if an inmate finds himself on the wrong end of a pepper spray canister, there is a good chance, management will follow. that's what happened to richard penn after he assaulted two officers. >> you are not supposed to have any books other than religious
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books. no visits. no phone. no radio. really, not supposed to be able to do anything. this its nowhereville. >> besides exercise, penn's only other activity is writing letters. >> i write my sister. i write my brother. i write my dad. that's who i write most of the type. my dad. we talk about pretty much everything. that's lock ike my best friend. what my dad is trying to impress upon me in particular after this incident was simply that i am not changing fast enough. i am not growing from this as fast as i need to be. and what he has been pressing upon me in his last several letters is change comes from within. these are his exact words. that i am fighting the wrong fight. the fight its not against the system. it its not against the cos. the fight is me. it -- the fight its the fight to change me. i got teary-eyed reading it. he makes all the sense in the world. he is absolutely right.
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you can't. right is right. wrong is wrong. >> the lesson he's learns from his father are especially important. because there is one other person that penn writes to as well. his 6-year-old son. >> he is just hitting that age now where he is learning to read. he is writing more. i write him just asking him, you know, what he may have learned at school, yo, how was school. some times i -- kind of just hit him with a story i remember from when he was a baby. just still be his dad. relate as best i can through the pen and paper. very little in here matters other than the betterment of yourself in, in, but your mind, your body, your spirit, just getting yourself together. that ae that's the only thing that matters in here. and first and foremost. making it out alive. >> with support from home. penn might find emotional string too to deal with close management. other inmates are not as fortunate. >> what's going on, lt? >> i don't know.
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>> lieutenant williams has been called to an emergency on the second floor of the unit. >> what's the problem? unresponsive? hey! come here, cuff up! come over here and cuff up! >> officers initially responded to an inmate who is kicking his door. when they looked inside, they saw a bed sheet tied loosely around his neck and the inmate began threatening suicide. >> what's up, dude? come on. >> the inmate is one known for bracingly exposing himself to female staff, anthony bell. >> call mental health. call medical. call nyc. >> coming up. >> if you really want to commit suicide. >> staff question anthony bell's true intent. and danny pritchett turns to the heavens to erase the past. >> everybody will be blessed for
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anthony bell, serving 30 years for an array of crimes including atempted murder, armed robbery and kidnapping has been on santa rosa closed unit for a year, for gung ning. now, officers have removed him from his cell after finding him with a sheet tied around his neck. >> what's going on? >> going through it. >> going through it. you having a bad day? >> yeah, bad day. >> that mean you going to hang yourself, what that going to
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solve? >> i wasn't feeling right. >> you still feel look you waik to harm yourself? i'm asking you a question. you still feel look you want to harm yourself? >> no, sir. >> you know what is fixing to happen. medical going to come evaluate you. you probably going to be placed on restriction. right. okay. you done with it? you going to give my staff any trouble? let me know now. >> no, i'm all right. >> so i don't got to leave and come back. okay. cell pharm status means he will be stripped of his clothes and possessions to prevent him from harming himself. he will be placed in an observation cell with a mattress and spot for clothing. >> they will evaluate him and see if he has a mental health issue or not. how we act now, will depend on assessment by medical. >> but lieutenant williams has questions about bell's true intent. >> i think he wanted to get somebody in there before he did
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it. if you really want to commit suicide you are not going to cry for attention before. i am assuming there is some type of second ear gain. we'll find out what that is. a lot of times they will do it to be placed up front on sohs status. it is a little cooler, an air conditioned building. >> while bell will be under constant observation, inmates like danny, often devise ways to gain a bit of privacy. >> the door stays open all day long. so if someone is passing your door, you don't want to be disrespectful to them. you may be using the restroom. so you tie this sheet up here. use your id card. this is your blind. and you use your bathroom, whatever you want to do here. and afterward you take it down. put it back where it was.
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and everything is back to normal again. >> pritchett may not have seemed dismodest 33 years earlier when he kidnapped and raped one woman and attempted to kidnap a second. like bell he has also been cited numerous times for inappropriate conduct. pritchett says he has been forgiven for the past. >> when you accept god into your life, he says to forget about your past. because you are a new man in christ, jesus. this one here says the wholly spirit leads you in the small things of life every day. and then i back it up with acts, 8, 29, 16, 6, 7. >> what is it that you are doing? >> writing a script for the bag. and i -- fold them up. and just put them in the bag. i mix them all up later on. an pa and pass them out. and everybody will be blessed. this is a spiritual bag. the bag was given to me by god.
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>> the bag was given to you by god? >> to make it. and all of the scriptures and everything in it. >> so the inspiration was given to you by god? >> yes. >> where did you get the bag? >> the bag, i picked up here from -- from the kitchen i think it was. >> pritchett says god inspires him in other ways as well. >> you pray in tongues? >> yes, ma'am. [ speaking in tongues ] >> you don't know what it is. and it's not done in church. but it is done between you and god. >> do you know what you just said? >> no. >> coming up. >> this is home for the next 20-something years. >> anthony bell returns to close management. and william mccrory goes to work. >> i didn't come into prison with a staff canteen job. i worked my way through the
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ranks. oprah didn't start on the "oprah winfrey show." >> then gets a visit from the son he has only recently come to know. >> hey. these clothes are too big, so i'm donating them. how'd you do it? eating right -- whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multi-grain cheerios -- 5 whole grains, 110 calories. creamy, dreamy peanut butter taste in a tempting new cereal. mmm! [ female announcer ] new multi-grain cheerios peanut butter. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.
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when we were determined to see it through. here's an update on the progress. we're paying for all spill related clean-up costs. bp findings supports independent scientists studying the gulf's environment. thousands of environmental samples have been tested and all beaches and waters are open. and the tourists are back. i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp.
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the close management unit as santa rosa correctional institution, houses inmates from across the state of florida who have proven difficult to manage. anthony bell has been here for the past year. >> it's home for the next 20-some years. >> heap was recently placed under observation after correctional officers discovered he had tied a bed sheet around his neck. >> everything is the same. day in, day out. >> now he is back in his cell and says thoughts of his late mother led to his actions. >> this is all i got right here. this is all i got. >> that day i was just going through the emotions that day,
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you know what i am saying. i was really down. i was depressed. it is just like i had that voice in my head, like -- this ain't the place. couple days came become to reality. you know what i'm saying? that ain't worth it. it is what it is. she in a better place. you know what i am saying? do you. and you know what i'm saying? and fry to get back on the streets. you know what i'm saying? >> under the past few days, bell has undergone evaluation by the prison medical staff. with numerous writeups for public exposure he has a reputation for calling the wrong kind of attention to himself and staff believe that was behind the latest incident. >> i believe he is rooted in reality. i think moest of his is for secondary gain as well. he presents very functional. attends to his daily living skills. and he seems to just play the game.
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>> willie mccrory, severing 15 years for accessory to robbery has worked hard to present the on set impression on staff. he has recently landed one of the most coveted inmate jobs, staff canteen clerk. >> i didn't come into prison with a staff canteen job. i started in food service in the dish room and worked my way right on through the ranks. oprah didn't start on "the oprah winfrey show." so -- >> today, however, mccrory has a more pressing issue to attend to. his 18-year-old son, john vijay has come for a visit. up until two years ago, mccory didn't know he existed. >> grog wing up i all was awant to know who my father was. i never did. i had seen pictures, i would ask about him. my mother would tell me about him. it was a rough conversation.
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she started telling me. i wanted to get to know him. he start aid relationship through letters and i finally got to come meet him. >> mccrory and vijay, immediately connected. >> i guess a person didn't know you can love, care about a person, until you have that part of you. that is my only kid. the only one i got. it's the world. there is nothing more important. so that's everything. >> visit. >> yes, sir. >> he just has so much love and affection to show for me. that i had no idea of until i finally got to see him. >> vijay its currently in college in another state. and gets to visit mccrory, three and four times a year, including to day along with his stepbrother kyle. >> how you doing? >> you going to the beach at all before you leave? >> maybe, maybe tomorrow or today. just depends. >> i an going to let you go a
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little early. >> beach isn't as crazy as you. >> i'm here. that's all that matters. the way i look at it. >> you're right. ain't nothing more important than visit with you. >> we try to leave the fences outside our visit. it's about me and him. it's not about the prison system. it is just about what we have. what, what, we're fryitrying to. >> you should have a break in a couple months. >> sure hope so. come back up here. >> best part of the visit to be with him. talk to him. give him a hug. tell him i love him again. hear him say he loves me. >> you be careful. i'm looking forward to the next visit. i am also looking for ward to be out on the street and do things for him an with him i couldn't do when he was a kid. fishing, hunting. playing baseball, softball. things we didn't get to do when he was a child because of some of decisions i made to land me in some placize probably shouldn't be. i am just fortunate. god blessed me with a good kid. i love him. that's my heart. >> mccrory will soon have the
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chance to be the father he didn't have in the past. he is due to be released within the next two years. richard penn serving time for armed robbery has another six years to go before he becomes a full time father on outside. but he does have a birthday gift for his son who just turned 7. he has written him a poem. >> something just small, something to let him know i am thinking about him. in my daily inspiration and all i do my reason for believing yes, my son you. and everything i do i wish to make you proud, for there is nothing more precious on this planet than you my child. my point is use your imagination and dream as big as you dare, i'm ready to work hard and encourage and support you the whole way there. i want you to do better, i want you to be better than me in every way you can, as you mature and grow to become your own successful and powerful black man. >> are you worried that he is going to turn out look you? >> no, i am not worried that he
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will turn out like me. i honestly hope that he -- he gains the, the strong qualities from me and i, i want to be there. i will be there, and teach him to grow and become a man and a successful man. awe bought penn is struggling with his own issues. he is currently in the close management unit for having assaulted two correctional officers. >> it is best not to make enemies, point-blank. i was wrong. i could have went about it a different way. and i accept this as a consequences to my actions and just -- just lay low and get through this as fast as you can. mini-me, happy birthday, dude. i love you and miss you more than you will ever know. i love you, happy birthday, kid.
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