spring creek are operating at maximum capacity. to alleviate the overcrowding about one-third of alaska's inmates are sent to private facilities in arizona. that's our report. thanks for watching. i'm john seigenthaler. due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. there are 2 million people behind bars in america. we open the gates. "lockup." >> i'm not disappointed in anything i've done. i've made the decisions i've made. you have to be a strong-minded individual. >> i have seen staff assaulted. i have seen staff die. >> i had lost a pint and a half of blood. the doctors say, i don't know how much more you could have taken. >> i guess this is better than nothing.

>> i shot a man and i burned him up in a car after i had shot him. >> i get to be here till i die. i got double life and i got to stay here till i die. >> i don't know how you feel about it but i'm ready to receive something from god. >> with my retirement pending, i was in jail for having taken someone's life. >> the day of an execution the facility goes on lock-down. >> denial is rife in the dead penalty. i don't think my mother especially ever thought that i would be executed. >> the oldest maximum security facility in the state of indiana is the indiana state prison located near the shores of lake michigan. for years isp as it's known had a reputation as one of the toughest in the state. but as you're about to see in the next hour new policies and philosophies are trying to make this a place where history won't repeat itself.

fortresses behind a 40-foot-high wall that stretches a mile long is a highly secure city known as indiana state prison. originally built to hold prisoners during the civil war, isp has a history of housing some of the state's most serious criminals. nearly 2,000 maximum security inmates spend their days behind these century-old walls. >> the number one charge at this facility is murder. approximately 70% of the offenders housed here are housed here for taking the life of another human being. >> while the majority of prisoners here have committed violent crimes the prison has worked hard to create a safe environment for both staff and inmates. one improvement was the administrative segregation unit. >> back in the early '90s we had problems throughout the whole institution where we had violence every place. we had assaults fights stabbings, all the different stuff that goes along with that. and what we did is we come up

with administrative segregation unit and we isolated the ones that was doing all of this. after we did that we pretty much stopped our assaults and everything else. we still have assaults on these units up here on our disciplinary segregation unit but it's down about 85% in population. >> the men housed in ad seg are allowed an hour of recreation per day in an enclosed yard. the rest of the time they're confined to their cells. >> this is my lay z boy, my chair. sitting in a cell for years and years and years will mess your back up. because these steel beds. through the years people jump up and down on them so that makes them uneven give you a back problem the rest of your life. >> convicted for murder and attempted murder jock codailily has spent more than 11 years in ad seg. >> it's challenging being locked

up here in the a.s. unit because you have the opportunity to be still and decide what you want the rest of your life to look like. it's boring. and it's cold. and it's lonely. it's not a fun place to be. >> in ad seg, food books, legal materials, even spiritual guidance are delivered to the inmates' cells. >> god bless you. i'm just going to get out of here. and i won't bother you anymore. >> father tom mcnally, a retired priest works as a volunteer chaplain. he routinely visits the men in ad seg. but must wear a protective stab vest at all times. >> i come out here and just talk to the men. if any of them want to talk to me. some are catholic some are not. fy can do anything to help them maybe give them a greeting card or a magazine. above all, if they want me to

pray with them i'll pray for them, for their intentions. just sort of be with them for a while. tell me have you taken a look at that book yet? i don't want it back unless you're finished with it. >> i'm ready about halfway. >> good seeing you. pick up the book next time. i can get it back in the library. see you later. >> there's nothing i do in here. i stay in my cell 23 1/2 hours a day. you know. it's hard to get through the day days. you see the conditions of these cells. i need all the help i can get. >> ernie johnson, serving 26 years for robbery, was sent to ad seg for assaulting another inmate. >> i got into a fight. i have a real problem with child molesters. and i don't like them around me. i don't want them near me. i don't even want them in this prison. far as i'm concerned they can die. and when they get around me and they start talking and they think it's okay to reveal that

they're child molesters, i'm going to -- every time they say that i'm going to smash them. >> second gate! >> before an inmate is sent to ad seg, he must first serve time in the "i" detention unit or idu. in this highly secured cell block, offenders have even fewer privileges and almost no contact with each other. >> kind of like the prisoner jail inside the prison. they're not allowed to have hot pots or anything they can cook with. limited property they're allowed to have up here. any time they come out of the cell they have to be restrained behind their back with an escort. the offenders up here are the most violent offenders in the prison. at any time they might try to reach out and stab you through the bars. if you're on the catwalk, if they have a homemade weapon, they can try to stab you that good. an offender who is good can slip the handcuffs if you're not careful, they can assault you

that way. >> nicholas corwin was sentenced to one year here the maximum amount of time. >> something went down in my cell house and i was accused of being involved in it. an individual needed to be took to a local hospital and because of that i was sent up here. i'm not disappointed in anything that i've done. i've made the decisions that i've made. we're caged like animals for 23 hours a day. we're given food that's of poor quality. there isn't enough of it to keep us full in between meals. and that's just how we live our lives. up next -- >> my life almost ended right upstairs. it was just that easy. within seconds, your whole life can change. >> an officer returns to the scene of a brutal attack that almost killed her. and later, we'll take you inside isp's death row. >> this is the holding area for the condemned offender.

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65% of the people employed by the indiana state prison are custody officers who work directly with offenders. most armed only with handcuffs a can of mace and a remote radio. >> what's the biggest challenge inside the walls? >> making it back outside the walls. that's the biggest challenge. >> all aspects behind the wall can be dangerous. it's how you handle yourself in a situation, how you present yourself to the offenders. >> we're ready in charlie. >> these guys will not give us a lick of respect unless we respect them first. we treat them like men, we treat them like human beings. we don't talk down to them. i go out of my way not to know what particular crime they're in here for because i don't want to be judgmental. >> most correctional officers agree that maintaining authority without provoking hostility is a cat balancing act. >>off got to pick a line, draw it in the sand stick to it.

you can't vary every day. you can't be their buddy tomorrow and be hard on them the day afterwards. you've got to stick to your guns and hold true to what you believe in and just do your job. you don't have to be supercap, you just have to do your job. >> mississippi, how you doing? everything going good? all right. >> lieutenant howard runs c cell house. >> second largest in the nation we have 386 offenders here. i've been here 13 years. i've spent half of my time in this cell house. from an officer to a sergeant to a lieutenant. and i've always said if you can run this cell house you can run anything here. holiness, how are you? >> i'm fine and yourself? >> good. staying out of trouble? >> no doubt. i see you're making your hollywood debut. >> is that what it? all right. >> my secret is respect, communication, talking to these guys like men. i don't treat them like children, they're grown men. they ask me a question i give

them an honest answer. if i don't have the answer i'll find the answer for them. i've responded to many emergencies, fights stabbings, numerous medical emergencies, hangings. but personally me no i've never been assaulted. >> lieutenant chris st. martin was one of the first women to work at indiana state prison. an isp veteran of 16 years, she was promoted to become the first female lieutenant at the facility. >> when i came in the only place a female could work was in front of gate 3. the only other females were medical staff at that time. and then with the change of population, change of the schematics of d.o.c. we finally started to work our way behind the walls. a lot of the females actually quit when they found out they had to go in. i was one of the lucky ones. i had joined the k9 unit prior to us coming inside the walls so by the time they actually opened it up for us, most of the fellows knew me already and i wasn't the strange oddity coming inside. like i said it's all in

internal affairs' hands why you're on key lock. it's all in internal affairs. right now i need you to lose the sheet and i need you to lose all those posters off that back wall. acceptance by staff and inmates is a hard thing to earn in here. sometimes respect comes a little bit quicker than it does with males. a lot of it is ego where they're bucking the male staff, where they don't have to prove anything to a female. hey. i need you to take the clothes off the conduit because that's not allowed. and that extra little shelf you got going, that's a no-no. okay? always have to have your eyes and ears open. you have to sense the atmosphere the environment. but i have seen staff assaulted, i have seen staff die. it's a very violent environment. and it can happen. nobody i don't believe really knows the true reasons why, sometimes. >> i'm really nervous. i'm really nervous. >> two years ago, officer karen

tally was brutally assaulted and nearly died. today is her first day back behind the walls of "b" cell house. karen originally started work at the prison in 1997. >> in the michigan city area there's not a lot of jobs. and i had two small children. and i had to find a job that could pay the bills, you know and be able to support them. >> at the time officer tally was responsible for supervising "b" cell house, an important part of her job was securing the inmates back in their cells with a system called rolling of the bar, an archaic locking device left over from an earlier era. >> that day, chow lines had run late. and i said, come on, guys, go in your cell you miss roll-in, you know what happens. i figured all of them would be in. i rolled the bar. bigger than anything here's three of them didn't make it. so i went down the range and i started at the end and worked my way up.

the last cell that missed roll was 424. i locked his door went to 418, locked his door went to the next cell 410. i said come on go on in your cell. he said, i'm not going in. i said, just go in. i had never had an incident never had crosswords with him. and he kept slow walking. and this was totally out of the norm. at that time, a sick feeling just overcomes you and you think, wow. something's not right. so i called for my sergeant on the radio. he said, it will be a minute. and the guy just hit me. and -- the first hit i believe knocked me out. i remember going down. and i don't remember the actual impact of hitting the ground. >> she was up against the expanded metal in the fetal position, and he kept kicking at her, aiming at her head her stomach, tried to get to her

kidneys. another officer on the unit assigned to the unit had come up the back stairwell and seen an incident, called the signal 7, and came to her aid. >> both of my eyes were busted right in the eyebrows. i had 50 stitches in the my eyebrows. he broke my jaw. it was broken two places. i had -- on my forehead he kicked the skin from my skull. i had lost over a pint and a half of blood that day. and the doctor said i don't know how much more you could have taken. had he kicked you one more time, he could have killed you. without a doubt, you could have died. >> you're all right. you're okay. you're okay. get you through this. good job. good job. good job.

good job. almost there. almost there. there you go. safe and sound. want my chair? take the big one. >> can i have some -- >> yes, you can. sit down. sit down. there you go. >> seeing her come into that emergency room and the fear in her eyes. and one of the first things she said to me is why me? why did this happen? and i didn't have the answers for her. and that -- that really is difficult when you can't answer a fellow staff member why. >> close 3, close 2! >> currently officer tally monitors the trucks that deliver

food to the prison. the inmate who attacked her faces aggravated battery charges and was moved to another facility. >> the only contact i have is with the pdr officers and the tower officer. that's it. i only have contact with personnel. i never have offender contact. coming back was really difficult. it was really, really difficult. but i have -- have small children and you have to -- in life you have to adapt and overcome things. and pretty much i've had to do that. i had to come back to show them you know someday you have did face your fears. you may be scared to death. but you know you're going to be okay. up next the harsh price one inmate pays for breaking the rules. >> i wish i could touch her and hug her. but i guess this is better than nothing.

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we've gathered intelligence via the offender phone system that indicates several visitors may be in fact in possession of narcotics or other contraband. they're coming down through a shakedown area now. we're going to basically confront those individuals. the first suspect is being searched with ion scan right now. >> the ion scan is a small vacuum-like device. >> this is the second suspect. he also is being scanned at this time. we scan the hands and basically arms, the collar anywhere somebody might reach with their hands after handling contraband. he's very apprehensive about what's going on. you can see this first suspect, she's standing with her arms crossed, she's very closed in. he also did the same thing. basically, that's you know kind of a protective type stance. >> officers move in to question the suspects. >> what they're doing now is interviewing them to see if they

have enough probable cause to make an arrest on the spot. which allows you to make a search and then obtain the material that they would have on themselves. or if they don't have enough probable cause and the people are not cooperating and they say they want to leave, then we have to let them leave. but in that case, if a superintendent is going to par them forever from ever visiting anybody in the department of corrections. because the evidence we have is so strong. >> they have elected to leave grounds instead of going through the more thorough search. and so that's where we're at right now. i would suspect that one or both of them were carrying something and that's based on all the intelligence, the whole picture put together. but obviously we don't have -- i can't prove that by any means. i just -- basically that's my gut feeling. >> for the offenders who traffic

or use contraband including tobacco, the consequences are severe. >> i had three dirty urine tests since i've been here for marijuana. >> jerry bonds, serving 85 years for holding up a liquor store and killing the owner, is now on permanent noncontact visits with his family. >> it hurts. they come up here and know like my daughters, i have one 11 1one 12. my son, it's like how can i tell you guys to be good stay out of trouble, every time you see me i'm on restriction from visits. i can't have visits because i'm in trouble. they're like well you're kind of a hypocrite, dad. you're telling me to be good but you're not being good. my father i've never met a man like him. that's the rock of the family right there. a lot of times i feel like i disrespected him by coming this way. everything he was trying to tell me i needed to pay attention to and i didn't.

that's one person i've got to prove to that i have changed. fy can be half the man he is, i'd be a better person. i'm just -- i'm just anxious, man. i want to see them so bad. i wish i could touch them and hug them. i guess this is better than nothing. what's up? grab the phone. what's up man? how you all doing? you're looking cute. you get your present? >> the hardest part is like

seeing him behind the glass. and -- he's in here and stuff. so i really want him to get out. >> when his kids can't hug him, like i told him, he's hurting his kids. you know i can stand the hurt. sometimes kids can't. >> thanks for bringing them up for me dad, man. >> we ran into some problems. >> okay. >> you should talk to your mom. >> all right, love you. >> love you too, dad. >> how you. >> thanks for bringing them. how you doing? >> oh fine. glad to see you. >> glad to see you too. >> we only have an hour when we come up here with a contact visit. and so for them to be able to hold his hand touch his face give him a kiss that carries them to the next visit. >> what's up? how you doing? i haven't seen you in what two, three months? you been good? you still doing good in school? are you? you get there this morning?

>> uh-huh. >> look up let me see you, let me get a smile, man, i ain't seen you in a while. >> i want him to be here then i don't want him to be here. i want him to learn his lesson while he's here so that when he comes home he knows right from wrong, know what to do and know what not to do at the right time so he won't do it again. >> i want to let him know that we love him no matter what. but make it easier on us when we come up here. >> if bonds maintains a clean record for one year he can petition to get his contact visits restored. >> i'm praying, hoping that this is the last time they have to come up here -- up next -- >> ultimately the worst thing i think to have to deal with that is you get up one morning knowing that you only have 12 18 hours to live. i mean that's an awesome thing to have on your mind. >> inside indiana state's

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due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. indiana state prison is the only facility in the state with an execution chamber. not every inmate facing the death penalty in indiana is on death row at isp. but many of them could be put to death there. the death penalty was reinstated in indiana in 1977. nearly two dozen men are housed on isp's death row. >> how you doing? >> how are you? >> okay. let me know if you need anything. >> we get this perception that these guys are total monsters. but there is a chance that every individual can in the heat of the moment do something that they're not proud of and regret very much. ultimately, the worst thing i think they have to deal with is

that you get up one morning knowing that you only have 12 18 hours to live. i mean that's an awesome thing to have on your mind. >> death row cells are larger than most, measuring about 10 feet by 12 feet. but this section of the prison operates like a segregation unit. >> a day consists of them being in their cells for 22 1/2 hours. currently they get an hour outside of the cell for recreation, and then after the recreation period is over they get 30 minutes for a shower. and unless they're going out on a pass to medical or on a visit, most of their time is spent in their cells. >> each week superintendent ed buss visits face to face with every offender in the unit. >> segregated offenders tend to have higher rate of suicide. they tend to develop mental illness quicker than offenders who are walking around in open population. so by doing that we get a chance

to see, talk to every one of them, gauge how they're doing from week to week. and on death row that's really important. >> how's the cat? >> good. >> is she shy? >> to help inmates cope with their heavy sentences, superintendent buss approved a feline adoption program. >> everything in your cell working? >> yes. >> okay. >> i was chosen to adopt and i got one the day after i asked to be put in the program. >> convicted of murder in 1982 mark wisehart has been on death row for 23 years. >> 23 years ago, i thought -- i thought i was going to be dead before five years was up. and instead i've watched men i knew for 20 years go in front of me. that's been hard. i didn't know if i wanted to bring a cat into a place like this where she's going to have to be restrained and can't really take her outside. but i think she knows i love her. it's a trade-off, i guess. i've never been responsible for

anybody but me in my whole life. and i have to care for her and she cares for me. she loves me and i love her. i think that's pretty cool. >> the big things you tend to handle well. it's the little annoyances every day that tend to get under guys 'skins. just the little petty things that mount up. when you have this amount of stress level, you don't really need those type of things. a lot of times you get them anyway. you've got to find a way to handle them, to deal with them. everybody deals with them in a different way. some guys exercise some watch tv, some read do crossword puzzles. it just depends on whatever. but, you know weapon don't have a whole lot we can do in here because this is our world, more or less. >> eric wrinkles was convicted of shooting and killing his estranged wife, her brother, and sister-in-law. >> a combination of drugs and a divorce. child custody and visitation. and i was into methamphetamine

pretty heavy at the time. and one thing led to another. and here i sit. i think that my kids don't want to deal with it at all. and my mom, she's just now coming to grips with the situation. >> for inmates on death row, their day of execution is never far from their minds. >> the day of an execution, the general population goes to breakfast in the morning. after breakfast, the entire facility goes on lockdown. at approximately 5:00 the offender will be seen by medical one last time. he will say good-bye to his family friends, loved ones. and he will be walked by the death watch team over to the death chamber. this is the holding area for the conchemmed offender. he is brought here approximately six to seven hours before the execution will occur. he will be placed in this cell. he will then have access to a spiritual adviser, he'll have access to television and to a

telephone so he can make any last-second phone calls he needs to make leading up to the execution. this is where the visitors are brought to witness the execution shortly after midnight. the blinds are closed. when the team is ready to begin or commence the execution, the blinds will be opened. the offender will be allowed to acknowledge the witnesses. and then the execution will proceed. the condemned offender will be placed on the gurney. the mechanical restraints will be taken off. he will then be put in these leather restraints as well as other extra restraints. the iv team will insert ivs in both the condemned offender's arms. the offender is asked for his final words which are audio recorded and written down. if there's no last-appeals the offender is then advised that the execution is to commence shortly. he is told to look over and acknowledge his witnesses. after he's done that the order for the execution to commence

begins. >> denial is rife in the death penalty. i don't think my mother especially ever thought that i would be executed. but, you know. you can't say that. up next -- >> i've been in this business 26 years. and i've had offenders tell me boss, i'll never be back. or this is the last time i'm doing time. and unfortunately, they've said it to themselves many times. >> how isp tries to cut down on repeat offenders. >> and what did you do in prison to prepare you for your release?

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nice. [ blows ] [ gong ] m'm! m'm! good! oqcqgqgcóóósw on any given week an average of ten offenders are

brought to indiana state prison. >> okay gentlemen, right this way. we'll get some paperwork taken care of. so come on right over here. whether they are returning or a brand new arrival, first you have to remember they are a human being like anybody else. but by the grace of god we could all be here. so you don't want to treat them with any disrespect but you want to answer any questions that they have, if they have any fears, try to put that aside and just make the process as easy as it can be. >> and if you'll go ahead and fill this out for me, sir. >> reginald smith, a convicted robber, was recently released from another maximum security facility for crimes that include felony possession of a firearm and conspiracy to escape. he will spend the next 16 months at indiana state. >> sad to say i was out nine months. yeah i was out only nine months. caught a dirty -- know what i mean drugs. found myself back in another maximum security facility again. >> submit is not alone. a large number of inmates who

are brought to isp have previously served time. >> i've been in this business 26 years. and i've had offenders tell me boss, i'll never be back. or this is the last time i'm doing time. and unfortunately, they've said it to themselves many times. but when they get out of an institutional setting like the maximum security prison that we're in today, there is a true barrier in front of them. >> to cut down on the number of offenders who end up back behind bars, the state of indiana has mandated an intensive re-entry program. >> re-entry really is about preparing individuals to return to the community. i've had offenders that were the toughest of convicts inside a system, and their lip quivers when i tell them they're getting ready to go home. because they're fearful of that whole transition. these guys have been given the structure of life that you and i are accustomed to. they know when to get up they know when to go to bed, they know when to process everything in their day. and you know what? in the free world those are choices that we make. so we have to teach them how to

acquire the skill set necessary to make good choices. >> re-entry courses are mandatory and begin two years before an inmate's release date. >> we will separate them from general population and put them in a separate housing unit and give them intensive classes on life skills and cognitive thinking. >> i expect you to do the same expecting changes once you get out of here. >> society itself has probably changed a lot. buildings and people itself attitudes, you never know what you're going to run into when you get out. >> one of the main things you have to realize and understand you have to accept yourself first. you have to accept the terms that you come to and things that you've done. and as long as you can accept yourself first, that's a start to dealing with society. >> you're talking about social skills. how to choose your friends and make sure that you're choosing the right friends. the people that are going to help you instead of people that maybe will help you to get back

here. >> good morning. >> good afternoon, mr. jennings. i'm miss canrnegie. >> nice to meet you. >> you too. have a seat. >> mock job interviews sometimes reveal the harsh reality of making it in the real world. >> what did you do in prison to prepare you for your release? >> i had to look inside myself and decide what i wanted out of life. and i went through substance abuse. i went through some anger management training. and i decided what i wanted for myself. >> ricky colins appears confident. until it comes to the subject of his incarceration. >> yes, i was incarcerated for armed robbery. i was out five years. yes. >> and where were you incarcerated? >> i was incarcerated in several, you know, joints. throughout indiana, you know. >> the biggest problem is they tend to look down a lot. and i tell them whatever you

did, whatever crime you committed, you've done your time for that. i want you to lift your head of know that you have nothing to be ashamed of us bark you've done your time. that's why we do this because it's very important that they know that. >> at isp, self-improvement is also available to those whose release dates are decades away. >> i tell my mother all the time, you know don't think of me as being in prison. i'm in here trying to better myself. know what i mean? she's really worried about me because i am a sex offender. and it's really hard on sex offenders in prison in this environment. i got a class "a" felony child molestation. we had second one time she came up pregnant and had a baby. when we found out she was pregnant i turned myself in. i'm 35. i'll be 56 if i do the whole bit. i made the worst mistake of my life. made a really wrong decision. and now i'm really, you know -- i'm paying for it. >> all right. last week we did lesson six --

>> mark receives psychological counseling and anger management classes. >> i strike out first, violating others instead of being violated. that seemed to get me in a lot of trouble myself. a lot of times my motive was just to get what i wanted whatever i wanted when i wanted. >> and you'd do whatever you needed to do? >> do whatever i needed to do. >> i'm more than willing to be in all the programs that i can find out there, you know. and do whatever i have to do to be part of my family's life again. and make up for the wrong that i done. >> prison saved my life. i hate to say that. but prison saved my life. >> how you doing today, kids? >> joseph monagan is serving a 6060-year sentence he committed when he was a teenager. when he entered isp he ended up

in "d" cell house, a housing unit with a tough reputation. >> everybody kept telling me you need to come out of "d," you need to come out of "d." i was so wowed that i felt like you know just coming out, going to rec, that was the thing to do. couple of the old school brothers, they kind of cornered me. they say, we see some potential in you because you seem like you're leading this pack. and they said you going to school. you going to go to school. you going to quit running around, doing this doing that. so i was forced to go to school. i hate to say that but they forced me. it sound harsh. a lot of people they sign up they can't even get in school. here i am sitting here i was forced to go to school. first day was hard. because i was just ignorant. i never read no books. even in school. i never did nothing to have something to do with reading. i always had somebody that could be there to explain something to me. oh, man, you read that? yeah. what i was that about? that was my op so i didn't have

to read in books. >> monagan eventually passed the ged. >> first time i took it i passed. then they gave me an option. you can take a vocational trade or you can take 90 days free time. just kick back 90 days you don't have to do nothing. or you can go to college. college? no i ain't never heard of that not where i'm from. i signed up for college. >> monagan now tutors other inmates. >> if that person that you trying to teach does not want to learn, he's stubborn he's stonewall, then that's when guys like me come into the play. because i was stubborn and stonewall so i know what it feels like. and i'm willing to endure all those hardships that it take just to help you get your ged or whatever it is that you're trying to get. if you're trying to bring your grades up, that's what i'm here for. anything less than that you can keep the change. up next -- >> with my retirement pending, i

was in jail for having taken someone's life. >> a preacher convicted of murder finds a new congregation at isp. >> brothers we need to know today that change is possible. u sat out most of our game yesterday! asthma doesn't affect my job... you were out sick last week. my asthma doesn't bother my family... you coughed all through our date night! i hardly use my rescue inhaler at all. what did you say? how about - every day? coping with asthma isn't controlling it. test your level of control at asthma.com, then talk to your doctor. there may be more you could do for your asthma.

óóósw while an average of five to ten offenders are released per week from indiana state prison the majority of inmates will spend the rest of their lives

here. willard lucas has spent 29 years at isp. >> why i'm in here kidnap and murder. i caught a guy in bed with my old lady. and i blowed my top. and i kind of hurt him. i get to be here till i die. i got double life. and i got to stay here till i die. and hopefully i can stay right where i'm at. but there's a lot of us in here doing multiple life that won't never get out. and i'm one of them. >> open table. >> open table. 11 in the corner. >> calvin holmes has been in prison for 25 years. >> i have a total of 102 years and two life sentences. i was charmed with bank robbery and murder first degree murder and habitual criminal.

i shot a man. and i bumped him up in a car after i had shot him. >> as a younger man holmes tried to escape from prison twice. >> i was 26 years old and was determined i didn't want to die inside these walls. now i'm 51. i'll be 52 this year. so -- age and time slows a person down, changes your perspective, their attitude. i come to accept the fact after several attempts that i can make my life hard in here, i can make it easy. now i look in the mirror and i don't have the same i don't care attitude. i find in the end i do care. it matters what you do in here, it matters what you do out there. >> holmes eventually earned the right to live in one of the prison's two minimum security dormitories. >> in here, if you look around you'll find no parse. you have windows like on the street. it's a state of mind. you look at the bars 24/7.

and you can't never get away from the fact that you're locked up. so yes, a lot better you have a lot more freedom of movement. the reality is i'm going to die here. once i come to realize that, i slowed down all the things i was doing. i tried not to dwell what's on the other side of the walls. if i do -- i get to thinking about my freedom. >> change is possible. the word of god is truth. i said the word of god is truth. >> facing years behind bars one way that inmates at isp try to find strength is through their fade. >> till we get there we'll never really live in the light. we'll always live in the dark. >> come on pastor take your time. >> what's different about this church is that one of the most popular preachers is also an inmate.

>> how many brought your bible with him? let's just pray together. heavenly father thank you for hearing me in the name of jesus. >> i started preaching when i was about 15. and by the time i was 17 i was preaching out of a little church in minuteeral wells, texas. from there to kansas city where i served with the church for about 20 years or so. >> there comes a time when no matter how hard it is we have to get on with the business of seeing ourselves the way that we really are. >> i had announced my retirement to the church. and within three months of having left kansas city with my retirement pending, i was in jail for having taken someone's life. so i was charged with murder. and given a 50-year sentence.

>> he's a very important and compelling figure in the chapel and in fade and in this institution. there's an adage all people in press sons aren't bad people they just did bad things. i think martin is a person that falls in that realm. >> as a convicted criminal martin feared other inmates would never accept him as a man of god. >> one of the first things that we're going to have to do is we're going to have to learn to talk. i don't know how you feel about it but i'm ready to receive something from god. >> there's a large percentage of the prison who will not come to church because of my role. some don't believe that i have the right to stand where i stand. and i certainly understand that. on the other hand the fact that i do live here and have fallen on these circumstances allows me to speak to things in the a way that others cannot.

>> i need to know that he'll be with me when that sail comes closing in on me. i need to know that god is in there with me. >> the men tell me that they come here because they have found hope. and the church continues to grow because it does offer real hope. it's an oweasis for men who live in a desert. >> ed buss has implemented a number of change in the desert including the way in which staff interact with inmates. rather than ruling with an iron hand officers now spend time talking to offenders action solving problems immediately and rewarding good behavior with extra privileges. as a result, the warden says violent offenses at isp have been reduced by 50%. that's our report. thanks for watching. i'm john seigenthaler.

>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. there are 2 million people behind bars in america. we open the gates. "lockup." >> when i came here. >> beat on that [ bleep ] door again. beat on the door again. you, you, i want you to do it. you do it. >> 98% of these son of a bitches in here ought to be taken out somewhere and shot in the back of the head. >> sell it, sell it, sell it, sell it.