tv Lockup World Tour MSNBC February 3, 2013 12:00am-1:00am PST
12:00 am
disclose the reason for his move. >> conrad salazar is being transported to central new mexico correctional facility. >> it's kind of a sad day to think about conrad? >> it's always a happy day? >> to what? >> to say good-bye to conrad. >> yeah. this is an electronic mobilization device. 50,000 volts. it may cause you to self-urinate or self-defecate, understand? >> yes. conrad sees this relocation as another positive step towards his eventual release. >> this is where i'll do my last 60 days. you know, it's somewhere where i can focus on the street instead of getting umt and my visits taken and taken of no more reports. whether i can focus on getting out to the street. here it's not good for that. you know what i mean. you take care, no?
12:02 am
>> i slashed people. >> -- we meet a killer with a sadistic streak. >> what do you do with fires? >> and the interview takes a startling turn. violence erupts inside a maximum security prison in belgium. >> he's a crazy man, a murderer, but i'm not scared, you know? >> but in this prison when tensions rise, inmates can cool off in the sex room. >> two hours for sex.
12:03 am
to americans, it's a country best known for chocolate, waffles and beer, belgium. roughly the size of maryland, it's considered to be one of the safest nations in europe. but criminals do exist here. and the most hard core can be found 50 miles east of brussels in the town of hasselt. it houses 470 men and, in a separate unit, 30 women. >> this is unique. the other prisons in this country, they are old prisons. they are more than 100 years, 150 years old and have a culture. bad or good culture but they always have a culture. we started from zero. >> as the nation's newest high security prison, hasselt employs a wide array of technology to manage inmates. but many of the prison policies are nothing at all like we've ever seen in the u.s. from 9:00 at night until 6:30 in the morning, correctional
12:04 am
officers are not allowed to go inside cells without special permission from the director. >> at 9:00 they are locked in the cells. they collect the keys and can you not go in the cells. >> why? >> that's the rules here. >> what do you think goes on behind these doors? >> i don't know and i don't want to know. but when you go out, make your checks, you can sometimes smell the weed. the only thing can you do is the day after get a complete checkup of the cell. but most of the time you don't find anything. >> but that's not the only unusual security policy. while american correctional officers who have close contact with inmates don't carry guns, hasselt officers carry less. >> none of the staff have any weapons no, pepper spray, no batons? >> the only equipment we carry
12:05 am
are our keys and the cell phone, that's about it. but if necessary, we can get plastic shields, batons, the restraints, chains, protective helmets. i don't even think i ever wore a helmet. >> male inmates considered to be the greatest threat are segregated in their own unit, section 20. >> when they are -- when they use a lot of drugs, when they are aggressive, when they're risk for escaping, then they come to section 20. >> burack ersen is a section 20 inmate. >> they say that i put a man through the window like this. >> in a wheelchair? >> in a wheel chair, yes. >> unlike most high-security units in american prisons where inmates are locked in cells 23 hours a day, burack and other
12:06 am
section 20 inmates are given access to common areas. but less than 24 hours after our arrival, a fight breaks out between two inmates. surveillance footage would later reveal that burack ersen, shown speaking on a pay phone, was one of the participants. he's suddenly approached by another inmate who has just picked up supplies and food from the prison canteen and just seconds later they take each other to the ground. correctional officers swarm the two men and take burack into custody, while the other inmate picks up his supplies and leaves the scene. burack will be confined to this stripped down isolation cell until he attends a disciplinary hearing for the fight.
12:07 am
>> we went to interview burack in his isolation cell a few minutes after this fight, he was very upset. he felt he was being treated as the perpetrator when in fact he was actually the victim. >> i was talking to my mother, everything okay, da, da, da, and he say i want to talk, i will kick you, beat you. i said what, you want to fight? come on. >> barack's opponent is a violent repeat offender currently awaiting trial for manslaughter. he says burack started the fight. >> he jumped you? what happened? >> jumped, yeah. it was over -- it was not a real fight. >> unlike burack, erik was sent back to his regular cell and not placed under any new restrictions. burack claims erik receives special treatment from the prison.
12:08 am
>> erik is in fact a former paratrooper but burack says he got the better of him in the fight. >> first he got me but i turned him around and i got him good but the sheriffs all catch me and took me off him. touch him with one finger, him. why? you fight with two, you don't fight alone. you know what i mean? >> do you have a lot of influence? >> yeah. >> next on "lockup: world tour" -- >> two hours for sex. >> -- inside the sex room. and burack's disciplinary hearing goes from bad to worse. >> i need to --
12:12 am
the security system is as technologically advanced as any we've ever profiled on "lockup." >> it's a very secure place where no prisoners may go. we watch everything. that's our security. for the moment we have no escapes in this prison, but inmates probably think a lot about escaping. but the security is very high. >> preventing escape is a high priority at hasselt. that's why peter was transferred here two weeks ago. he was sentenced to five years for the armed robbery of three jewelry couriers and then boldly
12:13 am
tried to cut that sentence short. >> i notice when you walk you have a limp. why? >> it was an accident when i escaped. there was construction going on in the prison. so they had this letter and we run and jump over the fence. i actually made it out and i run and they catch me five, six kilometers in a little village called wharton and from then they move me to this prison. >> peter says his escape was motivated by the pressures of being a parent to four young children. >> before they were going on the soccer team. now they cannot go because there is no one to take them there and there are some complications with little children, you know. >> in the united states an escape attempt usually leads to more time in prison. but it's a very different story in belgium.
12:14 am
>> it's the law that says the fact of escaping is not a crime, but they can do another crime. for example, if they escape with the prison clothes, keeping those prison clothes is a crime, unless they send the clothes back and in the past we have someone who escaped, jumping out of the window. after two, three days we get the clothes back washed and cleaned. soap he didn't make any crime. >> in accordance with belgian law, since peter committed no crimes during his escaped, he received no extra prison time once he was captured. >> it's a nice surprise. i don't like surprise but it's a nice surprise. >> peter's only punishment was a two-month stay in hasselt's high security unit, section 20. but it's all worked out for the best. he likes it here.
12:15 am
>> while peter might take comfort in a good meal, phillip find it is in the daily mail call. >> it's a letter from my girl friend. it's nice to have all day every day letter, you know. these are from june 2008 till now, you know. this one is the last one. you know. this is from the day before. we never have a day we didn't write, never. never. >> but when phillip mails his letters, they never travel outside the prison walls.
12:16 am
his girl friend, connie, is also serving time at hasselt. >> while the hundreds of letters symbolize their love, ironically it was a bonnie & clyde like robbery spree of post offices that brought them here. >> we are so close that we going together in hell, you know. we give our life for each other. >> since belgian post offices also offer banking services, they were the couple's prime target. >> i told her many times, i say, connie, you know, we have to be careful. it's bad luck to be caught, you know? she said, yeah, we have to stop. and then i say yes. and after i say, no, we need the money, you know. >> on their ninth robbery, they were not only caught, phillip accidentally shot himself in the leg trying to escape.
12:17 am
but the pain was more than just physical. >> i failed to my promise to her, you know, to give her a better life. >> fortunately for connie and phillip they're incarcerated in a nation that understands the power of love. the couple is allowed to see each other for an hour three times a week, but once a month they're allowed a very special visit. >> two hours for sex. that is different but nobody look. that's fine. >> in belgium they just cut to the chase. they call this room the sex room. and it was a very surprisingly lovely looking room, very large bathroom, very nice lighting in the bedroom, large sized bed, big sized bed, very neatly folded towels on the bed. and a little shocking, packets of condoms on the towels.
12:18 am
>> the prisoners have a right to have private visit, but it's not only a sexual visit. prisoner can ask his father or his mother or his sister but mostly it is used as a sex room. >> so what's going on now, phillip? what are you preparing for? >> to visit my wife intimately, you know? very nice. >> and the banana? >> to get power. >> happy? excited? >> happy, yeah, yeah, yeah. >> the things human need, you know. and if you love someone, you need your sex with her, you need to be alone for two hours, you know?
12:19 am
>> coming up -- >> i want to fight with the commando, the ex-commando. they are scared. i know this. >> burack ersen seeks justice. and later -- >> no. >> basically you threw somebody off the bridge and choked somebody to death? >> yes. >> a shocking interview with one of scotland's most notorious killers takes a startling turn. , but when you wake up in the middle of the night it can be frustrating. it's hard to turn off and go back to sleep. intermezzo is the first and only prescription sleep aid approved for use as needed in the middle of the night when you can't get back to sleep. it's an effective sleep medicine you don't take before bedtime. take it in bed only when you need it and have at least four hours left for sleep. do not take intermezzo if you have had an allergic reaction to drugs containing zolpidem, such as ambien. allergic reactions such as shortness of breath
12:20 am
or swelling of your tongue or throat may occur and may be fatal. intermezzo should not be taken if you have taken another sleep medicine at bedtime or in the middle of the night or drank alcohol that day. do not drive or operate machinery until at least 4 hours after taking intermezzo and you're fully awake. driving, eating, or engaging in other activities while not fully awake without remembering the event the next day have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations, or confusion. alcohol or taking other medicines that make you sleepy may increase these risks. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. intermezzo, like most sleep medicines, has some risk of dependency. common side effects are headache, nausea, and fatigue. so if you suffer from middle-of-the-night insomnia, ask your doctor about intermezzo and return to sleep again. ♪
12:22 am
inside belgium's prison hasselt, inmate burack ersen has just spent his second night in an isolation cell. he's there for getting into a fight with another inmate. >> i'm the black sheep always. if there's ever anything, it's always me. >> this morning he will meet the prison's disciplinary committee to find out if there will be any further punishment. the inmate he fought, erik franzen, will also go before the disciplinary committee. but he seems no more concerned now than he was when he casually walked away from the fight as officers swarmed burack.
12:23 am
>> what do you think is going to happen? are you worried? >> no, no. >> no? >> prison officials claim that erik franzen is a well behaved inmate and it's only his violent reputation outside of prison that requires them to house him in section 20. >> with the police he has a very heavy reputation that he's a very heavy guy in the criminal environments. it is a reputation that follows him and he has a lot of crimes and it's often with guns. >> i'm 39 years old. i was before ten years in jail for armed robberies and then i go free and i come back for two years for a fight. and now i'm in jail, they think i killed somebody.
12:24 am
12:26 am
>> i know him for many, many years and personally i never, never have any problem with erik. >> a short time later burack is escorted to the hearing room and his outlook is less than hopeful. >> what's going on? they want to [ bleep ] me. always like this. >> when erik gave his account of the incident, he was very calm and very respectful in the disciplinary board. when burack came in to give his account, it was a very different story. he claimed erik was black mailing him and became very aggressive with the director.
12:28 am
we know burack for many years. we think he takes a lot of drugs. these drugs has changed his personality, and he became more and more aggressive in the last few months, last few years? >> what happens now, burack? >> i don't know. they will give me penalty, i think. a good one. but i don't give a [ bleep ]. they think they are going to break me. [ bleep ]. >> a short time later the disciplinary committee reaches a decision. there will be no sanctions for erik but burack ersen will receive two additional days in isolation for being argumentive in the hearing and another month for the fight. we caught up with burack three days later after he was moved
12:29 am
12:33 am
directly between glasgow and edinburgh scotland is shotts, the farming village that dots the isle's central interior. but just beyond grazing sheep is a much more foreboding presence. this is hmp, her majesty's prison, shotts, a maximum security prison that houses more than 500 of scotland's most violent prisoners.
12:34 am
>> all the prisoners will be serving four years and offer. that means they've committed a serious crime. 52% of the prisoners here now are serving a life sentence. most life sentences are given for murder. so we have a lot of murderers here. >> many of the men committed for murder here are in their 20s and claim drugs played a role in their crime. >> this man's crimes made headlines. >> so you were a drug dealer? >> but hutchison was a drug dealer with a sadistic streak. he's serving a 25 to life sentence for two murders, attempted murder, kidnapping and torture.
12:35 am
>> aye. >> chris was very flippant when describing his crimes and he had this odd habit when there was a break in the interview of sort of half singing a song and belching. ♪ >> but as we probed deeper into his crimes, we soon learned that hutchison's murder victims were not the only ones who suffered.
12:36 am
12:37 am
>> the interview is suddenly stopped by a shotts correctional officer providing security. >> it was one of the strangest experiences i've ever had filming in a prison, to have the officer interrupt an interview, take the inmate away and confer with him. i later found out in scotland the inmates actually have a very good chance of making parole and this officer was concerned that if chris became too descriptive in his crimes, it wouldn't bode well for him. >> when the interview resumes, hutchison discusses why he killed his cousin. >> my cousin and his dad came um
12:38 am
12:42 am
12:43 am
some call scotland the knife murder capital of europe. >> part of the lifestyle? >> michael is one of the many who have been on the wrong side of the blade. he has just arrived at shotts to begin a six-year sentence for assault and robbery. >> okay, tell me, what happened to your face? >> we quickly learned that shotts is full of young men whose lives have been put on hold due to knife violence and for many of them, like
12:44 am
22-year-old adam gallagher, the violence was fueled by a combination of alcohol and drugs. >> gallagher came to prison four years ago on a murder charge. he claims he didn't know his girl friend stole a drunken man's wallet. when the man pursued them, gallagher struck. >> gallagher received a life sentence but is eligible for parole after 15 years in prison. he works here as a barber.
12:45 am
12:46 am
>> drugs have impacted steven galaway's life as well. he spent most of his adulthood behind bars but he's maintained a sense of humor about it all. >> what's got a hundred legs and three teeth? >> as soon as we met him, he was it funny, outgoing character. even when the joke was pointed at you, you had to laugh, as i found out. >> but beneath galaway's humor is a desperate past. >> he's currently serving just under four years for assault and robbery.
12:47 am
>> galaway only has 15 months left in his current sentence and says he wants to clean up his life and stay out. but with his past record another conviction could send him away for good. >> so i only got one chance left. >> but an adulthood in prison doesn't always prepare one for life on the outside.
12:48 am
>> but galaway does know how to survive in prison. start by making friends with the correction staff. >> he was offering candy to us, to the officers, to other inmates. steven actually even asked one of the officers to take his canteen to the new inmate, but he may no attempt to hide his real motive for being a nice guy. >> when he returns to his cell, he finds the house warming gift left by galaway or as others
12:49 am
here refer him to the scouse. >> the scouse has left you three cartons of biscuits. >> next on "lockup: world tour," lock me up if you want. if you lock me up, i'll burn my peter. >> burn your peter? >> aye. >> after a rowdy night, one of shotts' old timers might have to pay the price. [ female announcer ] going to sleep may be easy, but when you wake up
12:50 am
in the middle of the night it can be frustrating. it's hard to turn off and go back to sleep. intermezzo is the first and only prescription sleep aid approved for use as needed in the middle of the night when you can't get back to sleep. it's an effective sleep medicine you don't take before bedtime. take it in bed only when you need it and have at least four hours left for sleep. do not take intermezzo if you have had an allergic reaction to drugs containing zolpidem, such as ambien. allergic reactions such as shortness of breath or swelling of your tongue or throat may occur and may be fatal. intermezzo should not be taken if you have taken another sleep medicine at bedtime or in the middle of the night or drank alcohol that day. do not drive or operate machinery until at least 4 hours after taking intermezzo and you're fully awake. driving, eating, or engaging in other activities
12:51 am
while not fully awake without remembering the event the next day have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations, or confusion. alcohol or taking other medicines that make you sleepy may increase these risks. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. intermezzo, like most sleep medicines, has some risk of dependency. common side effects are headache, nausea, and fatigue. so if you suffer from middle-of-the-night insomnia, ask your doctor about intermezzo and return to sleep again. ♪
12:53 am
cut young men incarcerated at hmp shotts in scotland could easily be mistaken for college students. but shotts is considered the nation's toughest prison and it's home to some of its most dangerous inmates. a large number of them are here for violent acts, fueled by a lethal combination of alcohol, drugs and knives. but they're not all youngsters. >> 60-year-old jimmy reed is about halfway through an 11-year sentence for culpable homicide, the equivalent of manslaughter in the u.s.
12:54 am
>> while this was the first time he killed a man, his drinking has resulted in numerous prior convictions. he spent most of his adult life in scottish prisons, and his sister who lives in the u.s. says he should be thankful for that. >> jimmy was also carrying on the night before we met him. he had received several disciplinary reports for causing a disturbance. it started when he couldn't account for all of his prescription medication, which is a prison requirement to prevent drug dealing.
12:55 am
>> okay, what else? >> jimmy started off by continually ringing the emergency call button in his cell. >> this one over here? >> by setting off his fire alarm, jimmy prompted the local fire department to visit the prison. we joined him the next day when he had to face the prison's deputy governor to answer for the five write-ups. the first concerns, the missing pills.
12:58 am
do you understand that charge? and how do you plead? >> guilty. >> so you've pled guilty. i'm going to found you guilty on that. >> jimmy's otherwise good behavior record over the past year helps him catch a break. he receives seven days loss of recreation time. his prison job wages and access to his cash account to buy supplies and snacks from the canteen. >> are you okay with it? >> jimmy is escorted back to his cell in d-hall, the prison's protective custody wing.
12:59 am
205 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
MSNBC WestUploaded by TV Archive on
![](http://athena.archive.org/0.gif?kind=track_js&track_js_case=control&cache_bust=172532627)