there are 2 million people behind bars in america. every day is battle to service and to maintain order. >> down, on your feet. >> this is lock-up, inside angola. certain sentences so long, most will die here. >> one out of every two is a murderer. >> violence close to the surface, ready to explode.

>> if you're not careful, trouble will find you. >> i will maintain my mental ability. >> two ways out. 90 miles from new orleans up the mississippi river lies louisiana state penitentiary. commonly referred to as angola, at 18,000 acres, it is the largest prison in america. started as a slave plantation in the 1700s, converted to a prison plantation at the end of the civil war, and taken over by the state in 1901, this storied land has seen more than its share of pain. it was once considered the bloodiest prison in america.

and its current population of 5,148 men served sentences so long it's estimated 98% of them will die here. things have changed and much credit goes to warden kane. >> if we can save one person from being a victim of violent crime, it's worth everything we do. and that's really what our mission is, it's not to torment and torture, but it's to correct bad behavior and do that any way you can. and the root way toot that is morality. moral people obviously don't rape, pilfer and steal. >> right here in the midst of angola, they see -- >> warden cane's approached morality works on two level. one, spiritual and religious. the other, engaging employment opportunities. church is optional.

work is not. >> i've been editing for about a month now. productions for about nine months. perhaps the most unusual innovation atten go la is the tv station. the only big house production company in the united states. >> you have to kind of step back and kind of ask, what would they ask? >> choose your consequence. >> i chose angola by the lifestyle that i was living. i'm not going to just lay down and live over. i want my life to mean something. it can, even though i'm in prison. >> every member of the tv station but one is serving a life sentence. >> well, i really enjoy it. it's a challenge. i like learning new things. hope to make a career out of it if i should ever get out of prison. >> lspt broadcasts on a closed

circuit system, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. there are religious shows, educational programming, and the most popular of all, sports. >> there's a show called "ringside." a boxing team will fight the boxing team there. >> sports keep people's minds off the tedium of time, and few sports are more popular than boxing. for those who make the team, it's a paid job. albeit the salary range is only four to 20 cents an hour. >> well, you know, doing what you love. i'm a boxer. that's what i love. this is what i want to do till the day i die. to do what you want is a sort of freedom. >> if boxing spices up angola's weekly tv schedule, it is the rodeo that provides the year's

greatest highlights. the stadium holds 10,000. people coming to see the spectacle. >> no, i never rode a bull in my life. i come up here, and it seemed like it all took place. >> inmates in good standing participate. no skill required. >> you nervous? you excited? >> nervous. >> about 51 years. >> does it hurt? >> just a little bit. >> the inmates also get awarded for winning the rodeo events.

80 dollars for winning the bull riding. cowboy of the year awarded to the highest scoring inmate gets a championship buckle. >> the worst inmates you can have in any area of the country, but yet they rehabilitate and can mingle with the people. we can have culture change within our prisons. >> some criticize the event's brutality. others say the prisoners don't deserve the excitement of the rodeo. >> these inmates who participate can be king for a day. that's something they never really get in prison. some people say well, who cares? i say well, what's one day? >> great day for a rodeo. >> get set for the event that is indeed unique to angola. >> it's about challenging the

boys. see who got the biggest, you know -- >> the biggest surprise is for guts and glory. the goal, pull a chip off of that bull's head. it's a brutal event and many a man has sacrificed his own blood and bones to take home the $500 prize, worth more than a year's wages. >> genesis chapter 1, versus 26 through chapter 8. he said let them have dominion over the fowl in the air, the fish of the sea, and the beast of the field and every creature on earth.

god gave this. thank god. coming up, while some at angola find freedom in the brutality of the rodeo arena, there are those who barely see the light of day. >> your restriction is too severe for me. >> you will be held here until you can get to the program. >> i have been without food for seven days now. latte or au lait?

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angola's soil is some of the richest in the united states. and with field work and livestock to attend, horses to be broken and vegetables to be grown, there is no such thing as an unemployed prisoner.

most of the inmates have bought into warden cane's program, but for those who refuse, there's camp jane, where the men send their days in solitary confinement. >> they hate being in camp jay, so they alter their behavior and once they get back in the population, they won't commit another rule infraction. the ones that come here come for serious rule infractions. maybe an aggravated fight. maybe for an assault on staff. it may be for attempting to traffic drugs inside the prison. >> inmates on level one only get out one hour two days a week. if you make it to level three, you get out three days a week. >> i got busted on this charge of aggravated rape, second-degree kidnapping. i'm not saying that i'm no saint, but i'm saying that everybody is, like, wrong -- everybody did wrong. everybody in this world done

stole, done lied, done killed, done did everything. ain't no crime that's greater than no other crime on this earth. you got some inmates supposed to be here. and you got some free folks supposed to be here. supposed to be locked up in here, not be working here, in here. >> trouble's not hard to find, if you're looking for it. and if you're not careful, trouble will find you. >> yes, sir. >> how you feeling? about normal? >> yes, sir. >> thin, man. you're not ready to eat? >> no, sir, i'm not going to eat anything until i can get some results. >> most try to pass through the program as quickly as possible. but then there are some men like billy mccoy who's been in and out of camp jay for over a decade. >> you'll get yourself back on track like you were just a week ago.

you were doing well. >> yes, sir. >> all right? i'm going to do everything i can to see that you goat ccr. >> watch this now. i am -- i have always been on track. i will maintain my mental stability when i am six feet underground. i will not lose my mental stability. this morning, since you mentioned that, this morning, one of your officers dashed a bucket of ice water in here on me because i won't eat. trying to force me into eating. the officer would not put a tray of food -- >> you and i both know that's not true. >> the officer would not put a food on the tray. the restriction is too severe for me. >> you will be held here until you can get through the program and conduct yourself according to the program. >> i'm conducting myself. i will die first. i have been without food for seven days now.

>> billy mccoy claiming he's been on a hunger strike for seven days. he's been on a strike for almost three days. he'll eat soon. he's done this before. he never stays on very long. he'll eat a meal and probably go on a hunger strike again right after that meal. >> for those who refuse to cooperate, even the most are eliminated. >> the different sanctions we can place on an inmate. one of the sanctions is food loof. it will be issued to an inmate who has been caught holding food in his cell, utensils or cuts, gets caught throwing food. >> basically you have a serving of everything from everything, have everything that's on the lunch tray, with the exception of dessert.

>> mash everything up. >> for men serving solitary time, keeping their sanity is the hardest challenge. each man has his own way to stay strong. >> expand your thoughts. you know, your thinking ability. you do better playing chess. it's a thinking man's game. >> the hardest part is being in a cell 24 hours a day, just maintaining your sanity and not letting the pressures get to you. you got a lot of pressure being in this cell. not being able to have the proper spacing. and just, you know, not being able to get out a lot. that's difficult. it's tough to maintain sanity like that.

outside, standing on our head in one spot. >> it's your move. >> the two of those guys, i think they probably will be out of camp jay soon. both of them have done well while they've been here. it's all about attitude. we can't help somebody if they don't want to help themselves. but i'm more than willing to help any of them who are willing to make that effort on their own behalf. coming up, two ways out of angola. one is hard earned freedom lurking just beyond the front gate. the other path is death. >> 2,000 pounds on my back. >> takes about a minute and a half to breathe the two breaths usually, and then they'll stop breathing.

there are close to 3,000 staff working around the clock to assuresmooth-running of this prison. many of them call angola their home, raising their children behind the beeline.

the citizens call it the safest town in america. >> anyone who lives here provides some sort of special service. like medicals here, doctors here, emts. the cows might get out. >> indeed, angola not only has its own zip code, it also has its own golf course. if the beeline is the safest part of angola, death row is the most ominous. executions have been temporarily halted, awaiting a ruling by the supreme court. in the meantime, the cells have been filling up. >> how you doing? good to see you. that's my buddy. ortiz. you doing good in here? >> yes. >> getting used to this cell block? >> these cells are larger than the ones we used to have. >> you're liking it better?

>> it's better. much better. >> it is better? >> definitely. >> manuel ortiz, convicted of murdering his wife and her friend, has been on the row since 1996. >> if you don't exercise your mind or your body start to deteriorate. we try to use push-ups, squats, things of that nature. because imagine 14 years in a cage. it take a toll on the body, and on the mind. >> all right. there's my frenchman. you still seeing that french woman? she still writing you? >> men have spent up to two decades here. while some pursue their cases to the last breath, others would just as soon give up. >> there are a lot of guys here. i can't mention the names, but they also like to get it over. you will come with this -- 2,000

pounds on my back every morning. carry the death penalty. it's something that is reality. >> until recently, contact visits, a chance for family members to touch death row inmates, have been prohibited. >> these guys have mommas and sisters and children and grandmas and all that. i don't think you ought to get to touch you when you're dead, after executed. i'm pretty passionate about letting them have that contact, if i know security is going to prevail. but you're not doing it as much for them as you're doing it for your family. a lot of people misunderstand that, say he shouldn't have a contact visit. well, his mother didn't commit the murder. you have to think about all sides of it when you're making decisions. >> contact visits or not, their time at angola ends at the death house. the method, lethal injection. >> at this point, strapped down,

get the shoulder straps. and i'm going to close the curtain. and out come the emts and they're going to start the ivs. we have from 6:00 to 9:00 to do it. there are the two phones. they are to the department of corrections and the governor's mansion. but they never ring. i give a signal, nod my head to start the process. and they'll start pushing the drugs. and it takes about a minute and a half to breathe the two breaths, usually. and then they'll stop breathing. >> did you find a vein with that much pressure? >> with the iv in his neck, he got a rush. he kind of raised up in the straps. i was holding his hand. he wanted me to hold his hand. i won't up having to put my thumb under here and push him down with my hand push his shoulder to the table and hold that so the iv wouldn't rub on the strap and dislodge.

but at the same time, i'm holding his hand. so you kind of get in conflict with yourself. hold him down, hold his hand to give comfort, but i couldn't be there to hold the victim's hand or i would have, so you do what you can here. >> warden cain has overseen six executions during his tenure. death by lethal injection might have been temporarily stalled, but death by incarceration never falters. the population is aging, with hundreds of men 60 years and older. even they dream of freedom. >> i got hopes. i just got denied. i wrote two weeks later. sent it back. said at this time, we can't put

you on parole because of the nature of your crime. which is never going to change. never. so here i am. with hope. and faith. if not, i'm going to die here. >> since death is a reality most men here must face, the casket job never lacks for work. >> through the years, you know, as time goes on, people get older. i've buried a bunch of friends of mine up here. people i've made friends with 30 years. >> after a man fell out of the bottom of a poorly made coffin in 1997, warden cain opened the casket building workshop. >> you can have a good life in prison. you can have a good life anywhere. it's what you make of it, you know? prison, you know, it's a

terrible aspect that you have to be away from the people that you love, your family, your children. my daughter wasn't born when i got locked up and now i'm a grandfather. >> some deceased are picked up by family members and buried as free men. for most, there's point lookout. >> definitely bad to die if you're in prison, but ultimately we all have to die. they have a nice service and they're buried with dignity and respect in angola. coming up, the battle to keep the prison clean requires a shakedown team. >> there's probably not a spot in this cell that something hasn't been found in. >> sometimes they win. sometimes they don't. >> it's really amazing where all they can hide stuff.

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ray rice and his fiancee were arrested early saturday morning after a fight at an atlantic city casino. both the 27-year-old rice and his fiancee were charged with assault. the incident was apparently caught on video surveillance. and a georgia state lawmaker wants to keep people who bring guns to airports from getting arrested, assuming they are licensed to carry them. he says law-abiding people should not go to jail if they make an honest mistake. now back to "lock-up." while the beeline families celebrate the holidays, for many of the inmates, it can be a lonely time. >> christmas is a hard time in prison. it is. these people, they're human, too. they're inmates, but they're humans. we have to be a little more diligent about watching out for mental health issues around christmas time, because it's

depressing. >> i really like christmas. but if i stop long enough and think about it, i'll get teary-eyed. but it will pass. january 1st, it will be all over with. >> there is no place in angola where the spirit of christmas is stronger than at the toy shop. the toys are distributed to needy children throughout louisiana. >> what we're going to make for you now -- >> it's basically an all-year process. the only time we stop is when we run out of wood. >> it's the best job in prison. you're doing something you want to do and you're helping children. this is the time of year you

enjoy being in the toy shop. >> when i was small, very seldom did i have any toys. all along the prison, i'm still a human being and i love christmas and i love children. it makes us all feel good. >> you mount these on here. that's your axels. you can see how the car could rod, okay? now you've got a little car. >> while hard work and faith in god help keep the prison running smoothly, order cannot be maintained without a shakedown group in daily pursuit of inmates not wanting to play by the rules. >> we shake down every day. kind of random as far as where we shake down. got 18,000 acres.

in cells s 24 hours a day, thers probably not a spot in this cell that something hasn't been found in. it's really amazing where all they can hide stuff. >> they didn't hear you coming? >> no. >> finding contraband such as food or non-prison approved merchandise can lead to write-ups. the less severe have few consequences. the more severe get you back to camp jay. random searches are the norm. the odd tip or simply good police work the most effective. >> we get a lot of tips. the majority of time, we find stuff, you just kind of come across it the right time, right

place. >> once upon a time, weapons were required for an inmate to survive. today, drugs are the most common contraband found. >> found a syringe. use that to shoot up with. can't pin it on nobody, so you just confiscate it, let the wardens know about it. >> did you have this at your party? >> that's where some of that stuff came from. >> man, don't lie to me. >> you see that right there? that makes me very angry. >> needles? >> where are they at? >> in that wallet. >> i could have just stuck myself with that. i was very, very close to it. and i don't know what you do with this. so don't do that, okay? >> look, right here. >> don't keep them there. you need to put them somewhere. if somebody comes to shake your

stuff down, you make sure you tell them that you have needles in this box. >> although needles are not allowed in personal lockers, they rarely result in a write-up. >> what's this for? >> antenna wire for radio. >> you don't do tattoos, do you? none? >> i can't draw at all. >> so i'm not going to find parts to make tattoos? >> you won't find parts of anything. >> why do you keep your antenna in your wallet? >> good place to keep it so i know where it's at. it's right on top. >> i'm going to check on a few things and i'm going to get back with you. >> i didn't hide anything. >> all right. going to check on some things. >> that's how they do us in there. they just throw it around and stuff. trying to tell me i did

something wrong. i don't have anything here i'm not supposed to have. all this is official. >> how do you feel now? >> violated. checking on my tattoos, like this makes a difference. telling me about my tattoos and stuff. this is free where i work. i got this in california, i got this in new orleans. people playing games. there's nothing here. i'm used to free world steak and shrimp. eating out of a bag in a box. >> while no contraband showed up in donald logan's shakedown, a pipe made from a pen is found in another dorm. >> found in an inmate's box. you can smell it. apparently they have been using it to smoke marijuana. i'm going to get the investigators to get some residue and test it.

>> a full-time criminal investigation team has been set up at angola with drug testing capabilities. >> since we don't -- it could have been positive for marijuana, but we may not have enough substance, so we'll call this test an inconclusive test. >> just because it didn't test positive doesn't necessarily mean it wasn't being used for car nottics. it just means once it's been smoked, it's harder to test. >> but he'll still be charged with contraband for the ink pen because he used it for a source other than what it's supposed to be used for. >> today's second catch appears much more promising. >> that's marijuana. >> the investigation unit is led by retired police officer colonel ken norris. >> we're like an internal unit within this prison. we investigate everything involving the correctional officers as well as the inmates. that's everything from, you

know, stealing bacon to murder. >> while a certain percentage of contraband is brought in by prison staff, most comes from prisoner relationships. >> most of the drugs that come through come by girlfriends, wives, family members. they can bring it in inside their false teeth. they can bring it in in body cavities. there's all kinds of ways they can bring it in. if the dogs don't get on it at the gate, then it goes through and we have no mechanism to stop that. it will be the same color or closer to the same color as what you see there on that little package. it will be a red. as soon as she breaks this. see that? so this is some good stuff. he would have had a very merry christmas and an absolutely happy new year. coming up, 6,000 inmates trapped in orleans parish prison after katrina hits.

>> there were people breaking windows, starting fires. most of us were afraid that we were going to die there. >> warden cain leads a rescue team. >> that's one of the things they threw out of that bridge at us. that's a spear.

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for every man who ends his life in angola, there are dozens ready to take his place. each week, a new shipment arrives. most come to spend the rest of their days behind bars. but since katrina damaged prisons in new orleans, a whole new group, mostly parole violators and men awaiting sentencing, get to pay a visit. >> i'm coming from jefferson

parish. i'm on a parole violation. the wrong place, at the wrong time. >> in the days following katrina, 6,000 inmates were trapped in orleans parish prison. wilfred martin was one of them. >> when the levees broke, we noticed that whole businesses outside of the prison were under water. no sergeants, no guards, we didn't know where they were at. we were just stuck on the fourth floor. that's when we realized, we're stuck here. seems like it's life or death. >> five days. the levees broke, they were finally rescued by warden cain and his tactical team. >> we came in this way the first night to get the first 950 prisoners, but the water was coming up. we barely got through. so we came right down here to this underpass, and right here was a man laying dead.

we put the scaffold right here and it went down from this sign. you see the rope still there. the inmates would climb down and we line them up in this row, about 6,000. probably the largest mass movement obviously of inmates in the country. we put the boats in the water right down here under this overpass and run them all the way around here. meanwhile, the folks on top -- at first, they threw stuff at us. that's one of the things they threw off that bridge at us. remember that? that's a spear. >> transported by boat and then bus, close to 2,000 parish prisoners ended up at angola. some perhaps simply victims of bad luck. >> my name is paul from toledo, ohio. we were on a long vacation, about 35 days traveling across-country all the way down to mexico, where i have a timeshare. came back through arizona and texas where i was looking for property. we went to new orleans to

bourbon street. i fell down and my friend picked me up. and we were picked up by the new orleans police and accused of being drunk in public. i've been here 21 days. first few days we were in the new orleans county jail. we were left without food or water for three days. near riots broke out. there were people breaking windows. starting fires. most of us were afraid that we were going to die there, it was so horrible. water was up to our shoulders by the time they got us out of there. they put us in small boats, took us to this bridge area. i saw my friend for about two minutes. first thing he said to me, he goes this is a nightmare. >> while a nightmare for some, for others, including the first women inmates to sleep at angola in 44 years, a blessing. >> i was so weak, i couldn't barely walk when they put me in the boat to come out of there.

we had about that much water to drink within three days. and one sandwich. the warden came and got us and put us all in a little fishing boat and took us under the bridge and as soon as we got there, they fed us and gave us water. >> what's the lesson you learned from all of this? >> stay the hell out of jail. >> sadly, in the years since katrina, crime has skyrocketed in new orleans and the prisons are fuller than ever. >> can't go back, when you come out of five years of prison, because you go back to do the same thing, that's where i ended up, hanging out with that crowd, thing everything was cool. trying to make up for these lost years. when actually, i should have been moving forward with my life and focusing more on me being a father to my little girl. it's a transition. i got my verdict. now i'm on a mission. i heard my mom praying that i should have listened, but i wouldn't listen. ain't got a pot to piss in, left

to rot in another prison. ♪ >> more rehabilitation. the only true rehabilitation, teach them the skills and trade. read, write, and all that. but we just made a smarter criminal unless we have a moral component with it. >> accused by some of turning the prison into a christian revival camp, warden cain has a simple response. >> one guy brought up about the separation of church and state. and i said to him, don't let your inflexible make you ineffective. we don't care what religion you are. we just need this church because this is an island of freedom. we get them in here and we can start working on them to be more moral. and our recidivism rates go down. that equals less violent crime. if we save one, it's worth it all. one is worth it. and so no one, no one in his

right mind would object to trying to have morality in a prison. unless he's an idiot. coming up on "lockup angola" -- >> how long you been here? >> 24 years. >> time in angola runs out for two men. >> i will maintain my mental stability. >> one walks. the other stays. forever. [ female announcer ] you get sick, you can't breathe through your nose... suddenly you're a mouthbreather. well, put on a breathe right strip and instantly open your nose

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there are few ways out of angola prison. rarely is one granted parole or probation. the prison is simply too big to escape. most just get old and die. one month after we first filmed at camp j., billy mccoy, aged 63, had a heart attack. >> i have always been on track. i will maintain my mental

stability when i'm dead and six feet in the ground. >> one day later, he died. no one came to claim his body. >> though no family could be contacted, billy mccoy will be buried at point lookout at the prison cemetery by volunteers of the point lookout project. who soberly understand in doing so, friends and volunteers may be doing the same for them one day. >> is there anybody else that would like to share something they knew of billy mccoy at this time? anybody? >> defiant until the end, billy, better known by his nickname "understanding," left a strong impression on his fellow inmates. >> a lot of people didn't understand "understanding" because of his unique way of understanding things. but on a more serious note, i

think the common denominator that we all have with mr. billy mccoy is mr. mccoy died in prison, and that's a fate that a lot of us could have to undergo if situations and circumstances don't change. i think we all want to leave a legacy. but if we have an opportunity to leave a legacy, starting right here today, we can change some of the things we're doing and how we think, you know. i want to encourage you brothers to, you know, just stay focused, stay diligent, and look toward the future, so when it's all said and done, people can have something good to say about us when it's all said and done. >> amen. ♪ hallelujah ♪ by and by ♪ i'll fly away old glory >> i would just like to say that you all need to really let this be an example to your own life.

because his life is here. and his life has now gone on to be with the father. let that to be testimony to the rest of you in his memory that we conduct ourselves as we should and we conduct ourselves as moral people and we perpetuate that throughout this whole community and let him not die in vain. >> amen. >> earth to earth, ashes to ashes, and dust to dust. ♪ no longer bound ♪ no more chains holding me >> while one man is buried, another man gets a second chance. >> hey, warden. how you doing? are you happy today? >> i'm the happiest man in prison today. >> all right, ricky, you've spent your last night in angola. i'm fixing to send you out. >> right now? >> right now. right now. what do you think about all this? >> oh, man, it's great. i've been waiting for this a

long -- >> 24 years. >> long time, warden. >> how does it feel to be innocent in here? >> you can't think about it, warden. when you know you're innocent, if you think about it, it messes with you a little bit. >> ricky johnson was cleared of rape based on dna evidence. he was serving a life sentence. >> what do you think about the innocence project? >> oh, man, i love them. >> you love them, huh? >> i love them, warden. i love them. >> they did you a good thing. i love them too. i tell you what, i think it's horrible that a fellow has to be in prison that's innocent. and it makes me shudder to think about it. and it makes me feel real bad to think about you being in here. the transfer's in my office. that's what i come back here to tell you. so i say, congratulations. you had 24 here with us that you didn't need to have, but you know what, you're going free. congratulations. >> thank you.

>> before stepping into the free world, ricky says good-bye to his brother, frederick. he is serving a life sentence for murder. >> i ain't got them pictures, man. you know? >> i told you i was going, but i told you. >> i had a dream you went home, man. about two days ago. i had a dream about two days ago you went home, man. >> what was the dream like? what was in the dream? >> i had a dream that he had went home. a dream that he -- somebody told me, man, your brother's gone, man. >> you didn't think i was going sneak out of here on you? you thought i was going to sneak out of here? huh? >> i thought you were gone, man. >> you knew i ain't going to leave here without seeing you, you're my little brother. i love you, man. >> i'm glad to see you go, man. i'm glad to see you go. >> i might be going out of prison, but i ain't going out of your life.

okay? >> all right. >> all right. take care of yourself, man. >> i'll take care. >> we can interrupt this service for one moment, this deejay the spin doctor, kicking it from the station that kicks behind the bricks, the only incarceration station in the nation. we got somebody here want to just say hello to everybody and actually, he want to say good-bye. rick, how long you been here? >> i've been here 24 years. i've been here ever since 1984. i've been locked up 27 years. >> rick, you've been saying that all the while that you was innocent, huh? >> i said that from the first day. they tried to get me to say i was guilty and get me ten years, but i couldn't lie. i couldn't say i did something i didn't do. it was a nice day here with you all which i didn't really want. but i've got to depart.

i'm going on out of here. i got cut loose today. dna cut me loose and i just want to say good-bye to inmate population. everybody down the walk, everybody at camp f, camp d, camp c. everybody, keep your head up, don't lose hope, and one day it will be you walking out of this gate. >> just remember, one, knife at the throat, gun in the face. if you save one, it's worth everything we do. one little girl, one mama's not murdered or raped. one daddy. it's worth everything we do.

due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. well, we have inmate kevin blank committee who's a little upset. >> no, no. you've got to use force. >> they'll take their food for hostage. they'll take a shower hostage. >> strip down or stay right there. >> if it will get them the attention they want, they'll take it hostage. >> shoot me one more time and i'll come down.