msnbc takes you inside the notorious walls of america's most dangerous prisons. now the screens you've never seen, "lock-up raw." >> listen up. there's to be no talking, period. one behind the other, single file, along the wall. >> a prominent research study estimates 1 in 37 adults are either incarcerated, on probation, or on parole. just as interesting is the fact

that many of the inmates we've met have told us they actually prefer serving out their sentences in prison on the being free on parole. >> they say it's difficult to find work and that the parole rules are so strict that they can make a simple mistake and end up back in prison where they cause more pain for their families and further tarnish their reputation. >> few inmates illustrate the walking of the thin line of parole better than an inmate in tampa, florida. his name is vilester jones. >> we noticed someone, large guy, working out on the yard. at the same time, one of the immates was telling us we need to intervancouver their jailhouse resident. >> lock them up, throw away the key. they're being constructed to house you, and me and all our

families. lock them up, throw away the key. home of the brave, land of the free, while millions of americans locked up in the penitentia penitentiary. if you're so brave and you're so wild, why can't you relate to the juveniles. mother, father, sister, brothers, friends, wake up you sleeping fools. you headed for the pen. then it would be late. everybody will see that they have safely locked us up and threw away the key. thanks a lot. >> even though jones was popular among other inmates and had spent time in prison, he struggled with some aspects of life in the dormitory housing unit he shared with 71 other men. i never really liked open bay dorms. i'm a person that likes cleanliness. a lot of people when they sneeze or cough don't cover up. you know, sometimes i can be sitting there eating and somebody just starts sneezing

and sneezing around not covering their mouth. automatically i try to cover my food. i say, dang, what's wrong with these people. i'm protbably a little crazy. >> as adverse as he was to germs, jones was enthusiastic to his spirituality. his nightly prayers could last up to 15 minutes. >> please set me free, please let me free, please let me see. >> we would come to learn why his prayers to set him free would be especially pertinent but first we find out what brought him here earlier. we begin when he joined a chicago street gang when he was 13. >> we'd rob other children of lunch money. i got introduced to drugs. i was drunk all the time. i didn't know how to stay sober. >> as jones grew older, his

addiction to crack and alcohol grew more. he had been in and out of essentially jails and prisons but at age 35 he was sentenced to multiple years for armed robbery. but prison didn't stop his taste for alcohol. he used to make hooch or illegal made whine from rotting fruit, sugar, and bread i used to get drunk and start fights. one day they sent me to confinement, to the hole for extortion. a guy said he owed me money for wine i had bought and i jumped on him for not paying me. and when i was in confinement, like my high power who i call god revealed himself to me and said it's time to get yourself right i stayed confined to 90 days. when i got transferred i started making na and aa meetings.

i starting going to church, reading the bible and studying. >> he served 24 years before he was released on parole. he moved into the noah house, a residential house in tampa. >> they help ex-offenders get a fresh start in life. they help you to stay straight. i wanted to stay straight. i didn't want to go back to prison. i always participated but they finally gave me a job. my title is peer advocate. i help ex-offenders. >> jones was doing well. he said he would ride his bicycle to recruit others. but eight months in his parole things went horribly wrong one day when he decided to take a shortcut home through a large hole in a fence. >> i didn't know that that was a crime to cross over the railroad tracks because the whole neighborhood goes through that way, back and forth, back and

forth. i e see grown folks going through that way all the time. >> a police officer saw jones cut through the hole and cited him. when he discovered jones was on parole, he arrested him. >> out of all these years that i was on drugs, i was finally clean, doing good, and all of a sudden, bam, back in jail. i hurt my mama again, you know. >> the trespassing charges were quickly dropped but because he was on parole at the time of the arrest he had to remain in jail until the parole board completed its own investigation. we joined him on the morning of his hearing. >> on the day that he was going to his hearing he was very nervous and rightfully so because he was going to find out if he was going to go back to prison for a few years or back out on the street. >> mr. jones, you can come on in.

>> at the hearing jones would again be confronted by his arresting officer who said his trespassing sliegs might not be as minor as it seems. >> the majority of the people committing the snaler crimes are committing the larger crimes. they're not out to commit the bigger ones. his charges were armed robbery multiple times. what's the old saying, if you do the crime, you've goblt to do the time. >> but he had his hearing. >> we need him to be back at work, working and doing his groups. >> mr. jones, it states you failed. at this time we're going to take testimony from officer friks. >> i was on the west side of the

railroad tracks. i saw the defendant enter through a hole in a 6-foot chain link fence that was put up to keep people off the property and he was stopped on the west side. >> when you came in contact with him, was he cooperative with you? >> yes. >> after a few more questions, the parole examiner asked jones' probation officer to weigh in. >> given that this charge is dismissed i would recommend reinstatement and to conviction of the charge, i would recommend he be returned to prison. >> mr. jones, is there anything you want to add. >> god know they need me back there working. i really want to be there to help them fulfill the goals of filling that job, i want to go back to prison and really help make a difference in the lives of people that's just getting out of jails and prison. >> anything else? >> no, ma'am. >> finally, it was time for the parole examiner to determine

jones' fate. coming up -- another unexpected twist for vilester jones. if frustration and paperwork decrease... the gap begins to close. so let's simplify things. let's close the gap between people and care.

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vilester jones is the first to admit he's wasted a significant portion of his life on gangs, drugs, crimes, and alcohol. he was once sentenced to 25 years in prison p and it was during that time that he said he changed his life by getting involved in alcoholics and narcotics anonymous. >> i started going to na/aa meetings in prison and i started going to church. i stayed to myself. if you wasn't part of the ritzual, didn't say nothing positive, didn't want to be

bothered with you. >> jones was eventually paroled and eventually found a pa place to work at the noah house, a dru prevention and treatment program. one day he took a shortcut on his way home and was sentenced to trespassing. >> as soon as they put the happenedcuffs on me, i cannot lie. as much as i been through, i didn't think the tears would start coming to my eyes. >> he still faced the point of returning the prison if the parole boards determined the arrest and did in fact that he took the short cut. >> regarding my findings in this hearing i'm going to defer them for a period of ten days in an effort to look everything over. i'm going to make a recommendation after i come up with my decision. i'm not going to recommend

anyway today. >> the delay in his ruling meant jones would have to remain in jail until the board could reach a decision. >> come on, sir. >> i probably won't sleep tonight. toss and turn. feel a little more unsure than i did at first. i really have to have faith in my prayers right now. got to have faith in prayers. oh, man. >> the final decision on jones came during a break in our shooting. when we returned to tampa, there was a new inmate in jones' bunk and jones himself was back at the noah house, a free man, but very much aware that he was still on parole and one slip away from going back to prison. >> when the people told me that i would be getting out that day, i was so full of joy i wanted to scream but i had to hold my compose your, you know. i even wanted to ask her out to dinner. i thought, oh, she might take that the wrong way.

>> since his release, jones has been enjoying the simple joys of freedom like getting to choose his own clothes. >> i like to match my clothes. whatever shirt i got i like my shirt the same color. i had these shoes first to go with a shirt that i had and it was these shoes that made me go out and pick the color suit that i got. ain't that something? >> jones is not taking his second chance at freedom for granted. he gives himself a daily reminder of the shortcut that almost sent him back to prison. >> i purposely ride that back away not to do through that. i go around the long way. i can see that place and it's still open. still a big old hole in the fence there. people going in and out of it. i thought, no, they don't ever have to worry about me doing it no more. i can't worry what everybody

else does. this last episode on the trespassing really gave me an eye opener in a greater way, that i got to watch every way, the little things lead to a big thing like going back to prison. coming up. >> watch your back, bitch, because the dagger is coming. >> it gets overwhelming that when you leave the mod, it's draining like wow we need to take a break. but if you have arthritis, this can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain, and improve daily physical function so moving is easier. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain. and it's not a narcotic you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning.

they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, like celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions, or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. don't take celebrex if you have bleeding in the stomach or intestine, or had an asthma attack, hives, other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history. and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion.

after more than a decade of producing "lockup," we've discovered most inmates prefer to keep a low profile rather than risking crossing the line with other inmates who might harm them or staff who might punish them. of course, there are always exceptions. >> we will not negotiate with

terrorists. >> but at the orange county jail, we discovered an entire housing unit where low profile seemed in short supply. its official name was mod q, but others prefer to call it the drama mod. >> that's my [ bleep ] right there. that's my [ bleep ] right there. >> come here and show your [ bleep ]. >> yeah. >> this specific sector here houses protective custody inmates that are homosexuals, and they have to be separated from the jail population for various reasons. i love you. >> it's mainly to protect them from the rest of the population. >> mod q is different because you did find men dressed as women or men with breast implants that look like women. it was loud, girly screams.

>> the drama, it's exactly what you could expect of young people who have no solutions to their proms. they go crazy. >> there's a lot of drama in mod q. there's fighting and there's flirting and there's yelling. it gets overwhelming where when you leave the pod, it's like draining, like, wow, we need to take a little break for a little while and just process that. >> transgender inmate alex an droe cortez who calls himself alexis not only wanted attention from other inmates but our field team as well. i just got hit on by a bunch of men. >> men? >> i mean women men -- women -- it was -- it was quite something. >> what number cell? >> 7. >> 7?

>> 7. >> what did show say? >> she said i had very sexy legs. >> sexy legs. she told me to keep being sexy. >> cortez, who is in jail on a probation violation told us about his struggles in choosing to live as a woman. >> anyway, we were -- i can't say i feel like a woman. it's hard to explain. i feel like i'm a homosexual, i'm a man, but i prefer living as a woman. i'm mostly attracted to men. i don't want to live my life as a man. i want to live my life as a woman. it's hard. it's really hard. first i had to make it through my family and then society, you know. it's very hard, you know, because of the criticism and everything, but once i put it in my mind i'm going to live myself for who i am, my family, and who

accepts me, criticism is always going to be out there and sometimes i feel like i'm the brave one because i have the guts to be who i am. i live my life and i live how i am but it's really, really hard. >> do you want me to make a -- i need a reason to be. >> she's a big girl. >> girl. size 20, honey. >> mod q was also known for its hospitality. charles barber, who was in on multiple charges of fraud and grand theft to what he had pled not guilty offered us one of his commissary snaps. >> this is top ramen. >> it consists of cheetoes, and gorditas. >> you eat this, and this is what you get. >> no. i'm the opposite. i lost like 100 pounds. >> think about the scale. >> 201? >> i'm 279. >> and still growing. >> and they told me to lose

someweight, but i don't care. >> in mod q the relations are absolutely different than from other mods because in other mods you've got this high intentionty game politicking atmosphere going on and mod q where it's mostly homosexual protective custody inmate, there's none of that politics going on. it's more like love triangles going on. >> are you going to leave this -- >> bitch, we are close. we are sisters. we're sisters. >> big-time drama mod. >> but it seemed nobody drew more attention in mod q than marcus cash. just 21 years old, cash was already on his eighth trip to the o.c. jail, this time on a conviction for possession of stolen credit cards. he was better known for the nickname he shared with the unit itself. >> i love the drama.

i'm deputy drama. they call me drama in here. >> shut up. you know me, bitc. you know me, girl. >> marcus is probably our most flamboyant inmate. every time he comes out of the cell, it's almost a show. he exaggerates his movements and his speech quite a bit, so that draw as lot of attention to him. >> it's the kind of attention that cash's soulmate says he could do without. >> she's a good person, but sometimes she does draw a lot of attention to herself and she can be kind of noisy and drive me nuts, but some people try to give her drama, throw things at her window and yell and knock on the door and stuff like that. >> they hit on me. >> watch your back, bitch, because the dagger's coming. you know me. >> when the drama got too high for cash himself, he would often turn to barbaro for support.

i i'm more the older sister or brother to her. she's young, so i try to, you know, give her advice. >> it's a lot of drama. it's a lot of drama. >> but occasionally the drama would bring a chuckle or two to the one member of our field team who couldn't help but hear err bit of it. i i'm taking one day at a time. you've been in enough drug re b rehabs all right to know to take it one day at a time. with you, we know patience is a very ta'u. we can't see each other. >> it reminds me of high school. >> mod q was off the hook. >> bitch. >> by the time we would leave, you would just be drained emotionally.

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