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tv   Lockup  MSNBC  April 27, 2013 9:00pm-10:01pm PDT

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>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >> arrested by a s.w.a.t. team, an out of control inmate creates chaos in the booking department. >> i need a medical clearance. >> mental health staff must term if his behavior is a result of psychoses, drugs or something else.
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>> i was like in cleveland heights, lots of girl friends, lots of pot. sex, drugs, rock and roll. >> convicted in the 1980s for murder, another inmate has spent 24 years on death row. >> that's all we can do is keep fighting. >> now he can leave his cell behind for good, but in this case, nothing is for certain. >> their plan is to convict me and sentence me to death again. >> state of ohio versus keenan.
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some have been convicted. most are only charged with crimes and are awaiting trial of the resolution of their cases. >> our current population changes daily. we book in 115 people a day, we release hopefully 115 or more. we have an average length of stay of about 45 days involving 30,000 bookings a year. >> all the way around. >> there is uncertainty with everyone. the inmate is in custody and he doesn't or she doesn't know what's happening to them tomorrow. >> you ever tried to kill yourself? >> no. >> are you suicidal? >> no. >> physically or sexually? >> physically, like beat up? >> no, shot, stabbed, set on fire on purpose. >> no. >> i think there is high anxiety in the jail environment that you wouldn't necessarily see in prison. >> and anxiety is often highest in a place where every new
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inmate's journey begins. >> open your eyes as wide as you can. >> the jail's intake department. >> intake is a very, very unpredictable area throughout the jail. you have in most cases very little information about the individual coming in as far as their mental state and things like that. so from time to time, we do get individuals that may come here and may be under the influence of drugs. may have mental health issues that need immediate attention. >> today is one of those times. >> arms ripping out of my neck. >> 18-year-old nathaniel jordan was apprehended by a s.w.a.t. team, arrested at a hotel without incident. but by the time he was brought to cuyahoga county, he was in an apparent state of crisis. >> he's right there. he's right there. just save me, just save me! [ bleep ]
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>> save me! >> jordan was charged with attempted murder and robbery after allegedly shooting a man in the face. correctional officers do not know the cause of his distress. they suspect it could be an increasingly popular drug known as bath salts. [ bleep ] >> he was doing bath salts. >> bath salts! i ain't take no bath salts! it's in my mind. told me to shoot a mother [ bleep ] in the face. ah! >> 130 over 87. i need a medical clearance and i need kg. he's trippin'. i don't know, bath salts, something. this part of the world, we see a lot of pcp.
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who knows what he got ahold. >> he's in my -- >> officers cover jordan face with a spit mask while medical staff prepares a sedative. >> you'll feel better soon. this medication is going to take effect, you'll be all right. take some deep breaths. go ahead and breathe. >> after receiving the sedative, jordan is suddenly calm. while medical staff is still unsure what caused his outburst, they cannot rule out one possibility. >> we don't know if it's real or, you know, make believe. we don't have a tax screen to tell us that he has ingested a substance. we're sending him to a medical department, he'll be evaluated there. >> his pulse was really high. >> stand by.
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>> if they injected him, he was good. i don't know if that's game or medication for him. >> coming up. >> punching myself, punching myself, punching myself. >> nathaniel jordan displays more strange behavior. and -- >> they don't have any evidence, they never did. >> after more than two decades on death row, an inmate returns for the fight of his life. >> 222 witnesses for a case that's three years old. a lot of graveyards. another left his shoes on the plane. his shoes. and a third just simply doesn't want to be here. until now. until right... booking now. planet earth's #1 accommodation site. booking.com booking.yeah
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cleveland is known as the birthplace of rock and roll. welcoming about a half million visitors a year to its hall of fame. several blocks away, inside the cuyahoga county corrections center, inmate michael keenan hopes to rock one more time.
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in fact, he is so confident he will soon win his freedom, he has purchased tickets to see the rock band rush in concert. but if he loses, the state of ohio could execute him. the past 24 years, keenan has been fighting the murder conviction that landed him on death row in an ohio state prison. he is currently back at the jail for a new court hearing in his case. last time keenan was a free man was in 1988. back then, he led a very different life. >> i was like don juan of cleveland heights, pretty much. lots of girlfriends. and lots of pot. bongs for breakfast, my motto. i guess to sum it up, sex, drugs, rock and roll. made enough money just to pay the bills. i was fine. everything was going fine. everyone was happy. >> but in august of 1988, the
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body of 19-year-old anthony clen, an employee in keenan's landscape business, was found floating in a creek. >> anthony went to his death by having his throat cut twice, i think, and he was stabbed three times in the chest. two up, one across. and apparently there was no blood left in his body. the next morning, cleveland cops break down our door, and that's when i find out we're all being charged with murder. >> prosecutors say keenan and two co-workers kidnapped and killed clan over some missing drugs. after one of the men accepted a plea deal to spare his life, keenan and his other codefendant were found guilty of capital murder. >> we were sentenced to death. the two of us were. so we found ourselves on death row. i was in a daze. i didn't know what to do. >> for the next two decades,
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keenan fought his conviction through the courts through motions and appeals. in the process, he has picked up enou experience to serve as a jailhouse lawyer for other inmates. >> i know, yeah, that bothers me too those other three people in the car diplomdn't get charged anything. i think they're lying on you. >> i am mr. wizard for them, they're always asking to borrow a book to look something up. i oblige. >> i had him advise me on a lot of things. i appreciate that. >> there's a song by deep purple called watch out for the flying lid. i know you don't. that's because it's a good group. you don't know about the good groups. >> the beetles. >> the beetles suck. where i come from, it was the stoebs or beetles. chicks like the beetles. >> among inmates, keenan is a popular figure. but those who have known him the longest have witnessed another side. >> would have he went in, he was very narcissistic.
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the world revolved around mike, drugs, alcohol. nobody would be happy with the way he behaved before he got arrested for this. he'll admit it, he was a terrible guy. >> martin keenan believes 24 years on death rojas had a numbing effect on his brother. >> emotionally, there is a curtain there. he's kind of blanld. >> mind over matter at this point. i had to deal with it. just blot it out. both my parents died, and my sister died, unfortunately, while i was on this case. yeah. couldn't go to any of their funerals. wasn't allowed. so, yeah. struggled through that too. tried not to grieve. pretty much succeeded in that. maybe one of these days i will. i have enough to worry about without grieving about dead people. they're trying to kill me. >> keenan's fight for his life
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has hinged on what he claims was severe misconduct by the prosecution. >> they hid a lot of evidence from us. a lot. so the ohio supreme court granted me a new trial in june of '93. >> after their second round of trials, keenan and his codefendant were again found guilty and returned to death row. they both continued to exert their beliefs the prosecutors withheld evidence that would exonerate them. in 2010, keenan's codefendant was granted a third trial. >> and because the prosecutors were still hiding evidence and still coming up with evidence, his judge -- both of them, the federal and state one, had enough. they dismissed all charges by reprosecution and let him go. he's on the street for two-and-a-half years now. >> keenan filed a motion to have his charges overturned as well and succeeded. a federal judge vacated his conviction and death sentence. but the prosecution decided to pursue a third trial.
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soon, a state judge will decide either to let the trial take place or to grant keenan's motion to 'tis miss the charges for good. >> so third trial, death is still on the table. >> right. their plan is to convict me and sentence me to death again. this is the prosecutor's case against me. now, i don't understand where they come up with 17,000 pages. but i know they don't have any evidence, because they didn't have any evidence on my codefendant. he has been free and clear for two-and-a-half years. 222 witnesses now for a case that's 23 years old. means they're taking people out of graveyards. it's all smoke and mirrors. >> but the judge's decision due in just seven days, keenan not only believes he will prevail, he has already made plans for life on the outside. but now he has received some bad news. >> the judge, bless his little soul, moved the trial from september 24th to october 31st.
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i think somebody told him i had concert tickets for the 28th of october. >> concert to where? >> rush. one of the only groups i've never seen. now i can't see them anyway. >> you bought concert tickets for rush? >> that's how confident i was, that's right. >> coming up, michael keenan has offered a deal that could set him free. but it might not be good enough. >> to me, it sounds more like a cop out than a victory. >> then -- >> had you taken any kind of pills or anything? >> no. i was -- >> that was just you. >> yes. >> nathaniel jordan and mental health staff try to get to the bottom of his behavior.
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bold will make your reality a dream. justice. justice. >> nathaniel jordan arrived at the cuyahoga county corrections center in what appeared to be a drug induced behavior.
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two days later, he is exercising inside his cell and appears free of whatever condition afflicted him. but he does carry a reminder of the incident. >> tell me how you got that black eye. >> when i came up here, my mind kind of closed in on me, and i beat myself to a black eye and bloody nose. just punching myself, punching myself and punching myself. over and over again. >> jordan was taken into custody by a s.w.a.t. team after he was charged with attempted murder and robbery. he will soon be extradited to indiana, where he plans to plead not guilty. jordan says that his medical history may have been partly responsible for his behavior in intake. >> seventh grade, i was diagnosed with a d-net brain tumor. and i had surgeries, in seventh
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grade and ninth grade. i don't really process stuff how a normal person probably would, i guess. >> jordan says that during times of stress, he enters an altered state of mind he calls "blacking out." >> my mind tends to shut down and i go into a state of mind where i feel like i'm not conscious. i still for some reason feel like i'm in a big dream. at this moment, my eyes are wide open, but i still feel like none of this is real. >> today is he competent? absolutely. today there -- you know, if he had a brief psychotic reaction, that's not playing a part right now -- >> the jail's clinical psychologist, dr. alice cook, and psychiatrist, dr. leslie ko koblintz are reviewing jordan's case. >> how did he get the eye, was
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it a punch? >> i don't know if it was punching or banging on the medical al bars. >> they have analyzed the behavior with skepticism. >> a lot of people think if they feign mental illness, they can go to a hospital with an ngri defense or because of a major mental illness, didn't know the wrongfulness of what they're doing so they are sent to a hospital instead of prison for punishment. >> he's long gone! >> they review the video of jordan's behavior when he arrived in booking. >> now, the interesting thing about him, he had a brain tumor. he has had two brain surgeries. [ bleep ] >> i'm not convinced one direction or the other on it. i don't think you can tell by watching if it's real if it's fake very easily. most of us believe we are better
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at spotting fake or truth than we really are. >> given what jordan says about miss medical history and past drug use, they cannot discount that the episode may have been real. they hope that a meeting with jordan will provide answers. >> were you on anything at that time? had you taken any kind of pills when the s.w.a.t. team came or anything? no? >> no, i was -- i was totally sober-minded. the whole time that i was -- the whole time i was sober. surprising surprisingly, yeah. i was sober-minded the whole time. >> they showed us the video a while ago when you first came in, and it was a different person than what we're seeing. when you remember back to the day you first came in -- >> what the -- >> do you remember what you were like? >> it was one of the worst experiences of my life. i remember first pulling up.
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but the rest i'm beyond. i blacked out. my mind tends to psych itself out for me to be something i'm not, to put me in a position like that. it was kind of -- the whole thing was kind of a mind trip within a mind trip with myself. it was kind of -- like do i want to act crazy to get myself out of it. and was i really going crazy or was it just my mind playing tricks on my mind kind of thing. the whole thing wasn't made up. i was kind of on the edge over a lot of the stuff. because with the s.w.a.t. and all that other stuff and me being in here it was -- >> absolutely. >> things getting to me that i never even encountered ever in my life before. >> all right. you take care. today, clearly, there were no symptoms observed or complained of, of any mental illness. >> no. >> just absent totally today.
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he did seem to be reconciling with reality, and yet what he was saying wasn't quite reality. >> for the past 24 years, reality for michael keenan has been living on ohio's death row fighting the state's decision to execute him. two years earlier, his codefendant had his conviction overturned, and his case dismissed due to misconduct by the prosecution. soon after, keenan had his conviction overturned as well. but the prosecution has requested a new trial. keenan's lawyers have filed a motion to dismiss the case outright. nowit in the hands of the judge. as keenan's freedom hangs in the balance, his 1988 booking photo is a reminder of how much his life has changed behind bars. >> i almost did not recognize myself. where has he gone? where has he gone? >> keenan says the biggest change in his appearance was not
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a result of time, but of stress. >> it went from this to this. >> how quickly? >> just like that. i -- apparently like almost overnight when they said we're going to kill you. >> for a man who once called himself the don juan of cleveland heights, maybe the biggest change to his life is miriam, his wife of 18 years, whom he married while on death row. she now lives in her native colombia. >> does she speak english? >> she has learned some, yes. >> how do you guys communicate? >> i know spanish now. ci, ci. so i send her a letter once a week. >> keenan hopes one day he and miriam will be together. and today a new development in his case has brought him one step closer. prosecutors still want to retry him. but have taken the death penalty off the table. >> as soon as they did that, judge rousso said to me he would give me time served.
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if i wanted to think about pleading to something. and then i could leave today or whatever day. >> but keenan isn't so sure it's a deal he wants to accept. >> they don't have any evidence, they never did. this is their way to save face. after 23 years of saying i didn't do anything, they want me to plead guilty to something to lock up. and so then, of course, everyone will say, well, hey, he pled guilty, he must have done it. to me, it sounds more like a cop-out than a victory. that's not a victory. >> keenan's choice is to accept a plea deal now and go home. or face trial for murder in hopes he will either win or the judge honors his motion to dismiss the case and releases him. if he's found guilty, he could go back to prison. >> i said keep fighting like you've been fighting. that's all we can do is keep fighting, man, because ain't nobody going to fight for us. if you give up on yourself, a lot of people where you just came from -- a lot of people
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that might die today or die tomorrow on death row. you're one step closer to going home. it took you 20 years, but you're coming home. >> you have a big decision. >> i know. huge. i'm leaning towards trial. unless miriam just blows me away and says no, no, come out, come out. then i just have to take the lumps, i guess. >> coming up. >> this is you when you first came in here. >> nathaniel jordan takes a look back at his arrival in intake. [ thunder crashes ] [ female announcer ] some people like to pretend a flood could never happen to them. and that their homeowners insurance protects them.
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for 2 years with qualifying bundles. rethink possible. hello, everyone, i'm betty nguyen. here's what's happening this evening. president obama joined the washington press corps for the white house correspondence dinner. after, he took time to honor the people of boston and the journalists who covered the recent bombings. and a mississippi man has been arrested and charged with sending ricin-laced letters to president obama, a u.s. senator and a judge. james everett dutschke could
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face life in prison if convicted. we'll have more news later. now, it's back to "lock up." due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. nathaniel jordan continues to bide his time in cleveland's cuyahoga county correction center. gazing out his window, or reading religious books, he has been nothing but calm and compliant. but when he first arrived, it was very different. >> this nation told me to shoot the [ bleep ] in the face! ahhh! >> due to his out of control behavior, jordan was never able to be formally booked into the jail. so today officer henderson oh will take him through the process. >> how are you doing, mr.
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jordan? i'll take you town to booking and get you fingerprinted. get your picture taken. >> jordan's stay at the jail is likely to be a short one. he is awaiting extradition on charges of armed robbery and attempted murder. >> so whenever they come, i should be back to indiana. that's about automatic i know right now. >> jordan says that his outburst is still a mystery to him. in meeting with mental health staff, jordan insisted he had not taken any drugs that day. but he appeared unsure when asked if his actions were real or not. >> it was kind of a mind trip within a mind trip of myself. do i want to act crazy, you know, to get myself out of it, you know. >> jordan says he had a brain tumor removed as a child and ever since has been subject to blackouts that bring out erratic behavior when under stress. >> my mind tends to shut down
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and i go into a state of mind where i feel like i'm not conscious. >> jail officials allowed us to show jordan video we shot of his arrival to see how much of it he recalls. >> i'm going to play this for you, okay? and this is you when you first came in here. >> wrapping around my neck and -- [ bleep ] ahhh! >> so watching that, what do you think? who is that guy? >> i don't know. >> nathaniel, was that an act, or was that you? >> crazy thing is, i don't remember it. i don't remember none of this. >> well, what was it like seeing yourself like that?
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>> i didn't like seeing it. that's why this is so surprising right now. i mean, it wouldn't be half as surprising if i knew what i did. but it's just -- wow. >> are you okay, though? having this -- this part of you seen? >> as long as they get to see this part. >> they'll see this part. >> yeah. >> i ain't never take no [ bleep ] bath salts! >> i'm pretty sure people are going to look back, like, that's nate? i still say i was dreaming. >> at one point, it sounds like you told the doctors you were playing the crazy card. >> no, i told them i was playing the crazy card by -- when i was beating myself up. and, you know -- how am i going to get out of this, you know. maybe, you know, i throw my pants in there, because i have
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been in psychiatric hospitals. i do have brain problems. i do have a lot of issues going on. but i still put my heart in my flip flops when i see that video, because, i mean, i can't even imagine myself faking that. my mind caved in. >> while jordan believes his behavior was the result of childhood surgeries that removed a brain tumor, he also says he has a history of drug use that dates back to the sixth grade. >> two days after my first surgery, i smoked a blunt. two days after my surgery. and i remember it. reactions that happened the most off of drugs that, you know, happened to me in a more -- in a bigger way. a normal high off of weed for a normal person would be 30 times more enhanced to me, because,
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you know, my brain and stuff like that. >> and with that, jordan's account of his behavior in intake took another turn. >> okay. help me understand this. are you 100 percent sure you didn't ingest some kind of drug? >> to be quite honest, i actually -- yeah. i actually think i -- yeah, i did. i was in the hotel room in one of the maintenance guys worked around there. he had all of these prescription pills, and i took a whole bunch of them. >> but nathaniel, why did you not tell anybody you took these unknown drugs? you told everybody you didn't take anything. why weren't you honest about that? >> i thought me playing -- me
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playing the psycho role would give me more leverage than me saying it was drug-induced. but i feel better now, you know. because it's kind of hard to play crazy when you're not really crazy. whatever drug i did take, man, that drug -- caused me more pain than it did a sensational high. >> we're worried about it happening again. >> yes and no. actually scratch the no. yeah, i'm actually kind of worried. i am. i'll be honest. because seeing yourself on videotape like that, whoa. what's wrong? >> coming up. >> i have an opinion with respect to the motion to dismiss. and so i'm going to read that opinion here this morning. >> mikett keenan makes a life ad death decision and now his future is in the hands of one man. it's delicious. so now we've turned her toffee into a business.
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you wouldn't happen to know what morgan manufactured. i've been following this stock the last two weeks. >> you follow the stock market? >> yeah, make some money. >> thanks to you? >> my subscription. >> inside the cuyahoga county corrections center, michael keenan is not only popular with other inmates. he has even developed a cordial relationship with some of the jail's special response team members. >> i just refer you guys -- you're all black. that's the reason. i don't know if they know karate or not. >> ninja, men in black. >> you've been called worse. >> ninja is one of the nicer ones. we're good. >> after 24 years on death row for a murder he says he did not
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commit, keenan has a court hearing today. that could change his life. he was recently offered a plea deal that would release him based on time already served. but that still means he would be admitting to a crime. >> prosecution wanted me to plead to involuntary manslaughter. for me to take a deal, any kind of deal that requires a body, it's basically telling the world and god that my parents and catholic priest, my upstanding clients, and even my friends at the time were all lying. which i just couldn't rightly do. i couldn't justify it. i said no. to the whole deal thing. i just want to get it out at the expense of my soul. >> the judge will now rule on keenan's motion to dismiss his case for prosecutorial misconduct. if the judge grants the motion, keenan will be a free man. if he rejects it, the case will
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proceed and keenan will be retried for murder. >> the court is going ton on the record, the state of ohio versus keenan. >> watching from the gallery is michael's younger brother, patrick, along with members of the defense team. first, the judge will ask if keenan has accepted the plea deal. >> mr. keenan prepared to go forward with this change of plea. >> your honor, he is not. >> okay. that being said, then i have an opinion with respect to the motion to dismiss. and so i'm going to read that opinion here this morning. it is without question, based on the egregious history of the prosecutorial misconduct in this case that the state willfully withheld exculpatory evidence from keenan and his attorneys. the knowledge of this material prior to trial would have clearly benefited mr. keenan's case.
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i do want to state that the court wants to make a clear statement that the decision here today is not a reflection on the current team of assistant county prosecutors that have been assigned to this case. they have conducted themselves in a professional and forthcoming manner. nor is this a reflection of the court's opinion on keenan's guilt or innocence. instead, it is a decision that is founded on the basic right that our forefather's envisioned for those accused of a crime to be afforded a fair trial, free from prejudice and misconduct. in light of the state's egregious prosecutorial misconduct in keenan's former two trials, keenan cannot receive the fair and constitutional trial that he is entitled to today. and this court is going to dismiss this case with prejudice. the court finds that thomas michael keenan's motion to dismiss the indictment against him with prejudice must be
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granted in the interest of justice and fairness. i order the sheriff to release you upon being interviewed by court supervisors. >> thank you, your honor. >> thank you, judge. >> for the first time in 24 years, keenan will leave a courthouse without handcuffs. >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> so how you feel? go out here, feel this fresh air. are you ready? >> yeah, as ready as i can be, i guess. >> what haven't you had you're craving? >> a1 steak sauce, steak, real cheese and crackers. orida frozen french fries. >> as he heads back to his cell to collect his belongings, word of keenan's release has already spread. >> we love you, mike. >> you've got a lot of fans in here. >> that's because i help them. they're going to miss that too. trust me.
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ones that diplomat take notes -- >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> man -- >> thank you. >> i saw you on the news. they publicized the fact that they wrongfully incarcerated you. how do you feel today? >> shock, i guess, still. finally over. i can't believe it. >> a side benefit of today's ruling, keenan's concert tickets won't go to waste. >> i've got a concert date the end of october. rush. rush rush rush. >> you're going to make the rush concert. >> yeah. so the judge did not screw me out of that after all. i'm not going to miss it one bit. not even the scratched up mirror. >> is it starting to sink in? >> not yet. but when i load all this stuff in the truck and i'm actually in the truck driving away, i think that's when it will sink in. >> thank you. all right. >> be good, man.
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>> yep. >> yay! >> no more facing the back. you don't have to face the back of the elevator. >> that's a first. man. glasses on. >> how are you doing? i've got something for you. i have mom and dad's ashes. >> of course you do. >> i want you to go out of here with them. >> all right. >> all right? >> all right. mom and dad. >> his mother and father's ashes in that heart right there. >> we're so happy for you, michael. >> thank you, thank you. i'm happy for me too.
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>> we're all happy that judge rousso ruled the way he did. now what we're going to do is we're just going to enjoy our family. put this back together, and enjoy that. and there's so much love out there, and that's what we're coming out into. >> look, you're free! you don't care? >> no. >> he's in shock. >> he's in shock. >> what emotions are you feeling? >> relief that it's over. >> there's pat. >> i can't believe the ninjas are loading the truck. thank you so much, gentlemen. >> good luck to you, man. >> thank you. and thank you for doing the cart thing. >> all right. have a good one. >> good luck to you. >> thank you. >> never look back. because the past is the past. the future is bright.
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as the song lyric goes. coming up. >> i can't even get the menu. this sucks! >> michael keenan adjusts to a world very different from the one he left. [ clang ] my house is where plants came to die. but, it turns out all i was missing was miracle-gro potting mix. it's got what a plant needs like miracle-gro plant food that feeds them for up to six months. you get bigger, healthier plants, guaranteed. who's got two green thumbs thanks to miracle-gro? ah, this gal. boom! with the right soil, everyone grows with miracle-gro.
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when the doctor told me that i could smoke for the first week... i'm like...yeah, ok... little did i know that one week later i wasn't smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, or if you develop new or worse symptoms.
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get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. people around you...they say, you're much bigger than this. and you are. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you.
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one thing that can can can always be counted on at cleveland's cuyahoga county correction center, is that the inmate population will never be the same one day to the next. every day, new inmates arrive. while others move on. because his alleged crime occurred out of state, nathaniel jordan's stay here didn't last long at all. >> he had out of state warrant for indiana county. they transported him to indiana. so he went back. he'll serve his time there.
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>> jordan will face charges of attempted murder and robbery in indiana. but his arrival at cuyahoga county will not soon be forgotten. >> ah! >> inconsistencies in his story and his immediate response to a sedative left the jail's mental health staff speculating as to whether jordan's behavior was due to a disorder, trucking drug use or if it was all just an act. >> he might have wanted psychotic behavior to mr. a defense strategy. >> he's a very smart guy. when you're on the run, you've got to make all of the right moves. it's not easy to be on the run. so it's very possible that he decided to do it for a secondary gain. >> justice, he's in my [ bleep ] head! >> i could truly make an argument for ten different reasons what could have gone on that night. and we may never know. as they say, there is the one version, the other version, and
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somewhere in between is what really happened. >> michael keenan spent over two decades on death row before a judge dismissed his case for prosecutorial misconduct. today he is a free man, making his way through a world vastly different than the one he left behind. >> it's been almost two months. i'm acclimating just fine. i've pretty much been on an extended vacation. it feels normal. it does. it really feels normal. i'm not jumping up and down with joy or anything. you know. or doing cart wheels. this is just coming back to being normal. it's not like a reward or anything. i'm, you know, the same old person. >> you're here. >> no, that was a natural effect after being released. went back to its original color. >> keenan has been working to restart his landscaping
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business, and is staying at the home of his younger brother, martin. >> i would think that getting out of prison after 23 or 24 years, you would be ecstatic to be outside and smell the fresh air and everything. and you ask him what's going on, and it's like, well, this is expected or this is not new. >> what has been fun for you since you've been out. what have you enjoyed, revelled in? >> absolutely nothing. i pretty much learn to hide and bottle up emotions. you just do that kind of stuff on death row. i think the best thing about being out is i don't see any uniforms. ever. and i see leaves and grass that i actually do walk on. i don't care if it's somebody else's yard. i do walk on it. okay. let's see if we can find a menu on this thing. okay. the menu doesn't work. >> for keenan, the simplest tasks now all come with a learning curve. >> if i want to do a lot more than just ring.
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i can't even get the menu. this sucks! >> keenan has noticed other changes, as well. >> i've noticed that a lot of people drink diet beer now. i had to acclimatize myself no matter what restaurants you go into, you get free refills. that's a new thing too. i'm still looking for bell bottom jeans, though. >> time has stood still for you. >> yeah, it has. it really has. >> keenan does appreciate one thing about this new world. the ease with which he can speak to his wife miriam in colombia. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> talking to my wife has the happiest -- the happiest thing in my wife to date since my release. >> when is miriam coming up? >> somewhere around, i don't know -- i want to say the 15th. >> how long can she stay for? >> ever.
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>> she is going to come here permanently? wow. so i take it she is staying here. >> well, yeah, that was -- well -- i'm not angry. or bitter. what goes around comes around, they say. can't say i'm grateful i went to death row. but i'm grateful that my lifestyle changed. and has remained changed. i gave up my former ways. no more of the don juan of cleveland heights. no more sex, drugs. but the rock and roll is still there. ♪ it's an evening with rush. >> tonight, keenan is attending the concert he has waited 24 years to see. >> this will make me happy tonight. i'll be happy tonight. >> typical cleveland weather. it sucks. the people i was taking to the concert have cancelled on me. at the last minute, of course.
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now i'm displeased. there is something i'm displeased about. yeah, this really sucks. i really thought i was going to this concert with some people. but they -- but they -- >> 70. >> are you someone famous? >> i was on death row for 24 years. >> oh, thanks -- god bless you. >> thank you, sir. >> oh, it's going to be a good concert. now i sold the tickets. hello? it started at 7:30 and i just sold the tickets. >> how do you feel now? >> better. i got to bitch her out. >> have fun. >> thank you.
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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." >> if personal relationships can get complicated on the outside, they can be even more complicated behind bars. >> my mom gave me the best advice. everything that has happened in my life, she told me that was going to happen. >> are you having a relationship with gay men or straight men here?

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