there are 2 million people behind bars in america. we open the gates. "lockup." >> don't be weak in prison. that's a downfall. >> i don't like the way you allowed them to bleep you. >> when i walked back here it was horrifying. >> i want to see some beauty, try to forget about this place. >> studies show that women are one of the fastest growing

segments of america's prison population. the number of female prisoners have grown a 50%. what does it mean to society and to our justice system. we visited valley state prison in california. one of the largest all female prisons mountain world. we returned five years later to see the inmates caught in a seemingly hopeless cycle of abuse, drug addiction and violence. >> everybody tries to make a family here. this is their family while they are here. but there is another aspect of the population that can be very violent, very cutthroat. and they are making a game out of it. the more violent it is, the more fun it is for them.

>> they are not people. >> i don't feel i am a good person because of the things i have done. and i am scared. i am very scared. >> 250 miles north ofless in chow chill a, california, is valley state prison for women. it sits on more than 640 acres. while valley state's dormitory lay-out and yards might remind some of a college campus, razor wire, guard towers and the electrified fence leave no doubt this is prison. the women who live here are criminals. >> when i first came to prison i was 19 years old. i am here for second-degree murder. ten to life. >> sharon phoenix being is 41 years old.

>> everything was like silent. you had to be careful the way you walked and talked and your attitude. i seen a woman get beaten and i have seen women o.d. >> more than 80% are in for drug related offenses. >> i am addicted to crack cocaine. >> substance abuse is an underlike factor of most of the crimes committed by the women here, because in order to support their drug habits, you end up committingberg larries and they end up in prison. >> >> i am eight months pregnant. >> you are what?

rhe let me see. gloria henry is the warden. she is has run this prison since 2002. >> i have always felt like i have a responsibility to try and return them to the community better than they were when they came in. a lot of these women who come in here, from the time they were little girls, they had nobody to teach them how to be a good citizen, how to be a productive adult. they have no life skills. they didn't learn them. wap they did growing up was survive. when they come in here, there is a lot of things we need to teach them how to do in order to go back into communities. >> this is the reception area at valley state, where the new inmates are processed. >> do you have any old numbers? >> no. i have never been. i am ashamed of what i did.

>> right now i am numb. i don't feel anything. i don't know how it's going to be. i don't know what i am going to face because i have never been here. >> some of them i see come in are disgusted because they are back here again. we see them every three or four months, or time and time again. >> this is my fifth time. my first commitment was a petrie theft with a prior. this is my fourth violation. >> i am a criminal. that's what i do. >> after the initial photographs, fingerprints and processing with they assess what they need. the new inmate moust be separat from the general population. they are psychologically tested

to determine in which housing area they will be placed. >> some of the women who are psychotic, lost touch with reality, may have bizarre and unusual behaviors, we would need to treat them usually with medication and supportive therapy. we have seen people who have michael depressive disorders, maybe suicidal. they may need psychotherapy as well. >> once the correctional staff screens them for medical and psychological needs, she is assigned to her housing unit. the women live eight to a room. >> when you live with seven other personalities and somebody's day has gone wrong, they take it out on you.

friendships are lost in one bad day in close quarters. >> inmates not only have to get used to their new environment, but also the prison routine. a typical day at valley state starts early. at 6:30 breakfast is cooked and served by inmates under staff supervision. they spend a variety of programs where they can earn a high school diploma, learn a trade or cope with anger, addiction or abuse. >> when i first came to prison i would start fighting. if i felt threat end, most of the time i would end up in cuffs. i have had police tell me you are going to be here until the prison falls down. going to groups and therapy i finally learned that wasn't the way to do it.

i learned how to use talking skills instead of my hands. i have the chance to go home. >> life here is about order and routine. by 10:00 p.m. it's lights out, but there are some places at valley state that never go to sleep. coming up. >> this is how it is 24/7. you have to be prepared for anything. >> doing time another valley state's prison within a prison. later -- >> when i was a little girl i could never imagine myself being here or even coming to a place like this. >> we checked back with someone who could spend her life behind bars. freptment. ugh, we don't have that. what should i tell him? just make that super annoying modem noise... (shuuuuuuuh....zzzzzzzz...de ee...dong...shuuuhh...)

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way you allowed them to poke you. >> the administrative segregation unit. it is valley state's prison within a prison. while it houses those on temporary lockdown, the other side is for those with a more permanent problem. >> i was fed up. that's what i was. inmates were afraid of me. >> inmates in the shoe are kept in their cells almost 23 hours a day. they are allowed out for only three showers a week and ten hours in the recreation yard. life isn't just a more intense experience for the inmates. correctional officers are under the pressure of dealing with a

different brand of criminal. >> working here is very electricaleninging. you deal with a lot of physical abuse, mental abuse, emotional bows. it depends how much you let it affect you. you hear yelling, you hear cursing, you hear banging, kicking on the doors. this is how it is 24/7. at night time they don't sleep. anytime you are dealing with any of the inmates you have to be ready to react to anything. so you always got to be prepared, know your options when you are dealing with different situations. you have to think two steps ahead to prepare for whatever could happen. >> an arsenal of nonlethal weapons provides added security

to the officers. meals are delivered through slots in cell doors. random cell searches are a way for officers to find other contraband before they can be used on staff or other inmates. >> we can't see through this. we can take our light and if there is anything in here we will be able to see it. there is supposed to be shampoo in there. there is not shampoo in there. we don't want to get stabbed. >> the officers search for all sorts of contraband, but first ask foremost on the look-out for weapons. >> this is cellophane rapped around a pen filler. it could be used as a stabbing weapon. >> when it comes to crafting

homemade weapons, an inmate's determination can be deadly. >> this is what we call a fashion lock. it's a cut-off pillowcase made into a handle. the inmate braids it. they attack another inmate. >> another common weapon for inmates to use would be a toothbrush. they melt the plastic down and put a razor in there, which acts as a slashes device. screws have been inside a lighter. >> if we can stop it here, everybody goes home safe. >> not all prisoners are in there for disciplinary reasons. cynthia and linda are here to

protect them from their enemies. >> we have families we want to get loam to too. my son testified and took somebody away from their family. they were going to take me away from mine. i have been back here a little over a plo. i feel like my whole world is crumbling. when i walked back here, i could see horror. >> it's very depressing, it's very humiliating. >> linda donahue was assaulted at a nearby prison. now her attacker will be arriving at the prison. now she is moved. >> i was able to get out and bang on the door for the officer. i am scared of dying. i have seen people beat worse

than what i got beat. >> for both women the isolation has provide a chance to reflect on their time shind bipartisan. >> it was a reality check. you are told not to be weak in prison. that's a downfall. i don't know how to be strong. i just had that one habit i couldn't break away from. it's was like taking away the loneliness. >> violence and drugs take their toll inside valley state. darlene is serving time for petty theft. she has been in for 21 months. >> this is the first time i have been soeber in my whole life,

since i was 18. this is maybe the real person that i really am. >> darlene's facilities with basic. a few luxuries like lotions, spices and a television. she has only pictures of her family to keep her company. >> with my pictures i know i have a purpose. >> today darlene will go before a committee to determine if she is fit to leave. >> she was placed in asu on 12-12-04. it is further recommended we release her to facility d. >> the meeting brings good news. she will return to the general population. >> my life is going to be fine. i am going to make it. >> when we return --

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when i was a little girl i could never imagine myself being here now today, or even coming to a place like this. when i was 16 in juvenile hall fighting my case, to be so young convicted of second-degree murder, it was the scariest thing i have gone through. i didn't know what i was coming to or what it was going to be like. i was terrified. >> when we first met janice she had just turned 21. she was serving 15 to life. >> i was set up with a drug deal, which turned to a robbery, which turned to murder. this place makes you hard. it can make you bitter.

i don't think it rehab i willtates you. 90% of the women go out harder than what they come in. >> janice was pregnant when she was arrested. her son was born six months prior to her coming to valley date. >> to me i am the woman who gave birth to him. my stepmom and my father have raised him. >> janice is 26, older, wiser and looking toward the future. >> four years ago i was a wreck. i was real rebellious. didn't care about nobody. now, four years later, i am more mature. i care what happens to me. >> janice also cares about the child she left behind. she hopes to be paroled within five years and at last be a mother to her son before it's

too late. >> as he gets older and comes to understand and realizes where i am at, i think he is going to be real rebellious about it. he is not going to want to listen to nobody and terrified he will make the same mistakes i did. >> at valley state prison there are 385 women serving life sentences. >> four years ago i couldn't see leaving here. now as my board date approaches i see that there might possibly be a light at the end of the tunnel. only in the last year have i felt like maybe this isn't what god has planned for me, to stay here the rest of my life. >> she was convicted in 1998 for vehicular manslaughter. she drove drunk and killed four people. >> it not only affected four people in the car, myself.

my two children don't have their mother right now. the effects ripple down and affect so many people. the pain will nef go away. >> she is serving 15 to life. when we spoke to her in 2000, she was convinced prison was the end of the line. >> i have a very supportive daughter, who is 20. she is putting herself rz through school. i have a 23-year-old son in iraq right now who should be coming home soon. he is having the hardest time dealing with me being here. we basically have had no communication since i have been in prison. i am faithful that god is going to turn that around. i know that god is always there. he wraps harms around me and

comforts me. i can't forgive myself sometimes. >> i have become a very angry person rather than, say, shb looking at things and finding things better. there is nothing rehabilitating here. it's a drudgery, really. >> when we last saw barbara she was 65 years old and i don't know year into cher ten-year sentence for murder. >> my husband had left me after 30 years. i was having a tough time with it. all of a sudden, i decided i was going to be me again. i went over to his house. he had moved out. i went over to his house where he lived and wanted to tell him to keep whatever pension and stuff he had and just sign the house over to me.

and he to the very irate and started beating me up. when i backed up, his gun was on the counter. i picked it up and tried to scare him. he backed off, but then he came at me and i pulled the trigger, i guess. i really don't remember it clearly. it went off and he died. >> barbara had more difficulty adjusting to her time in prison than the others. barbara will soon be 71. >> no, this is not life, i will tell you that. you definitely being punished, that's for sure. it's a nightmare. i still have not gone gotten over the shock of being here.

and everything is so different. people are so different. they are not people. i think i was still in shock at the time. i didn't really realize what was going on and what it would be like to be in here. it's horrible. it really is. i don't laugh as freely. i don't live, really, is basically what it is. i try very hard to keep my spirits up, but sometimes you just can't. if it wasn't for my family, my granddaughter, who i have got pictures of, i wouldn't make it. i don't know what would happen.

>> as these women get closer to freedom, they remain mindful of getting out and moving on. >> when i get out of prison i will be the kind of person that carries a good job, be the best mother i can be. >> i cannot bring those children back. i cannot bring the gentleman and his girlfriend back and i can't wipe the tears of the family members or my own family members. but i can keep trying to move forward and do the best that i can do for others. try to replace it that way. that's the only way i know how. >> that's what i need to do, folk us on the fact that in two years i will be out. maybe there is something i can do on the outside. i want to see the outside. i want to see some beauty and try to forget about this place.

>> coming up, babies behind bars. and the women who have to give them up. why do i cook for the holidays? to share with family to carry on traditions to come together, even when we're apart in stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and more, swanson® makes holiday dishes delicious! then boom... what happened? stress, fun, bad habits kids, now what?

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here is what's happening. five people are ted after a fire swept through an apartment building near the campus of southern maine. it is unclear if any of the victims are students. new york city hospital officials say the doctor has been upgraded from serious to stable. we will bring you more news in an hour. now he would take you back to "lockup." >> medical care for all prison inmates is notoriously inadequate. the valley state prison for

women, health care is one of the facility's greatest challenges. for prisoners it's been a hot-button for years. each day just after breakfast the inmates on medication line up for their daily doses. all drugs are regulated. psychotropic, free prenatal. on our first visit the facilities were understaffed and overburdened. >> the medical care here sucks. >> medical sucks. medical sucks. >> we need better medical. >> i have been here eight years and never had a physical. they said because i am young and healthy i don't need a physical. >> because of standards set by the community there has been a

significant increase in funding for the health care services for women. we have been able to add to our staff both in terms of physicians, nursing, mental health staff. is it perfect? no. do we have enough staff? no. do we have vacancy problems? yes. but we are significantly better off in terms of our ability to deliver a better quality standard of care than we were a year ago. >> above all, pregnant nancy. >> pregnancies in a prison provide a unique problem for us. many of the women pregnant are in poor shelt. they are ill when they are pregnant. they have a number of issues going on in their lives.

>> 175 babies are born each year in valley state. >> i am having twins. i think i am having a boy and a girl, when an inmate is ready to deliver at valley state she is brought to madeira community hospital. correctional officers are posted outside the delivery room. >> when the babies are delivered, the mothers don't get to bring them home. >> a family member must pick up the newborn within 48 hours. otherwise the baby is placed in foster care. >> he kaged a found and nine ounces. >> when she was sent in on a parole charge she was seven months pregnant with triplets.

>> a high-risk pregnancy, this is noplace to be. she had to be airlifted to hospital capable of providing adequate care to her pham. she was given traumatizing news. >> two of my children are still living. and my son unfortunately passed away, which was really hard, because i couldn't be there for him like i should have been. >> the hardest thing was to lose my son, you know, just being away from my choirn, period. it's tearing me up inside. i never wanted to be -- i feel like i am the worstest mother. this is not my home here.

i am not calling this my home. my home is with my children. >> an unfortunate fact of life is that 80% of these women are mothers. they display photos on walls or on cell lockers. >> these are my girls. i love them so much. >> one of the more sobering differences between men's and women's prisons, many never see their loved ones again. >> there are not men in their lives who cared enough to stay with them during this difficult time. the families don't take the time to see them. there are not as many men that want to communicate to and send love stories to women that are locked up. >> it's saturday, usually a prison's busiest time for

visits. yet andrea and the family have the room to themselves. >> without them being here i don't think i could make it through this. looking forward to their visits and letters brightens my days. >> they are fiance and three boys are visiting her. >> miss her a lot. >> we are supposed to get married when she gets out. >> all the time she is gone, we never get to talk to her. all we get to do is write her. when she gets out, she can probably come to our football games. >> you know i will. just can't wait to get out of here and start living our lives. that's my goal. i am very blessed to have someone take care of my kids. our family just kind of shut

them off since being here. i am fortunate that i have someone who loves me and will come how many miles to see me. >> see you next week. >> she was released from valley state prison in november 2000. her sons are teenagers and she is still in a relationship with her fiance. although advocacy groups sponsor bus trips to bring families to see their mothers, such trips are rare. barely 1% of inmates have a visitor on any given day. >> it makes life in here livable. gives me something to look forward to. >> when we return -- while some

look to god while in prison, others look to each other. n peo. [ susan ] my promotion allowed me to start investing for my retirement. transamerica made it easy. [ female announcer ] everyone has a moment when tomorrow becomes real. transamerica. transform tomorrow.

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he good morning. bless you. good morning, sister. one of the basic there is no fist of the penal system is repen tans. >> we come to worship you. >> anyone who comes to god usually comes because what motivates them is pain. >> i came to know the lord in here, which is something very -- i feel so much peace with

myself. i know he forgives me for being a rotten person. i know he forgives my sins. >> there are several religious options for inmites. from this nightive american ceremony led by a cherokee healer. >> we send our blessings out to our families that we miss very much. >> only god is in that place. >> to this catholic service where inmates are anointed with ho holy oil. >> the touching part is a key for them. the anointing and the blessing, the fact that i can touch them on their forehead and on their hands, i get a severannse of re

for them. somebody cares enough not to touch them in an abusive way. >> because so many inmates have been physically and mentally abused, they are unaccustomed to nurturing relationships. >> they decide this is an older ahead, i look up to them. this is like my mother figure. they start calling them mom. this is the lesbian female been this is my dad,rapher. >> she is serving time for manslaughter and assault on an officer. >> this is something they never have. here the relationships are more close because they are so close.

you see these people every day no matter what you do. >> mean of the inmates become so close that their relationships go beyond support. >> women need to talk examine to have close relationships. >> i am married. >> to? >> to a woman. >> in many of our women prisoners who would not be fwa or lesbians in the free world are drawn to each other here in a supportive, family-like concept that may lead actually into lesbian sexual relationships. >> when i first came to prison i started being with women, probably for affection. now i don't be with women because that wasn't who i was.

i was lonely. i didn't know how to keep myself occupied. >> it's about being close to somebody, having somebody give you love. even some of the lesbian relationships in here, a lot of females come in here and they have husbands. they have five children at home or whatever. they come here and they receive love from somebody, you know what i am saying. they find somebody who they care about. >> it's going to be a whole new world.

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>> she is the one. >> i would love to have the women leave this prison better off than they were when they came in. that is my goal. that is our mission. >> when msnbc visit the valley state in 2000, the recidivism was 50%. if the trend continues more than half of these women will come back. >> i am 24 years old. i have come to terms with myself about changing my life and the lifestyle and the friends i hang around. they have a lot to offer you here if you take advantage of the situation. they have schools, they even have college courses you can take to get yourself into something positive, you know what i mean?

>> we can provide all the education in the world but the individual has to be ready to accept the programs and be ready to change who i am and how i live. >> valley state has 15 vocational programs, from welding to landscaping can be to cosmetology. marlene used to be a drug dealer. >> the outside world, i ran a lot from the law. sold drugs to get by, you know. it was easy money. i didn't really know too much of doing anything except running the streets. when they came here, they asked me, what are you interested in? i said nails, hair. they put me in this program. a lot of us that's here really don't know nothing except what we have learned to bring

ourselves here. if we had known a trade or something, we might have did that instead of doing what we did to get here. >> at the end of her ten-year sentence, marlene hopes to open a nail shop of her own. >> i am hoping it will give me a normal life where i don't have to look over my shoulder and worry about coming back. it's the choices in life we mike that bring us here. hopefully i don't make that same mistake and come back. >> i came no in my early 20s. i am pushing into my 40s now. my sentence was 15 to life. >> kristy was convicted of second-degree murder. she works in the print shop. she dropped out of school in the seventh grade but earned her high school diploma here at

valley state. >> they griff you job skills you can incorporate when you leave. >> she hopes her new skill will make a difference if she leaves valley state. >> it's going to be a whole new world. i have been in almost 20 dwreers. i am looking forward to being a homeowner, living the american dream just like everybody else. that's what i plan on doing. >> because a large part of the population at valley state is here for drug-related offenses, the substance abuse program remains many of the women's hope. >> i want you ladies to relax, she used to be a drug addict herself. as a counselor she has unique perspective on what the inmates

face. >> i feel unworthy. but, you know, i am working on that right now, you know what i mean? how has it made you neil when you see your peers with pictures and you are not showing pictures of your kids. >> this is walden house. today's topic is the effect the inmates' addiction has had on their families. >> my kids don't have that relationship or a bond that a mother and child is supposed to have. >> if you could tell your kids anything, what would you tell them? >> i would apologize for not being the parent i was supposed to be. i would tell them i love them very much. i would tell them not to make the same mistakes i did. >> i want to give you all a big stroke because you did

processing. i want to stroke the ladies here for support. >> it's important that we let the ladies know that the work they are doing is very important. some of them have held stuff in for 20 or 25 years. it's hard to be productive in society because they have all this garbage inside. they come to a place where they can rethese it. >> i lost my mother while he was locked up. i am not real close with my family right now because the trust was lost. >> some of these ladies haven't cried in many years. when we see the tears we know we are helping them become a member of society. it's important that we hug them so they know they are doing the right thing ask it's okay to cry. >> what i want, i want you to biff me your whole name. >> are you ready for your last

patdown? >> these women are being paroled. odds are the majority will be back. >> a parolee will leave with is personal property and generally $200. unless they have saved money or have had family and friends that have sent money for their trust account to give them something for a start. >> for many the prospect of leaving valley state on parole doesn't bring hope but fear. for inmates a life in prison is all they know. >> i am scared to get out. i don't know what i am going to do. i know how different i am now. it's a weird experience. >> i don't feel i am a good person because of the things i have done. they will let you become part of society again. part of me doesn't ever want to

be part of society. >> i think some of them actually like it here. they get their families -- create their families here, their friends. it's like a reunion. thps their comfort zone. >> it's traumatizing zwrous look 19 engineers down the road when i am eligible for parole. won't be able to collect ssi. any vocation i take now won't be any good. technology changes every day. i have no idea what half the cars out there look like, let alone a computer. it's going to be scary.

>> there are 2 million people behind bars in america. we open the gates, "lockup." >> we are working with serious, dangerous criminals. >> if you like being told what to do, if you like being told when to eat, sleep, go to the bathroom, if you like taking a chance of getting your ass kicked by inmates or police, if you like that type of thing, then this is the place for you. >> that's my buildings right there. i can look at them but i can't reach them. >> the inmates can be good, but