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 have never seen." "lockup: raw." >> you have a lot of people here that now that they're in prison they resort to what they have to as far as sex. >> couples usually aren't held together. we manage to connect sometimes. >> we manage. >> you may kiss your lovely bride. >> prison weddings, openly gay and lesbian relationships,

conjugal visits where inmates can spend intimate time with their wives, siblings doing time together. >> that is my only brother. we are really close. we are really tight. i'm for murder, he's for attempted murder. >> some of the most compelling stories we've produced on "lockup" have been about intimate relationships behind bars. >> but in prison, love can be a double-edged sword. >> they're quick to tell you in here that they love you. but the minute you do something that they don't like they'll cut you. >> even though sex is one of the most basic of human desires, behind bars it is prohibited. but that hasn't stopped one of the most memorable inmates to ever appear on "lockup" from getting his needs met. >> here you go.

>> when we met keith "precious" mason at holman correctional facility in alabama he was carrying on a sexual relationship with inmate marquez nobles. >> when i first met him. i told one of the other girls he has pretty feet. and you know what i mean. i'm a feet man. i'm into the feet. i like feet. >> as far as it is concerned it is very, very frustrating and uncomfortable. especially if that's something you really want to do. you have to try to beat the police and mants. basically it is done quick and quietly. >> for prison officials, sex is a complicated topic. >> i don't think you really crack down on homosexuality. you can't stop it. you can prevent it from happening openly. if the relationship is not causing a problem, then we don't do anything with that. if they are not openly having sex. you can have a relationship that doesn't have sex involved.

>> but mason believes it is the lack of sex that leads to the unrest among inmates. >> that frustrates these dudes. there is not a man that i know that wakes up and don't have an erection in the morning time. that's what happens. we are dealing with reality. when a man wakes up. first thing that comes to the man's mind, damn, i miss my wife. >> but behind bars, sex can be a combustible concoction of desire, desperation, homophobia and predatory behavior. especially at prisons as notorious as california's pelican bay. >> this is the last place they need to be sending a flamboyant homosexual, is pelican bay. >> adolph green was on the pelican bay yard when our producer noticed him and asked for an impromptu interview. >> i'm a flamboyant homosexual. the ones that prefer to try to fix themselves up like to a girl. and we call each other girls. you understand. some of the dudes call you girl,

call me girl this and that. then you have those that smile in your face and laugh at you behind your back. you walk around the track, somebody say look at that punk, that [ bleep ], a bunch of disrespect day in and day out. >> green told us that those who are open about their sexuality face retribution from inmates. >> you have people that are undercover. you have people that are hiding in the closet. that are doing each other. but the minute they see somebody that is flamboyant, that's out, they don't understand then they have something against that. and they go through every day, every day, a bunch of people telling you what you can, and can't do, who you can live with and can't live with, it's wrong. half of all the ones who are telling you not to do it are doing it in the closet. >> in this environment, sexual partners can turn into blood enemies in a blink of an eye. >> in here you don't have no friends.

because you can laugh and you can sit up and talk, and play cards and dominoes and whatnot, but the minute something happen to you they all go the other direction. leave you to die. and they got a lot of people up here call each other loved ones, i love you, i got love for you, you are my home boy. but the minute you do something they don't like they'll cut you. that's what pelican bay is about. >> but we have met many openly gay inmates who have little or no fear about being who they are. >> yeah, they call me amy. >> why? >> i chose that name. i want to live my life as a girl. i have always felt like i was a girl. >> when we met matthew campbell, he was serving 12 years for armed robbery and assault at kentucky state penitentiary. but his troubles began much earlier. >> first time i went to jail, i was 15 years old, i burned the elementary school down.

pretty much downhill from there. >> as an openly gay man, campbell's time behind bars has had its challenges. >> being gay in prison is really hard. it is hard enough, your time in here. but the fact that everybody knows that you are gay, it is constant pressure for, you know, sex. >> you have a lot of people here that now that they're in prison they resort to what they have to as far as sex. i have to say there is very few people here who are gay on the streets and gay in here as well. there is a lot of people that say they don't mess around, but when they get you by their self, it's like, hey, man, what's up? >> one of the things that struck me about matthew how comfortable he was in his own skin. here is an openly gay inmate in a southern prison. and he didn't have any problems with it. when we went out to the yard to get b roll with matthew playing

back gammon, it was clear other inmates did have a problem with him being openly gay. some people were just avoiding him. he was actually calling out to them. >> are you scared? >> it wasn't until the cameras went away and we backed off a little bit that people were willing to come up and get involved in the game with him. >> in spite of the hardships, campbell told our producer that prison has played an essential role in his life. >> if i hadn't came to prison i would have ended up dead. now my family knows i am gay. i told all them when i came here. so they all know what to expect from me now and i told them it is going to be a different person. >> but before campbell can prosper on the outside he will have to learn how to deal with perhaps his greatest temptation. and it has nothing to do with his sexuality. >> i'm fascinated with guns. i find guns fascinating. and you know -- i get a gun in my hand it's like -- you know --

it's trouble. >> coming up on "lockup raw: prison love." >> we've been together two years. >> i'm the wife. >> they're not only lovers, they're loan sharks. >> mostly everybody in here has some type of hustle. >> later, the unique complications of a wedding really off for me. i've got a lot to do. that's why i got my surface. it's great for watching game film and drawing up plays. it's got onenote, so i can stay on top of my to-do list, which has been absolutely absurd since the big game. with skype, it's just really easy to stay in touch with the kids i work with. alright, russell you are good to go! alright, fellas. alright, russ. back to work! hi, are we still on for tomorrow? tomorrow. quick look at the weather. nice day, beautiful tomorrow.

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>> these girls are my homies. some of us have been together four years. some five. a long time, with relationships, if you know what i'm saying? >> if male inmates look for sex in secret we found a different story when we visited the north carolina correctional institution for women. >> a female offender has a lot of needs, and some of that is

someone cares about them. and that has a lot to do with bonding. because a lot of women have been abused when they see somebody they think care about them they run to it. they don't take time to see if the person is good for them or not. >> as a result, the prison places strict limits on intimate relationships. >> ladies, put some space in between y'all. >> it is a rule violation for inmates to have sex in prison. when we see it, then they are punished because of that. we can't have it. >> but we met one group of inmates willing to share their secrets for skirting the rules. they were led by dawn braswell, known around here as heavy d. >> she's mostly have ten-fours in here, tenfours is like another inmate. like i say, chelsea, ten-four for me and my girlfriend when we go in here. she can fall down and have a seizure. it's easy to get them to tenfour, give them, cigarettes. a pack of coffee, and stand there and watch.

some police knows what you doing and they don't care. you got some polices down with inmates. and some polices that is against inmates. >> while some inmates sneak away for quick sex, others like kathy phillips and devon gann seek long-term relationships. >> we have a good relationship. we've been together about two years. and for a relationship in here it's good. known couples aren't usually housed together. but we manage to connect some times. >> yeah. there is a way around everything. >> when we met them, kathy was 42-year-old and serving 14 to 17 years as a habitual felon with multiple counts of forgery, larceny and resisting officers. >> devon was 25 years old and serving 9 to 12 years for second degree murder. >> it was a man i lived with, he was a drug dealer. it was a robbery gone bad. and he got killed. and i left the crime scene with the guy who killed him because i was -- was a bad situation.

>> but in prison, the two women seem to have discovered a comfort zone. >> you get in here and you don't have anybody, you don't have anything. so you sort of cling to somebody. >> and women are more affectionate or whatever, anyway. so it looks like normal couples on the streets but it's all women. some look like boys. >> yeah, they shave their head and walk around like a little boy. >> even hold themselves like there is something down there. >> but any relationship in prison involves toeing the line. >> a new couple is like the staff sort of zone in on them give them a hard time. but then after a while it's like they get used to seeing it as a couple and they sort of ease off. you can't, you know kiss in front of them or do a sex act in front of them but they're not on you for every little thing. i respect the staff. they got their job to do. so i don't cross that line. >> in spite of rules against it, kathy and devon appear to be a picture of domestic bliss. >> i'm the wife. >> we spend our money together.

i shop and get our stuff. and cook our food every day. and make sure she has her stuff. we do everything together. everything. whatever she is involved in i'm involved in. yeah. >> that includes the family business. kathy and devon are not only lovers, they're loan sharks. >> whatever you give them they, they owe you double. i started out with $10. put the $10, pulled in $20, $20, $40 the next week. kept doubling until i got on my feet and got stable. it's a good hustle. mostly everybody in here has some type of hustle. because, i mean a lot of people don't have help from home. you have to survive in here. prison is not free. they give you three meals a day and a bar of state soap. that's about it. >> your food if you don't want to eat what's in the dining

room you pay for it. if you don't have anybody on outside sending you money. only jobs you can make money off of is 40 cents a day. 40 cents a day will never support you. people do all kind of stuff to make hustles. they don't have somebody on the outside. there is all kinds of hustles. loan sharking is one of them. >> but the loan shark lovers insist they never use muscle to extract payment. >> if somebody doesn't pay me, i generally just -- i mark it up as a loss. i just don't deal with them no more. i tell my friends that loan shark don't deal with them. you got some people in here that will bust them in the head with a lock or something. i ain't down with that. >> devon told us she used to run a risky business. >> before her, i had my own hustle. that was pretty much staff related. yeah. i would find weak staff, who ever i found in here because they, obviously can't find somebody on the streets to hook up with. and then i would play them to

get some money. >> then what? >> i would continue to get money. >> then she would have them fired. >> devon believes the officers she seduced deserved their punishment. >> i have no remorse when it comes to that. i feel as though it's some type of perverted injustice when you come in here and think you can get a free -- off an inmate and have access to the free world. yeah. i have gotten a lot of money that way. yeah. but i have kind of cut that out in this relationship. >> yeah, no more. no more. >> i'm retired. >> as close as kathy and devon were, they told us they have no illusions about a future together. >> we take it day by day. there is no promises of forever or nothing like that. we're very realistic in our relationship. there is a lot of dreams and wishes. but we know those aren't realistic. >> we're just enjoying today.

up next on "lockup raw: prison love." >> i, raul, take alicia -- >> exchanging vows when the groom is locked up. and later, when visitation includes sex, emotions run high. >> we'll let you take one of these. >> i need both of those. you can't tell me i can't use my personal hygiene for my body. i need both of those. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure®. nutrition in charge™. but add brand new belongings from nationwide insurance... ...and we'll replace destroyed or stolen items with brand-new versions.

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raul and laquisha. today is a very special day for both of you. because today marks the beginning of your new lives together as one. >> under the best of circumstances marriage can be challenging. even more so, when it begins behind the walls of one of the nation's most dangerous maximum security prisons. >> i can't touch her or nothing. you can't even consummate the

marriage. >> the groom, raul vidal, has been in california's pelican bay state prison since age 18. >> i was involved in a gang. street gang. drugs, violence all that. and got in a shoot-out. there were six guys in the car. and they say i shot at. and actually they gave me six life terms for that. >> because of his gang affiliation, he is assigned to the secured housing unit where contact visits are not permitted. >> right nowm here togetherm you stand free and apart from all other people in this world because right now you stand within that charmed circle of your love together. >> the two were childhood friends and had reconnected five years earlier. though it is unlikely he will ever be free, she agreed to marry him anyway. her son reuben stood in as best man. >> you have a ring picked to go on your hand.

>> oh, my, the ring. >> she sees me as a human being. she opened up her house, her heart and gave me her family. >> i, rau,l take you laticia. to be my wedded wife to have and to hold from this day forward. >> i'm the black sheep of my family. i am the only one that has ever been to prison. >> i laticia take raul to be my wedded husband to have and to hold from this day forward. >> i have been thinking about the sacrifice she made. how much she loves me to do something like that. >> as you take this ring and place it on her hand, raul, would you repeat after me. i give you this ring -- >> i give you this ring -- >> as a symbol and commitment in marriage. >> she knows that the possibilities of me getting out are slim to none. and she accepted that.

>> this is the first day of the rest of your lives together. and we would all hope that tomorrow would be even happier. you may kiss your lovely bride. >> though there will be no reception or first dance for this couple, the odds aren't totally against them. according to one study, unions in which one partner is incarcerated are less likely to end in divorce than a conventional marriage. >> it gives me the hope, and the love. she is a friend. i'm a friend. and you know we just got married so to show our love for each other. next on "lockup raw prison love" a rare night of physical intimacy for a convict and his wife.

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hi, your top stories this hour, donald sterling is giving controlling interest of the los angeles clippers to his wife, shelly. who will reportedly try to sell team. meanwhile the nba says it will continue to process the termination of sterling's ownership. president obama nominated the san antonio mayor as next housing secretary. what's believed to be a tornado touching down in casper, wyoming, there have been no report was injuries or damage. now back to "lockup."

prison inmates don't have a lot to look forward to. so visitations are a big deal. for some of these inmates they haven't seen a child or a wife or parent in years. so it is a very dramatic time when they come to visit them. and in lockup, these visitations have provided some of the most compelling moments in the series. >> few visitations provide as much drama as conjugal visits when an inmate is allowed an overnight stay with his spouse. >> makes you appreciate the little things in life. >> when we met ron golden at the california's kern valley state prison, he was serving a 22 year sentence for armed robbery and assault on correctional staff. he claimed his recent marriage to a childhood friend helped turn him around. >> before we were married i was always in a lot of fistfights and in and out of the hole. >> golden's improved behavior

earned him the right to a 46-hour conjugal visit with his wife in one of the prison's family cottages. before the visit begins, she must pass through security. >> you have your i.d.? >> it is in here. >> okay. >> when ron's wife hope showed up, we thought we would get shots of her being processed coming through the metal detector, opening her bag. getting shots of her and the c.o. there going through her things. then it turned into a bit of a scene. >> baby oil can't go in either? >> that wasn't on the list. >> it's a lubricant. this can't go in. everything has to be factory sealed. this is not in a clear bottle and unopened and contains alcohol. >> everything that is made like that has alcohol in it. >> everything that contains alcohol. it spesifies in the rules. >> everything just about has

alcohol in it. >> it appeared some of the things she was bringing in were not allowed. and hope was not very happy about that. so as things were being pulled out of her bag, hope started to get a little angry. >> i will let you take one in. >> i need both. you can't tell me i can't use my personal hygiene for my body. i need both of those. >> i just talked to my supervisor. >> can i speak with her, please? you guys are going a little bit to the extreme. >> i'm letting you know the department's policy. >> you are asking me to come in here without any type of lotion or oil for my skin. i am a woman. you are going to the extreme right now. >> no products with alcohol are allowed. you need to abide by our policies, ma'am. >> after coming dangerously close to being denied her visit, hope is allowed to proceed to the prison's gated conjugal unit. >> there are good things and bad things you have to go through to get here. >> hope says the difficulties of the prison visit are worth it.

>> i knew who he was before i started coming to see him at the prison. and i liked him then. because we were friends first. and that's what made us bond as lovers even better. and it was special because we didn't make love until we got married. that's something that i never did before. so i was happy about that too. >> what are you going to do for two days? >> we are going to have fun. do a lot of exercise, jumping jacks and stuff like that. >> liar. >> golden is escorted across the prison yard to the family visitation center. his long-awaited reunion with his wife is just moments away. >> marvelous. extremely excited.

>> are you nervous? >> uh-huh. >> we ain't used to this. >> you know sometimes when a camera is in the room, people are not going to act naturally. and ron and hope both knew that we would be there for the beginning of the conjugal visit, certainly not during any part of the conjugal visit. >> the crew was real nice. very pleasant. but as i stood to the back of the room to get kind of a wide shot i could hear them talking saying, is he gone yet? is he gone yet? they just wanted me out. >> but visitation is also bittersweet. our crew saw how much so at indiana state prison when the family of inmate jerry bonds arrived for their first visit in months. >> to be honest i grew up two parents, middle-class home. you know, my brother and my older brother they all graduated from college. you know? i just happened to go down the wrong road with selling drugs

and living on the streets. >> bonds is serving 85 years for robbing a liquor store and killing the owner. >> i had two daughters at the time. and my girlfriend at the time she was pregnant with my son. she was 2 months pregnant when i got locked up. >> that child, bonds' son eddie, was 8 when we shot at indiana. though he never lived with his father, eddie was missing him nonetheless. >> he actually shot a person and didn't mean to. but -- when i see him again, i want to live with him and be with him together so he can go to the park and the museum. >> his youngest son cries sometimes because he doesn't have his father around. there are some things he really needs to be in his life for. >> but bonds has had a tough time following the rules in prison as well. his last infraction was for attempting to intimidate an officer.

that, along with three urine tests that proved positive for marijuana, has cost bonds visitation privileges with his family. he had only recently gotten them back, but with restrictions. >> so, right now i'm in noncontact status. that is on the phone and through the glass. >> how did you react when your son told you he wasn't going to have contact visits anymore? >> well, i was upset at first. i even threatened him to not even bring his kids up here. you know? and very upset with him. matter of fact i was so upset with him i couldn't think straight. >> bonds acknowledged his actions in and out of prison don't set the best example for his children. >> how can i tell you to be good, do good, stay out of trouble. every time you see me i am on restrictions, can't have visits i'm in trouble.

they're like, well, you are kind of a hypocrite, dad. telling me to be good. but you're not being good. >> our crew caught up with bonds shortly before his first visit with his children and parents in months. >> you want to look kind of spiffy, it is a special day. your family do come, they came from so far. it puts a smile on their face. you are doing okay. they worry about me here. >> but first, bond would need to pass previsitation security measures. starting with his freshly pressed clothes. >> all right, do me a favor. completely disrobe. >> despite the fact he will not have physical contact, bonds like every other indiana inmate is strip searched prior to visitation. >> this time open your mouth. put your fingers in. spread the cheeks apart. upper lip up. lower lip down. look inside your nose, please. >> authorities must ensure that inmates are not attempting to pass contraband to the outside. >> turn back around. squat, cough.

all right, go ahead and get dressed. >> meanwhile the bonds family has to pass through security as well. though it was nearly a three-hour drive to get here, jerry bonds' sr. feels it is worth it. >> when a person is down you really have to be there for them. so what we try to relay back to jerry is that we hope he will get out of here sometime soon. and then when you do get out, you know, to pick up where he left off. and show these kids they're not just coming up here for nothing at all. >> i'm anxious, man. i want to see them so bad. i wish i could touch them and hug them. i guess it's better than nothing. >> finally, the waiting is over. >> what's up? >> what's up? >> how y'all doing? >> looking cute. give me a smile.

i haven't seen you in a while. how are you doing in school? >> good. >> what grade are you going into, eddie? >> the hardest part is like seeing him behind the glass. and when 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 is hurting his kids. you know i can stand the hurt. sometimes the kids can't. >> what's wrong? i want to speak to him. >> what's happening, dad. how you doing? >> staying strong? >> yes, sir. >> thank you for bringing them up for me, dad. >> i want to let him know we love him no matter what. make it easier on us when we come up here. we're in here with you. don't make it to where we, we are locked up being locked up. you understand? >> hey. >> tell the kids, i love you. >> i love you. i'm sorry i pained you.

>> limited to 30 minutes. the visit hardly seems to have begun when it is time to leave. >> i love you. y'all be good. bye-bye. >> all right. >> yes, sir. >> i'm praying, hoping, hoping that this is the last time they have to come up here like this and see me behind the glass. because it is not a good feeling. it's not a good feeling. >> i just feel that, i don't see him any more i get sad. and when i see him again i'll be glad. >> i want him to be here and i don't want him to be here. i want him to learn his lesson while he is here so when he comes home he knows right from wrong and knows what to do and what not to do. >> as a mother i would like to touch him and say are you okay? i want to give him a hug. i haven't been able to do that. i know one day i will. >> coming up on lockup raw: prison love. >> i love him to death. i will do anything for brad. anything. anything. short of killing someone.

>> the family bonds lead to murder. later. >> one of the first things i noticed something i never thought i would see in a million years in a prison yard. that's all the cats. >> when inmates adopt. >> especially when they're little babies you can raise them up, pet them. feed them. you watch them grow. that's your cat. c'mon, you want heartburn? when your favorite food starts a fight, fight back fast, with tums.

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one bond is the only thing that helps them survive a bleak existence of a life behind bars. in some cases those bonds have existed their entire lives.

over the years, "lockup" crews have discovered a surprising number of family members serving time together. but few have ever had to face the difficult circumstances that confronted these two women. >> being on death row it was like, it was like i needed to be with my sister. >> the identical twins, convicted of murder, for helping yvette's former boyfriend carry out a triple homicide were sent to the correctional institute for women. doris got a life sentence. yvette condemned to die. she told us about her first day on death row. >> i begin to hear insults. i first got in and begin to hear people talk about. oh, she got death. oh, she is going to die for the crimes she committed. >> even though they were housed at the same prison the women were prohibited from seeing one another. but occasionally doris would catch a fleeting glimpse of yvette. >> i would go by the chapel and

see my sister she would be in the window. i would walk by with a group of ladies. and everybody was saying, doris there is your sister. i said god there she is. i wish she was out here. you know? i hated to go by there just to see her. it would hurt my heart. and i would ache. >> after six years, yvette's punishment was reduced to life, and she could leave death row and reunite with doris. >> i was so excited. she came and hugged me. we were crying, kissing and hugging it was like a great reunion. i started crying. i got emotional. and i just begin to praise god. yeah. >> though they can see each other on the yard. prison officials won't let the sisters share a cell for security reasons. >> they think we are the same person in the same dorm. the officer. and they get confused.

>> it's interesting and kind of unusual for corrections because if you, if you are not paying attention you don't know who you are talking to. it's one of the reasons why we house them separately. >> look. >> you look wonderful. wonderful. >> yeah. >> that's my only brother. we are really close. we are really tight. we eat together. we live together. we work together. >> our visit to the anamosa state penitentiary in iowa led us to a memorable pair of siblings michael and brad love whose lifelong allegiance drove them to kill. >> growing up i wanted to be him, you know. he was almost four years older than me. i see him running around drinking. breaking into stuff. doing whatever he is doing. i'm like i want to be like him. that's my big brother. that's my idol. so i kind of followed in the same footsteps. >> but as the love brothers revealed to our crew, those footsteps led down a bloody path

that ended at a holiday party in the trailer park. >> christmas night, 1992, me and my brother went to a party with what we thought were friends. but they tried to rob us. take the liquor that we brought. >> they started beating me up. four of them. >> they hurt brad. i couldn't let them get away with that. they threatened his life. and i just couldn't handle that. so we left went to my trailer. i got a shotgun. my brother got a knife. machete. we went back out there and did what we did. >> i remember mike standing there he had the gun pointed at the door of the trailer. and one of the dudes looked out the window he was like [ bleep ] you or whatever he is saying. and boom, he shot. >> i shot three. he cut up two. >> we were charged with first degree murder, carries a life sentence in iowa. and that's it. life means life, means you don't ever get out. >> but michael wasn't prepared to see his brother suffer that fate. >> brad didn't kill anybody. i'm the one that shot and killed

the guy. so i didn't think it was fair for him to spend his life in prison. they come to me and said if i pled guilty to first degree murder they would plea-bargain him to a lesser time. he plea-bargained to 125 years. to me that's still excessive but it's better than a life sentence. he gets to go home, where i will probably end up dying in prison. >> how does that make you feel? >> makes me feel like a piece of [ bleep ] really, [ bleep ], my only brother. and because of -- because of something we did, and we did it together. he takes responsibility for his own actions. i don't know, man, it makes me feel like -- like i'm that tall because i let it happen. >> i think in my mind he is here because of me. so i carry the guilt around every day. he was 18. he turned 18 in county jail. he had a whole life ahead of him. could have been a pro football player or rock star, whatever he wanted to be. i feel in my mind and heart i ruined that for him.

there is no way to explain how much guilt i carry around. >> the love brothers were initially incarcerated together at another iowa prison. but once again, brad followed michael and the result was more violence. >> the last fight that we got into. the guy told on my brother for smoking weed. mike told me, here i am going to go beat him up. i want you to, watch out for us. i said all right. so i was standing outside the cell. mike goes in there. and -- i just, i don't know what made me do it. i look in the window. only supposed to be one dude in there. there was two guys. they was trying to get on mike. i was like no that ain't going to happen. so i ran in there. and i grabbed the other dude. and beat him up pretty bad. and then they shipped me out. that was it. yeah. that sucked. >> brad was transferred to anamosa, only to find a long

lost relative was already doing his own time there. >> my father was in here for messing with kids. and you know, i ain't cool with that. and he tried talking to me. i told him, i said, i ain't got no respect for you for what you did. >> i hate that. that's the worst crime you can do including the crime of murder i think that's worse. >> in 2003 their father died of a heart attack while incarcerated. when their mother became ill, authorities approved michael's request to be moved closer to her home which reunited the brothers at anamosa. >> excited to see him. my brother. >> can't ask for a better [ bleep ] to hang out with. >> the love brothers may have found their place but as we learned their bond has yet to face its ultimate test. >> i will never see him again. once he gets out. that's it. i will never be able to visit my brother again. because of iowa law. anybody on paper or parole can never visit any body incarcerated. >> yvette and doris know all about that.

since our visit to the correctional institute. doris has been paroled. the soonest she will visit yvetet in 2012 when her probation expires. brad and michael love have more time. brad is eligible but has not yet made parole. >> we're going to spend as many years together here as we can. i love him to death. i would do anything for brad. anything. short of killing some body again. >> coming up on "lockup prison love. >> these cats are their kids. you mess with the cat, it's their family. >> special bond between prisoner and pet. >> play games, with no respect, they'll shoot you respect back. in the nation, it's not always pretty.

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the social center of almost every prison is the yard. it's the rare space where

inmates socialize, exercise and occasionally fight to the death. but lockup crews have found that on some yards even at dangerous maximum security institutions, inmates have found something to fill their hearts with love and nurturing. just not for each other. >> nobody's family home cat could be happier than these cats in here. >> one of the first things i noticed walking in the yard in kentucky was something i never thought i would see in a million years on a prison yard. that's all of the cats. they were all over the place. >> nobody really berz exactly when dozens of stray cats began to adopt kentucky state prison as their home. and as our crew discovered, the inmates were more than happy to adopt the cats as pets. >> pets when they're babies, you raise them up, pet them, feed them. watch them grow, that's your cat.

>> it was really amazing to see all of these, the guys in the state's maximum security penitentiary, with cats climbing all over them. they had them up on their shoulders. they were petting them constantly. it was really interesting how the inmates had developed very, very nurturing relationships with these cats. >> we got all kinds of cats. you have got these guys here. these cats is their kids. and, mess with one of the cats. just like messing with my kids at home. these cats is their family. that's all they've got. >> like any proud parent. the inmates shared photos of their favorite felines. >> we are cat lovers up here. and here comes one. this is a monster right here. >> people had specific cats and if you didn't want anything to happen to that cat, the last thing you were going to do is commit an act of violence that would send you to segregation where you couldn't care for it anymore. so in this fun neap little way, the cats contributed to a lower level of violence on that yard.

>> he comes once a month. buy dry food. and medicine and toys and stuff like that. >> some guys work hard at their jobs to earn their money. >> sometimes, 60, 70, 80, take everything they've got. >> my baby. >> i wish you cats would get together and get rid of some of the rats we got running around the yards. >> don't want any rats, man. >> the people rats. now you leave the little bitty mice alone. >> we found an even more unlikely bond at california state prison corcoran. >> like anything. treat it with love and respect. it will treat you with love and respect back. >> we were out on the yard shooting. i looked over and saw these guys petting something. at first i thought it was a kitten.

and it ended up it was a gopher that they had tamed. >> we shampoo him, give him little baths and play with him and let rim run aaround the cell. feed him apples, lettuce. take care of them. they're good little pets. >> like the best little companion i ever had. >> a lot of the guys we ran into probably have never had anybody to love or anything or anybody to love them. and when you run into somebody who adopted a gopher and it gives them some sort of outlet for affection. it's got to be a good thing. >> but we found a very different case of inmate creature bonding inside california's san quentin prison. >> i'm mike miller, is my real name. and the staff here call me birdman of san quentin. >> the first day i got here at san quentin the birds seemed to have flocked to me for some reason. and i don't know they probably

think i am the bird man of alcatraz. maybe i'm mistaken because he had a shaved head too. >> miller was serving an eight year sentence for burglary when he proudly showed us his cell. a virtual shrine to his winged friends. >> ever since i have been here the birds come up to me like they know me. you know i got them landing on my shoulders and my hands. and you know different kinds of birds. not just pigeons. but i got, you know different kind of black birds. finch and the red wing landing on me. i think -- the birds is a good way of -- of releasing a lot of tension and anger. before i got arrested my girlfriend used to chase the birds away. she didn't want me around them. and so -- now i'm in here. i have a chance to mingle with the birds. and basically that's about the only friends that i got. the birds. i can't trust anybody else.

due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. msnbc takes you behind the walls of america's most notorious prisons into a world of chaos and danger. now, the scenes you've never seen. "lockup raw." in prison it's said you can do the time or let the time do you. >> i went ballistic, insane. >> we've got guys here 17, 18, their puberty is just now coming. they have a lost tension, they have a lot of energy