msnbc takes you behind the walls of the most notorious prisons into a world of chaos and danger. now the scenes you've never seen. "lockup raw." >> even though sex is one of the most basic of human desires, behind bars, it's 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, man. >> when we met keith "precious"

mason in alabama, he was carrying on a sexual relationship with inmate marquise nobles. >> when i first met him, i told another one of the girls, he has pretty feet. and i have a foot fetish. i mean, i'm into feet thing. i'm into the feet. i'm into the feet. i like feet. as far as the sex part is concerned, it is very, very frustrating and uncomfortable, especially if it's something that you really want to do because you have to try to beat the police and inmates. basically it's 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, generally 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's the lack of sex that leads to the unrest among inmates. >> that frustrates these dudes. there's not a man that i know from 8 to 80 right now that wakes up and don't have an erection in the morning time because that's what happens. we're dealing with reality. when a man wakes up, the first thing that comes to a man's mind, damn i wish i was on the street. damn, i miss my wife. >> but behind bars, sex can be desire, desperation, especially at prisons as notorious as california's pelican bay. >> this is the last place they need to be sending a flamboyant homosexu homosexual, pelican bay. >> adolf green was out in the yard when our producer noticed him and asked for an impromptu interview. >> i'm a flamboyant homosexual. the ones that prefer to fix themselves up like a girl. and we call each other girls. you understand?

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

can sit up and talk and play cards and dominos and whatnot. but the minute something happens to you, they all go the other direction. leave you to die. and they've got a lot of people up in here that call each other loved ones. i've got love for you. you're my home boy. but the minute you do something that they don't like, they'll cut you. that's what pelican bay is about. >> but we've 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'm going to live my life as a girl. i've 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. >> the first time i went to jail was 15 years old, i burned the elementary school down. it was pretty much downhill from here. >> as an openly gay man, campbell's time behind bars has had its challenges. >> being gay in prison is really

hard. i mean, it's hard enough to do time in here. but the fact that everybody knows that you are gay, it is constant pressure for 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's very few people here that are gay on the streets and gay in here as well. there's a lot of people that say they don't mess around. but then when they get you by themselves, it's like hey, man, what's up? >> one of the things that struck me about matthew is how comfortable he was in his own skin. i mean, here's an openly gay inmate in a southern prison, and he didn't have any problems with it. but when we went out to the yard to try and get b-roll of matthew playing backgammon, it became clear that a lot of the other inmates did have a problem with him being openly gay.

some people just were avoiding him. he was actually calling out to them. >> oh, you're scared? >> and 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 a 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 probably ended up dead. and my family knows i'm gay. i told all them when i came here. so they all know what to expect from me now. it's like i told them, it's going to be a different person. >> but before campbell can prosper on the outside, he'll 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" -- >> i love him to death.

i'd do anything for brad. anything. short of killing somebody again. >> the family bonds that lead to murder. and later -- >> one of the first things i noticed was something that i never thought i'd see in a million years on a prison yard, and that's all of the cats. >> when inmates adopt. >> basically when they're little babies, you raise them up, you pet them, feed them, you watch them grow up. that's your cat. heart healthy. [ m'm... ] great taste. [ tapping ] sounds good. campbell's healthy request. m'm! m'm! good.® campbell's healthy request. boy: once upon a time, there was a nice house that lived with a family.

one day, it started to rain. the house tried to keep out all the water, but water got inside and ruined everybody's everythings. the house thought she let the family down. they just didn't think it could happen. they told the house they would take better care of her... always. announcer: protect what matters. get flood insurance. [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup

lets you hear it in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. [ m'm... ] great taste. [ tapping ] sounds good. campbell's healthy request. m'm! m'm! good.®

the bond one inmate might develop with another is often the only thing that helps them survive the 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 yvette and doris gay. >> being on death row, it was like i needed to be with my sister. >> the identical twins, both convicted of murder for helping yvette's former boyfriend carry out a triple homicide were sent to the north carolina correctional institution for women. doris got a life sentence. vyette was condemned to die. she told us about her first day on death row. >> i began to hear insults when i first got in the gate. i began to hear people talk about oh, she got sentenced to death. oh, she's going to be -- she's going to die for the crimes that 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. my sister would be in the window. i'd walk by with a group of ladies. everybody would say, doris, there's your sister. i said, god, there she is. and i said, i wish she was out here, you know. and i hated to go by there just to see her. and it hurt my heart, and i would ache. >> after six years of separation, yvette's punishment was reduced to a life sentence, meaning she could leave death row and reunite with doris. >> i was so excited for her. and she came and hugged me, and we were crying and kissing and hugging. oh, it was like a great reunion. i started crying. i got emotional. i just began to praise god. >> though they can see each other in 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. >> who does? >> the officers.

and they get confused. >> it's interesting and kind of unusual for corrections because if you're not paying attention, you don't know who you're talking to. it is one of the reasons why we house them separately. >> how do i look? >> you look wonderful. wonderful, sis. >> that's my only brother. we're really close. we're really tight. we eat together. we lift together. we work together. >> our visit to the anamosa state penitentiary in iowa led us to another 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's almost four years older than me. you know, and i see him running around drinking and breaking into stuff and doing whatever he's doing. and i'm, like, i want to be like him. that's my big brother. that's my idol. so i kind of followed in his

footsteps. >> those footsteps led down a bloody path that ended at a holiday party in their trailer park. >> it was christmas night 1992. me and my brother went to a party with what we thought were friends but they tried to rob us to take the liquor that we brought. >> they started beating me up. there was, like, four of them. >> they hurt brad. i couldn't let them get away with that. they threatened his life. so we left, went to my trailer. i got a shotgun. my brother got a five, a machete. we went back out there and did what we did. >> i remember mike standing there. he had the gun pointed up at the trailer. and one of the dudes looked out the window. he was, like, [ bleep ] you or whatever he was saying. boom! then he shot. >> so i shot three people. he cut up two.

>> we were both charged with first-degree murder with carries a life sentence in iowa. and that's it. life means life. it 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 fair for him to spend the rest of his life in prison. they came to me and said if i pled guilty, they would plea bargain him down to a lesser time, so he plea bargained down to 125 years which to me that's still excessive. but it's better than a life sentence. he gets to go home where you'll probably end up dying in prison. >> how does that make you feel? >> it makes me feel like a piece of [ bleep ] really, man. [ bleep ] to hear my only brother, and because of something we did, and we did it together. and 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 that he's here because of me. so i carry that guilt around every day. he was 18. he turned 18 in county jail.

he had a whole life ahead of him. he could have been a pro football player or a rock star, whatever he wanted to be. and i feel in my mind, in my heart, that i ruined that for him. and there's no way to explain how much guilty 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, this guy told on my brother for smoking weed. mike told me, he said, here. i'm going to go beat him up. watch out for us. i said all right. so i was standing outside the cell. and mike goes in there. i just -- i don't want what made me do it, but i look in the window. and there was only supposed to be one guy in there but there was two and they were 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. and then that was it. yeah. it 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. you know, i ain't cool with that. and he tried talking to me, but i told him, i just can't. i ain't got no respect for you for what you did. >> i hate that. that's the worst crime that you can do including the crime that i did of murder. i think that's worse. >> in 2003, their father died of a heart attack while still incarcerated. when their mother became ill, authorities approved michael's request to be moved closer to her home. which reunited the brothers at anamosa. >> i was excited to see him again, man. you know, it's my brother. >> you 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'll never see him again. once he gets out of prison, that's it. i'll never be able to visit my brother again because of iowa law. anybody on paper can never visit anybody while incarcerated.

>> yvette and doris know all about that. since our visit to the north carolina correctional institution for women, doris has been paroled. the soonest she will be allowed to visit yvette is when her probation expires. brad and michael love have more time. brad is currently eligible but has not yet made parole. >> so we're going to spend as many years together as we can. >> i love him to death. i'd do anything for brad, anything. short of killing somebody again. coming up on "lockup raw" -- >> these cats is their kids. and you mess with one of the cats, these cats is their family. that's all they've got. >> the special bond between prisoner and pet. >> it's like anything. treat them with love and respect, they'll treat you with love and respect back.

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. >> this is bayne. this is my buddy. >> nobody's family home cat is -- i can see could be happier than these cats in here. >> one of the first things i noticed when walking out in the yard in kentucky, was something that i never thought that i'd see in a million years on a prison yard. and that's all of the cats. they were all over the place. >> nobody remembers 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. >> especially when they're little babies and you can raise them up, pet them, feed them, watch them grow, that's your cat. >> like a kid.

>> it was really amazing to see all of these felons, the guys that were 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. and it was really interesting how the inmates had developed very, very nurturing relationships with these cats. >> we've got all kinds of cats. you've got these guys here, these cats is their kids. and you mess with one of the cats, it's just like messing with my kids at home. these cats is their family. that's all they've got. >> and like any proud parent, the inmates shared photos of their favorite felines. >> we're cat lovers up here. 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 funny little way, the cats contributed to a lower level of violence on that yard.

>> the vet comes once a month. you can buy dry food and medicine and toys and stuff like that. >> so guys work hard at their jobs to earn their money, and they'll spend it on -- >> sometimes their vet bill is 60, 70, 80 bucks. it takes everything they've got. >> let's give you some room. >> i wish you would get together and get rid of some of these rats we've got running around this yard. the people rats. now, you leave the little bitty mice alone. >> we found an even more unlikely bond at california's state prison corcoran. >> it's like everything. 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.

and at first i thought it was like a little -- a kitten. and it ended up it was a gopher that they had tamed. >> we have a pool, give it a bath so it doesn't bring the dirt mites in, and play with them and let them run around our cells, feed them apples and let us. it's like the best companion i've ever had. >> a lot of the guys we ran into have probably never had anybody, you know, to love or anything or anybody to love them. and, you know, when you run into somebody who is, you know, 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 state prison. >> i'm mike miller. my real name. and the staff here call me the bird man of san quentin. the first day i got here at san quentin, birds seem to have

flocked to me for some reason. i don't know, they probably think i'm the bird man of alcatraz. maybe they're 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've been here, the birds just come up to me like they know me. you know, i've got them landing on my shoulders and my hands. you know, different kinds of birds. not just pigeons but different kinds of blackbirds like finch and the red wing landing on me. i think the birds is a good way 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. basically, that's about the only friends i've got is birds. i can't trust anybody else.

communities across the country are making plans to get people to shop local this small business saturday. we'll tell you what owners here in milford, connecticut, are doing to get people away from the wall and month to main street. and we'll give you a roundup of shop small campaigns all across the country. also, what actor kevin bacon is doing to get people to shop small. we've got that and a whole lot more coming up on this special small business saturday edition of "your business."