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 you visit. >> it is a sewer salamander. be a nice trophy for the wall. >> there are people and things that make lasting impressions. from transgender inmates.

>> 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. so when our "lockup" production team shows up there's a lot of buzz. at first the inmates are cautious and play it close to the vest. but as the interviews go on they become more comfortable and reveal things about themselves

and some even become showmen. ♪ ♪ i see the clock on the wall ♪ ♪ the rhyme is still rippin' ♪ >> ♪ i'm through drinking gin and juice and tanqueray ♪ >> ♪ lockup lockup ♪ >> while many inmates are eager to share their stories or talents with us -- delshawn blood worth 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. >> he caught our attention right away. he had a really big personality. >> i'm going to show you that in a minute. >> he saw it as an opportunity to showcase himself. and he was concerned about how he was coming across to the

viewers. >> do i look good? >> dude, you 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 aimous 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 resist ♪ ♪ i can't have you shooting down my team ♪ ♪ that's a no ♪ ♪ teachers told me sit down ♪ ♪ i was like police say freeze ♪ ♪ i was like because i'm always in that rebel state of mind ♪ i be posting on lawmen ♪

♪ 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 in his face. i was 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 david peters, were both in the jail's 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 for his one hour of recreation time a 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 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 allegedly trying to switch his gang affiliations. he was in a constant battle with different feuds and he is fighting the friends with 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 as far as on this side, we never white flag it. >> bloodworth was put in a single man cell following the latest attack 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 don't believe that? >> you're going to 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 us blowing up. boom. i [ bleep ] before i die. i want to smoke a blunt before i die. i don't want to be with a bunch of dudes. >> it would be another month before our next check-in. it was clear he missed the attention. >> trace. what's up? you are going to swerve and not say nothing? >> the most unusual thing is the way he would interact with us. he was really interested in us coming up to his door. >> you be on some funny

[ bleep ]. i just wanted 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. >> we have some place scheduled to be. >> you see? i thought i was the main kahuna. i thought i was the main person me right there. everybody else is just -- >> like, what lockup busted delshawn? >> i was thinking that. yes. it's funny because i was really thinking that. >> that doesn't make he look good. >> delshawn bloodworth is caught in a lie. >> can we throw a gang sign? >> and experiencing lockup with our field team. >> if you get lackadaisical something can happen.

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during our extended stay shoot at the suffolk county jail in boston, inmate delshawn bloodworth warmed up to the cameras. >> i work with what i got. it's all 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 was sentenced to 2 1/2 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 quickly apprehended. but for bloodworth the arresting officer added the ultimate insult. >> they step on my shoe my new all white adidas. >> you robbed someone with a gun and you were mad because a policeman stepped on your new tennis shoe. >> yeah, you right. i like to give punishment. i don't like to receive it. >> our final interview with bloodworth ended with a revealing exchange. >> do you think you deserve to be in here, delshawn? >> 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 the people 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 what'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 very 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 are 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 let's say, one of the

supermarkets -- not supermarkets, one of the retail stores and something like that as soon as i get out, i don't think they're going to hire me. >> i think you should work where they don't have cash registers. that's all i'm saying. >> what would your suggestion be? >> 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 all look like you're getting tired of me. i can tell. >> we're not tired of you. >> yes, you are. >> why do you think we're tired of you? because we haven't been around for a while? >> yeah. >> we have 20 other people we are following. i think you are taking it a little personally. >> bloodworth's interview where a serious moment suddenly turns serious. >> look at that stance.

get a shot of that stance. >> is not uncommon. >> one of the things i love about watching the raw footage come in from the field are the twists and turns these 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. 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. >> do you mind being on tv? >> no i want to be on tv. >> i have to get your signatures from all you guys, take a quick polaroid. you may make it on there. >> 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. one is 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. >> you took our picture up there? >> that's different. 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 and i've been wearing the exact same baseball hat. i figured it got me 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 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. 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 i've always talked to my camera crew god forbid something happens, i have faith that they would step in because they're usually right around me. they would 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 when you've established a certain rapport

with 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 i've filmed in 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. >> putting on my stab vest. >> 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 next unit that i was going to 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 joke around how it adds ten pounds to me how 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 the 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. >> how grandpa wears them nowadays. then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomorrow's careers. this is your moment. let nothing stand in your way. devry university proud

to support the education of our u.s. olympic team. [ male announcer ] it's simple physics... a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including

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solutionism. the new optimism.™ ♪ this dream ♪ "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 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 photography, 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 almost leak a bonding situation. [ laughter ] >> say that part again. >> i like your voice, i like brian's voice coming out of you. >> i think it's good. >> hey fellas. >> brian's a target for some of the teasing we get on the inside. >> one more thing.

>> i have to ask, 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 -- >> 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 and they like to tease back and forth and get a rise out of him or something.

>> sometimes i'll hear people say stuff through their cell, hey, fat boy. >> i don't want a picture. >> and 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 pastime 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 then skillfully 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 at this point. when i saw the fishing line i wanted to try it. i asked the co if it was okay for me to try to fish. they said sure. >> tracey what are you doing? >> we looked inside one of the units and there was a note on the floor. i immediately tried to start fishing for the 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 and had no clue. they started giving us pointers on holing it tighter or go to the left. >> which way? >> this way. come this way. >> none of us actually ever got it. ♪ >> the great thing about field producing are "lockup" is we witness firsthand how these diverse groups of people under

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. >> if you can give me like 30 more seconds, we'll be done with you. >> 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 everything has changed. so it creates its own issues. 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 known as the indiana catman. >> see you later. give a close-up. ronmental recovery. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to support scientists studying the environment. and the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious. last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues... but that doesn't mean our job is done. we're still committed to seeing this through. this is new york state. we built the first railway the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world.

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i'm veronica de la cruz. president obama will travel to colorado today to visit with the victims of friday's shooting and their families. the president will also meet with local officials. police in colorado say the suspect, 24-year-old james holmes spent months planning the deadly rampage. he killed 12 people with calculation and deliberation, they say. dozens of explosives were found in holmes' apartment. he will make his first court appearance on monday. i'm veronica de la cruz. now back to "lockup." due to mature subject matter viewer discretion is advised. 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. everybody has a story and some of the inmates we meet in prison are truly 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've probably seen me once before in 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 in michigan city indiana, during our extended stay 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.

>> he's a bird it's a plane, no, 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 recently 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 saving 101 years for 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. >> because wabash doesn't have a

cat program, jinxster lives with stone's family. while he lost his cat, stone hadn't lost his sense of humor. >> 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. >> how grandpa wears them nowadays nowadays. >> don't care what other people think. >> it's a home run! >> i stay in stoneyland. i don't need no psychotherapist. i don't need no medication. if i had a nest right there, that's right, that means stone. >> being in stoneyland is 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. i have to try sometimes. >> 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's hilarious. he's constantly messing with our gear. one there's a boom mike 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, grandz ma 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 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 haircuts out here whoever wants to sit down out there can cut hair with burrs. you ain't taking my hair off. i like getting it thinned but don't cut me bald. it makes it rough getting a good 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've narrowed it down to alpacas or guineas or a combination of both an alpac-guinea. 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 potatoes on here. >> they add water to them and it's like sea monkies. add water and poof, you know. >> stone says he had a better diet at indiana state prison because the inmates could tend gardens and grew their own food. >> this place here has so much wide open area that is not being used. they could do the same thing over here. this place could feed itself even. this place has so much potential, yet they don't use it. they don't have cat programs down here. they don allow gardens down here. they don did the allow no hobby crafts down here. you're pretty much not even allowed responsibilities down here. it's not a place to where you have a way of life. instead it's just you're here. that's it. you're just 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, then the word rehabilitation just don't exist in the first place. we were lock 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 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 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 concurrent walk

out of here and leave, go home. >> 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 disneyland. got to be pretty amazing. for one cars talking to you. guys saying stone you need to learn how to work computers. 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 me up an animal shelter/woodwork shop. >> it was good to see him and good to hear updates on what he had gone through. you kind of 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 writeup for contraband. t really. i would've been fine with 0% for 36 months but i demanded 60. no...i didn't do that. it was like taking candy from a baby. you're a grown man. alright, see you at home. [ male announcer ] the volkswagen autobahn for all event. we good? we're good. [ male announcer

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so amazingly good, you'll get lost in an all-beef hot dog world. what was i supposed to wish for? why am i wearing a bow-tie? where did i leave my bicycle? after all, when you're enjoying the beefiest juciest bite of pure kosher beef, nothing else matters. goodness gracious, that's kosher. with no fillers, by-products artificial flavors or colors. hebrew national. the better-than-a-hot dog- hot dog. 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 -- >> follow 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'll 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 jump suit 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 themselves. >> the dress codes for the film crew 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 beanbag, they have to quickly discern who's an inmate, who's not an inmate. >> different color uniforms are often used to identify the security levels of various inmates. but at the maricopa county jail 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 think is his way of keeping us a little bit humbled, you know. it's 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 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 a transgender inmate alejandro cortez, 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 in fact 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 they were eventually jail issued t-shirts and bed sheets that these inmates converted into women's clothing. they actually did a pretty convincing job of it. >> yeah! trying to make the best of it, you know. we have our own personal rev long and l'oreal, mac crayons. we wet them. we play with it. get it nice and dark 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 jails and prisons we've been to.

but we encountered one inmate who dug deeper than most to find a substitute. >> got it. the black stuff from the window and the hair grease makes the eye liner. nobody can make it as black as me though. they can't do it like that. >> curlers are also on 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 it's amazing the stuff we can do. we can curl our hair with toilet paper. >> twist it like this. >> this gets folded in half. you fold down. >> this goes around the curler. lick it and close it. >> voila! >> there's your curler.

>> if we get caught with this in our hair we will get in trouble. get a writeup for contraband. >> it's just toilet paper. >> exactly. >> 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 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 the arms were either broke or lost or destroyed and he replaced them with plastic spoons.

>> my glasses broke, so i have to make another one. can you give 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. 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 -- >> these men, they are lonely. they make what is called a fifi. >> we discovered the inmate made device known as a fifi. >> you ever made a fifi? >> yes. >> and they call it their lady. >> and viewer discretion is definitely advised.

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

improvised clothesline. >> you take the bag and put it in water and when you put cardboard in it the string is 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 visits, 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 it. >> 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 an ace bandage and two trash bags and a tampon. >> what were you making? >> they tried to say 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 eventually learned that the illicit sexual aid industry in prison is not limited to female inmates. male inmates have a substitute as well. and it is known as the same slang word in prisons nationwide. >> there are certain words or phrases with universal meaning that arise at each location we arrive at. one of those words was fifi. >> we heard the term used in indiana. >> these men are lonely. 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 again in tampa, florida. >> i can't make a fifi in here. >> 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 famous tent city housing city 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 ten the city at night. what happens when the tent flaps

go down is one of those things they do the male inmates make homemade sexual pleasure devices. >> today you asked what a fifi is since there were other people who didn't want to demonstrate it for you. >> we thought about it and figured it might be in bad taste to show you how one of these devices is actually made. but suffice it to say it takes only a few items and they are legally accessible by just about any inmate. >> what do you do with them when you find one? >> i don't touch it. i usually 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.