and inmate safety at risk. due to mature subject me, too. we do talk sexually through the vents and stuff. vent sex, yes. vent sex. all right. >> a young woman finds love in the jail's one co-ed housing unit. >> robbery just been something that always came natural. >> charged with a spree of armed

robberies, an inmate comes under investigation inside the jail. >> rumor has it on the street that he's been putting out order to assault officers. >> i wouldn't say it's an assault. i would say more punishment. >> i was told you was up for murder. but you never know. >> a distraught father speaks for his son who, if found guilty, could face the death penalty. >> i know my dad knows in his heart that i ain't no killer. i know he knows that. [ laughter ] ♪ overlooking charleston harbor is ft. sumter. it's here that the first shots of the civil war were fired in april 1861. the fort is but one part of history that has been preserved in charleston, south carolina, a

city that several travel publications describe as the most hospitable in the nation. outside downtown sits a modern day fortress. where strife and conflict often overshadow southern hospitality. >> it's crazy here. you get a little bit of everything. you have suicidal inmates. you have females. you get alcoholics from the street that come in combative. >> i'm telling you! >> you've got segregation inmates. you've got a whole bunch that you've got the to deal with at one time. >> there are about 1,300 men and women incarcerated at the sheriff al cannon detention center, also known as the charleston county jail. while some have been convicted, most are only accused of crimes and are awaiting trial at the resolution of their cases. >> communication is the biggest thing, i feel, when you're dealing with a whole different variety of inmates.

you got to talk to them. the more i talk to find out what the problem is and learn how to deal with the problem, you get less resistance from them. >> no, you get into a fight, you hit one somebody who's got something, you don't know. >> officer skipper is a six-year veteran with the jail. most of that time has been in unit a1a, disciplinary segregation, where inmates with major rule violations are confined 24 hours a day. they lose most of their possessions and privileges, as well. >> they got to have us shackled because we in disciplinary. i been wearing these shackles so long, it's like sometimes it don't be there. it's just the normal routine. >> hey, mr. gathers. >> how you doing? >> did you have a bad day today? >> kind of. >> what happened? i been dealing with melvin now for maybe a little over two years.

and he is one that you can't come at hard. you just got to listen to him and have patience with him because he flips like that. >> it's some people who i have zero tolerance for, and there's some people that i have about 10% tolerance for. >> i don't trust him when he has his hands cuffed in the front of him. i stand here like this because i don't trust him. >> he's unpredictable. you never know what he's going to do. he can be be smiling and be your best friend, then turn around and he's ready to swing. >> melvin gathers is in distribution segregation after he became agitated and grabbed a phone from the officer's desk and smashed it on the floor. >> i got upset. i asked to speak to the sarge. then it became the demand. the demand wasn't carried out. i took the phone and chucked it, and then it shattered. >> gathers was given 60 days in segregation, considered a long time for anyone. jail officials say it was because the phone incident came after an even more serious

violation. >> i've assaulted a c.o., a correctional officer. >> the officer had suspended 30 minutes of gathers' daily recreation time for refusing an order to return to his cell. >> he took 30 minutes of recreation from me. that's 30 minutes out of my day that i only can come out out of two hours. i feel like that's a big take. >> he was upset about it. he threw his cup full of juice on the officer. the officer backed away and hit his personal alarm. and inmate gathers hauled him behind the desk and physically started to assault the officer. >> it was really the wrong place, the wrong time for him. his actions disturbed me. i reacted. >> gathers finally complied with orders as backup arrived at the unit. with a complex case ahead of him, gathers could face a long stretch in jail.

he and a co-defendant each face 13 charges including six for armed robbery. prosecutors say they held up three businesses during a four-day crime spree. gathers has pled not guilty but has three prior robbery convictions. >> armed robbery just been something that always came natural as a first instinct. my first armed robbery was a mexican market. i went in there and demanded money, and i seen the power that i had when i looked into their eyes. >> gathers said he never physically harmed his robbery victims but acknowledges having scarred them in other ways. >> i understand that i did scar them probably for life because it will be a memory never forgotten. you can hear it in their voice. >> what? >> you can hear -- you can hear them pleading, you can hear them pleaing, and you can hear them wanting to cry out, but they don't want to seem sort of weak and too vulnerable in the situation they're going through. >> what about their eyes? >> their eyes?

>> what did you see? >> their life. i could tell that they feel this could be a life-and-death situation. >> gathers says he always hides his identity during holdups. >> i choose to disguise myself to give the law a little bit more of a challenge to identify me. >> prosecutors say this security camera image shows gathers on the right and his co-defendant on the left. both in disguise at the scene of their latest robbery. >> you got to the explain this to me. >> well -- >> you have to explain this to me. >> they saying that could be me. but it's not for sure that they know that it's me. that's my statement. and that's what's going to court. coming up -- >> you actually put an order out for someone to be punished from here. >> it was more so like a warning. >> melvin gathers plays a game of cat and mouse with dangerous implications. and --

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on some of the rural island communities off the coast of charleston, south carolina, many african-americans identify as gullah or geechee. cultures that kate back to their ancestors who lived here as slaves. they speak an english-based creole language that can still be heard throughout the region. and inside the sheriff al cannon's detention center. >> me being here all my life, i have to sit back and listen. they talk fast. it's rumbling or mumbling, but it's just the language. and they speak deep.

>> the accent is sometimes mistaken for jamaican. >> they do kind of relate the language because they speak patois. we sound the same, i guess. but i'm from south carolina, i'm not from jamaica. >> these guys sound like from jamaica or something like that. >> carlton solomon, jr. has lived his interior life on nearby john's island. >> you ain't got nothing, you got dirt roads and trouble. that's just really it. dirt roads and trouble. >> solomon? how you doing, buddy? >> good. >> you all right? >> now, solomon has plenty of trouble. he is charged with murder, first-degree burglary, and other crimes related to a terrifying home invasion on john's island. solomon has pled not guilty and is awaiting trial. >> i know the old saying that

everybody's innocent in jail, but in some cases, some of us really are. >> authorities say solomon and two other men kicked in the back door of a home in the middle of the night. they say the trio encountered a 25-year-old man, whom they pistol whipped, then took his 27-year-old sister outside where she was shot in the pelvis and later died at a local hospital. >> god knows what happened. god knows who killed that lady. god knows that i did not have anything to do with this crime. >> solomon was the only man arrested after the surviving victim picked him out of a photo lineup. >> the only thing i could think of is that whoever that dude saw in that house that night probably was a light skinned male, you know? i got a history of trouble. and since i'm light skinned, i guess he saw the pictures and pointed me out. >> solomon's history of trouble includes prior charges in an unrelated case for allegedly attempting to stab a friend and stealing his car. he pled not guilty and was out on bond when the murder he is now accused of occurred.

>> they got this on the news. this lady that got killed, she has two little children. little children will grow up hating me. little children will grow up hating me. because [ bleep ] had nothing to do with it, you know? >> if found guilty, solomon would be eligible for the death penalty. >> when i see these walls and i hear these people, i would have never thought any of this would ever happen, ever. >> carlton solomon is one of several inmates from john's island. most are familiar faces to officer greene who was born on the island and still lives there. >> john's island is a rural community. everybody is close knit, everybody knows everybody. i see people from home in here all the time. so if i see them at home, at the grocery store, they're like, "i'm out. you won't see me in there again." the when i see them again, it's like, "let me tell you what happened." >> melvin gathers, who is

awaiting trial for alleged armed robberies is also from john's island. >> what's up? you doing all right? i've known his family for some time because we've been in school together from middle school through high school. by knowing his family, it helped in being able to talk and engage him in conversation. >> sergeant kitchings hopes that officer greene's relationship with gathers will provide insight into gathers' role with the game funk notion. >> a set of gangs under a common name, folk nation, black gangster disciples, manic, latin disciples. out of chicago, they fall under the umbrella of folk nation. we have documented cases of a leader of a gang sending out orders to members to assault other inmates. we've had some members get caught up with smuggling contraband to the facility. they have assaulted staff before. so they get -- it can be a real big problem. >> melvin gathers, he is a second lieutenant in folk nation.

he is considered one of the higher ranks. when its come down to his gang affiliations here, his chest is out, he's out. >> mr. gathers refers to himself, and i've heard other inmates refer to him as supreme. >> a lot of people call me supreme. supreme is the most high. i have a reputation that i must hold. >> officer last has observed gathers' influence over other inmates. >> if they're all yelling and screaming, he can stop them. if they're all quiet and he's mad, he can start them, as well. >> i can direct an inmate, a brother, a person, even a non-disciple. if i was to send word to the street to handle anything that needs to be taken care of, it will get handled. >> several weeks earlier, an inmate tied to folk nation assaulted an officer in the jail. now sergeant kitchings wants to find out if gathers was involved. >> rumor has it on the street that he's been putting out orders to assault officers.

hopefully we're able to confirm or deny that information today. >> good evening. how you doing, man? go on and have a seat, melvin. you're folk, right, gangster disciple? >> yeah. >> how long have you been involved in that? >> yeah, since day one. >> day one? >> age 13. '99. >> how far up are you? >> how far am i? i'm not comfortable answering that question as far as rank instruction. i'm not comfortable answering that question. >> i've been hearing something kind of disturbing to me. i've been hearing that you've been putting orders out for officers to be assaulted. and this is coming from the street. it's not coming from this facility. have you been doing that? >> i wouldn't say it's an assault. i'd say more of a punishment. >> a punishment? >> yeah. >> why? >> due to ways and actions. >> of an officer in here? >> yeah. you have to give respect to get it. >> i understand that. >> you can't treat people any

kind of way and expect nothing to come. >> you actually put an order out for someone to be punished from here because of the way they treated you? >> it was more so like a warning. >> a warning? >> yeah. >> you're looking at some serious charges, all right, and more charge to that, that's a felony. >> there's about so much you can do to me right now. >> that's true. but you go to court with additional felony charges -- especially putting out order and hits like that even though you might not intend it to be that serious, they are serious. and that's going to go against you when you go to court. you feel like you have a glimmer of hope, you need to hold on to that hope. doing stuff like this, that hope can fade real quickly. you look perplexed. what's wrong? trying to think of something? >> no. >> okay. >> a wise man always think before he speak. and dealing with people of your caliber and the person of my nation is like playing chess. we're on two different sides of the table. >> that's right.

>> as kitchings and greene press gathers, he begin to backtrack. >> it's not in my nature to do stuff like that. >> right. right. >> if anybody knows supreme, people would know i'm the more humble type with my authority. i'm guilty by association pretty much. mr. kitchings, guilty by association. >> well, i appreciate you talking to us, okay? but take my advice to heart and just chill out. you don't need any more charge before you go to court. all right, man. thank you. >> all right. >> take him back. >> you kind of flip-flopped. was some kind of hit put out on a specific officer? >> did i send it? no. do everybody think that i've done it? yes. they think that supreme has his hands in a lot of things. >> i think he wants to project himself as being very powerful. if he is projected as pulling that much power to have inmates assault officers, the other inmates might respect him more. might project him to be more of

a powerful individual. personally, i do not believe gathers ordered the assault. i don't think he pulls that's much weight around here to have ordered that assault. >> what's the next step from here? >> just monitor his activity. >> so the game continues? >> that's all it is is a game. i have a simple philosophy -- they have 24 hours, seven days a week, 365 days a week to come up with games or to mess with our minds. we've got 12 hours to feed the game. >> all right -- coming up -- >> carlton solomon. any family members for the defendant? >> yes, ma'am. i'm his father. >> carlton solomon stands before the judge and his father. and -- >> i love you. >> love you, too. >> a young woman finds love through an air vent. >> what you doing? ♪ push it. ♪ p...push it real good! ♪ ♪ ow! ♪ oooh baby baby...baby baby. if you're salt-n-pepa, you tell people to push it.

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inside the sheriff al cannon detention center, inmates often take creative steps to make jail feel a bit more like home. for samantha mcdonald, that

means using just about anything to feel attractive. >> the the eye shadow is new. i just invented it. this is my toothbrush. >> recently when mcdonald took another step to simulate her life at home, she got 30 days in disciplinary segregation. >> this time is because i was celebrating my birthday, and i made alcohol. and someone actually snitched on me. i was making it in a bottle with bread for yeast, fruit for like the acids and stuff, and then i used juice from the lunch which also has sugar and gives it a little taste. >> mcdonald is charged with petty larceny and burglary. she pled not guilty but admits to entering an unlocked home during a time when she was living on the streets and addicted to drugs. >> i went to the fridge to get

something to eat. then i went from the fridge to the bedroom to see if they had any change on their dresser, whatever. and when i opened the first drawer, there was $300 sitting in the drawer. so i took $300 and left. >> mcdonald has struggled with drug use, ranging from marijuana and ecstasy to crack and cocaine. she says she turned to drugs after a painful childhood. >> i talked to my therapist about that. he says that's because of your past. don't let it fuel anything. no feelings and stuff. and yeah. >> now mcdonald has new feelings to deal with. she's met a man here. >> when he comes out for rec for his hour, he comes to my window. we sit there and talk. then -- which is not really allowed, but you know, he does it anyways. >> charleston county has one of the few co-ed segregation units in the nation. since there are rarely more than a few women requiring it, the jail groups them together in adjacent cells.

>> the policy, they are not to talk to each other. they're not to interact at all. but how do you avoid that when they're yelling through doors? you can't make them not talk. >> while men and women are not allowed out at the same time, they inevitably draw each other's attention. [ laughter ] >> this the only unit this has male and females in it. and after a while, you can't prevent everything. >> i can't go past this blue. >> we try our best to stop inmates from going up to the door, but they watch us just as much as we watch them. and if we get distracted by something else, they'll run up. human nature. talking to somebody, especially when you're in a concrete room by yourself, you're going to find somebody to talk to. >> i love you. what's up? >> sometimes inmates communicate through the vent system. and since mcdonald's new boyfriend lives in the cell above hers, that gives them a direct line of communication. >> what you doing? >> speaking to you. >> they say that we're not supposed to communicate with the females. but it's to the point where you

don't control it. we're in a vent together. you going to tell me to stop speaking in my room? >> mcdonald's new boyfriend is melvin gathers. >> you miss me? >> yeah, i couldn't sleep. >> you couldn't sleep? >> yeah. >> samantha, samantha, samantha. i've known her for -- it wasn't very long. probably like a month now. the other day, we had a very deep, intense conversation. i told her that truth be told, yes, i have feelings for you. >> i love you. >> love you, too. >> you've known her for a month. you talk to her through a vent. >> yes. >> you see her occasionally. >> yes. >> and already you guys are talking about a committed relationship? or how to have a committed relationship? >> see, i feel like love don't have a time limit. so if love doesn't have a time limit to occur, as long it's real and it's solid, i feel like we shouldn't have a time, you know, to say to each other official.

>> we do talk sexually through the vents and stuff, you know. >> it's the equivalent of like phone sex? >> yes. >> it's vent sex. >> it's vent sex. yes. vent sex. >> she's a female. she's young. you know, she's no different than any other male/female together when they haven't been on the the street for a long time. you got to watch them just like you do the guys. >> privacy. i mean, you're talking through the vents. and obviously, i'm assuming other people can hear you. >> it's like a thrill to be heard. we have sex like that until she's very satisfied. >> how do you know she's not faking it? >> because i know. >> do you think he's listening. >> supreme? >> yeah? >> are you listening? >> yes. coming up -- >> he is my son. right or wrong, he's still going to be my son. >> carlton solomon's father

speaks to the media. and -- >> when i get out, i'm going to live with my grandmother. >> samantha immediately plans for a future that may or may not include melvin gathers. >> when samantha least, it's like a test. now this is when the ball game starts. house! car! oh, raise the roof! no one? remember when we used to raise the roof, diane? oh, quiet, richard, i'm trying to make sense of flo's terrible drawing. i'll draw the pants off that thing. oh, oh, hats on hamburgers! dancing! drive-in movie theater! home and auto. lamp! squares. stupid, dumb. lines. [ alarm rings ] no! home and auto bundle from progressive. saves you money. yay, game night, so much fun.

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i'm dara brown. here's what happening. a missing ohio state football player has been found dead from a self inflecting gunshot wound. cost ta karageorge texted his mother. civil rights leaders, law enforcement officials and other, after a grand jury last week decided not to indict a police officer in the death of michael brown. more news later. now it's time to do back to "lockup." due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised.

♪ that's what i talk about, break it on down. ♪ >> been waiting on inmates to come downstairs from their different units to go in front of the camera for court. >> the video courtrooms inside the sheriff al cannon detention center are used for new arrestees and current inmates to have bond hearings without having to leave the jail. as carlton solomon, jr. signs in for his hearing, he's greeted by a familiar face from his neighborhood on john's island. >> you don't like to stay home, huh? >> man, i was doing good, man, for real. >> huh? carlton solomon, we lived two doors apart. his grandmother is like everybody's aunt in the neighborhood. used to always go to her house. especially in the summertime. she used to feed everybody. nicest person in the world. he comes from an awesome family. just put your attorney name

right there. >> right here? >> uh-huh. >> ms. greene, she's considered something like family to me, too. she's cool with all my family. they love her. >> i remember when he was born. i remember him small, as a young boy. he wasn't a bad child. he throwing his life away. he pretty much has condemned himself. he's going to be here for a while. going to be here for quite a while. >> murder, kidnapping, burglary, all type of [ bleep ]. >> yeah, you ain't getting no bond. >> [ bleep ] no. >> solomon is accused of murder and other crimes related to a home invasion robbery on john's island. if found guilty, he could face the death penalty. >> all right. carlton solomon. any family member for the defendant? >> yes, ma'am. >> you're a family member -- >> yes, ma'am, i'm his father. >> okay. all right. carlton solomon, your father's here today. you've been charged with murder, burglary in the first, kidnapping, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

on the charge of murder, kidnapping, and burglary first, you were placed on a no bond. on the charge of the reconciliations of $100,000 surety bond. you may exit. thank you. >> she give me $100,000 bond my possession of a firearm, you know, during the commission of violent crime. for my burglary and kidnapping and murder, i didn't get no bond. >> so what does this mean for you, carlton? >> i'm stuck. stuck between a rock and a hard place. stuck. >> if you want to know your child's future, look at his friends. that will tell you his future. >> after the hearing, solomon's father, carlton solomon, sr., discusses his son's case with reporters. >> i was told that he was up for murder, some other charges. but you never know. you just don't know. as a parent. you do all the things that you believe you should do.

you feed them, house them, clothe them, put them in college, you do all the things you're supposed to but you never know. even right now i still don't know. i went off to the military. somewhere down the line, some thing shifted in his life. how it shifted, i don't know. i wasn't in the presence. why it shifted, i still don't know. i wasn't in the presence. but some things changed with him, but he's my son. he is my son. be right or wrong, he's still going to be my son. >> i know my dad knows in his heart that i ain't no killer. i know he knows that. i just really want to talk to him. that's the thing in my mind, having my dad thinking i'm a killer. >> though carlton, sr. couldn't meet with his son, in a few days he will return to visit him.

but with carlton, jr. denied bail, it could be years before he touches him again since murder trials rarely move quickly. ♪ i was running for some honey bees ♪ >> facing six counts of armed robbery and several related charges, melvin gathers' case has also been lengthy -- spanning two years now. most of his time has been spent in disciplinary segregation where he sometimes walks around the barren rec yard during his one hour per day outside his cell. >> what can you see from in here? >> grass. freedom. a sense of freedom. when i see the grass, i think of another chance. in the penitentiary, it's not granted that you see another chance. the only thing you see in the penitentiary is another facility to another facility. when i look outside, it flashes will i be able to touch the outside society freely again. it gets emotional sometimes, you know, because that's my life. that's the first leaf i seen in a long time, brother.

[ bleep ] >> samantha mcdonald prefers to take her rec time at night. >> i never come out during the day usually. i usually come out at night. i never get sunlight. little b.? and i socialize with other units and my friends. i don't know. >> gathers and mcdonald say they have developed a romantic relationship by speaking to one another through the air vents between their cells. mcdonald has recently entered a guilty plea on her charges of burglary for petty larceny. since she has no prior serious offenses, she is likely to bond out soon. >> when samantha leaves, it's like a test. now this is when the ball game starts. all of what you said during your introduction, during your interview, during our honeymoon period, you know what i'm saying? all right, now it's to put to the test. would you contact me? would you write me like you said you would write me? it takes determination. you have to be devoted, you know what i'm saying? >> mcdonald isn't sure what will

happen with gathers but says her life, which has included jail, drugs, and homelessness, needs to change. >> when i get out, i am going to be living with my grandmother, which is the best place for me to live because she's -- she's really christian lady. and i -- no drugs, no nothing. she's going to help me get on my feet, and i'm ready to change because i don't want to live in the lifestyle that i was living in. doing all right -- >> coming up -- >> i talked to your boy. i talked to him as usual. >> carlton solomon, sr. visits his son. >> right now, you're guilty until proven innocent. you're not innocent until proven guilty. up 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.® but the comfort it provides is it's justimmeasurable.eceest. the america red cross brings hope and help to people in need every 8 minutes, every day.

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john's island, south carolina, is only about ten miles from charleston. but 19-year-old carlton solomon jr.'s hometown might as well be a lifetime away.

currently in charleston's county jail facing murder and other charges, solomon began getting into trouble with the law at age 15. sergeant singleton has known him ever since. >> carlton, what we got ourselves into this time? >> some other stuff, man. >> other stuff? serious? >> yeah. real serious. >> real serious. i've been dealing with carlton for a long time. when i was at officer at juvenile. what i see with carlton is a good kid. he's a real good guy. but he's making a lot of the wrong decisions. right now he came in here, and he has some very serious charges this time which he says is a big mistake, a misunderstanding, and it will get worked out. wow. okay. you kept that okay. yeah, that shocked me. when i saw that on the news, i swear i think my heart stopped beating for a couple seconds. i'm serious. i was like, whoa. >> let me get out of this man, for real. they've got false charges on me, man.

>> okay, okay. well, you know, they'll work -- the justice system does work. if you're innocent, they'll prove you innocent. for his sake, i hope that it's true because i want to see him live a prosperous love. i talked to him a lot of times about changing his ways. he'll give you that classic smile of his and say, "yes, sir." but then i'll see charlton in trouble again. you got the to stop doing this to your dad, man. you putting more and more gray hair in his head. you make a promise, you get out this time, that's it. >> man, i'm going to make a promise. if i get out, i'm going to go straight work, straight to home, you know. for real. >> i got faith in you. shake on that. you can tell deep inside he is a good person. i want him to learn from his mistakes and make his dad proud. >> today, solomon's father, carlton, sr., has come to the jail to visit his son. >> hey, stranger. >> how you doing? >> been a long time, long time. haven't seen you in a long time, man. i've met his father from

visiting at the juvenile and spoke with him a lot. i know he coaches football. he does a lot with the youth in his community. so it's not only carlton and his own children, he looks out for other kids. i talked to your boy. i talked to him as usual. >> thank you. i appreciate it. >> for you, anytime. i know you're a good dad. i know you look out for him. that's why i talk to him also. >> my son has been accused of a horrific crime. i'm here in support of my son. not to find out what's going on, because i can't do it here. but i need to let him know -- let him be assured that his family's here to support him. i'd like to see my son, carlton solomon. yes, sir. i'm a little ashamed that i have to come in this type of environment to see my son behind bars. >> go to number 18. >> thank you. carlton come from a family that don't drink, don't smoke, don't gamble, don't -- he came from that kind of family. he came from a family that went to church. he came from a family that was independent. i couldn't understand why carlton was drawn to the street.

carlton told me that he was bored. carlton was being pulled through the streets, and they had a great way of doing it. >> solomon says while he was away in the military, his young son fell in with the wrong crowd. >> they'll find a weakness in a child and exploit the weakness. once they introduce him to alcohol, they give him more alcohol. from that point then, they give him reefer. from that point, they put something in the reefer. next thing you know, he's got a habit. i didn't find out until he was arrested that he had a habit that dealt with a little cocaine. >> prosecutors allege that carlton, jr. was one of three men involved in a robbery and murder. the victim's brother survived and later identified solomon from a mugshot. if found guilty, solomon could be executed. >> i don't believe that my son has the capability to do

something like that. i just don't believe it. i don't believe my son would get a gun and point it at somebody and shoot somebody. >> it just hurts, man. it -- this is despair. i just close my eyes and wish i could be laying next to my girlfriend. just anywhere else but right here. just despair. >> what do you think is going to happen with your son? >> wow. i don't know. to be honest with you. i don't know. hey, son. how you doing? >> everything going good. >> let me see your face. you got a beard? >> does me being in here bother you? >> oh, yeah. definitely. you're my son. i don't want my son locked up nowhere.

i want you to stay encouraged. i want you to keep your head up. >> i am keeping my head up. i want you to know i had nothing to do with this. so i'm trying to keep my head up the best i can. >> yeah. yeah, i know. >> being in here sucks, you know? >> i know. i know. i know. it's like being in captivity. i know it sucks. it's just a modern form of slavery. carlton's had a little past, and everything is based upon the past. but i see this with many of our minority kids. they'll be locked up, they'll be searched 15, 20, 30 times. but if a cajun kid, i've never seen searched 15, 20, 30 times. i don't want my son harassed and bothered. i don't want my son pushed on a car and people searching him for nothing. i don't want that. >> though carlton, sr. acknowledges his son's problems with the law and drugs, he believes young black men are unfairly subjected to racial

profiling. >> carlton has been more or less searched some 30-plus times. and i couldn't understand why. after you search a child 20 times, why would you search him 20 more and find nothing? it just doesn't make any sense to me. seems like people are getting together and doing these things on purpose. i don't know whether the law has the justification to do that, whether it's right for them to do that. i think it is excess of power. i think it's abuse. i don't think they have the right. my son said, "dad," the he said, "i had nothing to do with this." i don't believe carlton would do something like that. can my son be set up? i believe he can be set up. that i do believe. that i believe. if there's no evidence in there, then what are they trying to do? make up evidence, create evidence? what are they trying to do? if it's not there, it's not there. if it's not there, they should let you go. right now you're guilty until proven innocent. you're not innocent until proven guilty. just understand, this is just a

period of time in your life. this is not your whole life. just a bump in the road, man. >> yeah. i feel you. >> all right, man. all right, peace, bro. i think the visit went well. the only advice, the only thing i can tell him is just stand tall, be strong, let this thing work itself out. it's a hurting thing to see him behind bars and he's not free. there's always a question in your mind because you could potentially lose a loved one for the rest of their life. you just don't know. you're never prepared for this. coming up, a major development in carlton solomon's case. and -- >> we were together for a month and five days. >> what's your longest relationship? >> a month and five days. >> melvin gathers says good-bye. >> this hurts the most.

hey john, check it out. whoa! yeah, i was testing to see if we really can turn any device in your house into a tv. and the tablet worked just fine. but i wanted to see if the phone would work as well. so i shrunk sharon. every channel is live just like on tv. but it's my phone. it's genius. shh! i'm watching tv. tiny sharon is mean. i'm right here. watch any channel live on any device around your home. download the xfinity tv app today. carlton solomon jr. has been

incarcerated and held without bail for several weeks now. he's charged with murdering a 27-year-old woman during a home invasion robbery. today, however, there's been a development that he believes will set him free. >> give me a search for my dna when they came by, he said it would convict me or clear me. i said, i wasn't at the scene. hopefully when it comes back and says i wasn't there, they'll let me go. i'm happy. i'm real happy. it -- it gave me a lot of hope. you know what i mean i? of thinking i had to stay in here two, three years, waiting on the trial. all this other stuff. they said it could take up to three months for dna. hopefully everything's going to be good. i'll be going home this year. basically a bunch of b.s., man. i just feel -- i just feel real good for real. >> while solomon hopes he'll soon go home, over in the jail's disciplinary unit, that day has come for samantha mcdonald. >> my grandmother is bonding me

out. i'm really nervous. >> why? >> because i've been locked up for almost six months, you know. i'm going back into society with like a whole bunch of people. >> for the past five weeks, mcdonald and her upstairs neighbor, melvin gathers, have developed a relationship despite the fact that their primary means of communication is shouting through the vents in their cells. >> this is a really sad occasion. very sad. samantha's leaving today. >> i am going to miss my -- my boyfriend, melvin. i'm going to miss him a lot actually. and i didn't know that i was going to miss him as much as i did until i found out i was leaving. >> we were together for a month and five days. >> what's your longest relationship? >> a month and five days. >> we're going to keep in touch. he has my grandmother's number, has my address so we can write each other.

>> this is the test. she's going home. will it just be a county jail thing, or will it mask into something beautiful? >> am i processing it? you're driving me crazy. >> mcdonald asks officers for a favor regarding personal items. >> it stuff in my bunks, i need to give to melvin. >> okay. >> some of them, you know, they aren't able to purchase canteen. you know, they'll leave their hygiene items and stuff like that for another inmate to have. they can leave radios, brushes. >> you gave him the soap dish and the radio? give him the lotion and everything. >> yes. >> meanwhile, gathers returns to the vent for his final good-byes with mcdonald, whom he calls tiny. >> hey, tiny? >> yes, baby?

>> hey come here, ma'am. >> i'm coming. i'm trying to get him to get my stuff and give it to you. >> when you get out, you do the right thing, man. you hear me? >> i know. >> [ bleep ] done get attached to you and [ bleep ], man. >> i know. >> you ain't even fully gone out the door yet, and i feel [ bleep ] up already. >> no, don't feel that way. >> tiny, it's a good thing, tiny, that you know. i'm going to miss you. >> all right. you're going home. >> freedom, girl! freedom, girl! [ howling ] >> bye! >> bye. you, too. >> this is where it hurts the most.

seeing her walk. to see her walk -- look at her. >> freedom, girl! >> tiny? tiny? >> freedom, girl! >> i'm excited, man. >> i bet. >> i've been here for almost six months. >> can i see your armband? >> i don't have one. >> can i get your thumb on the red light, please? and this will get your property next door. >> okay. thank you. >> thank you. >> outside, mcdonald is greeted by her grandmother and great grandmother. >> look at you. >> i know -- i'm fat. >> you're not fat. >> while mcdonald hopes for a fresh start, the next day gathers begins to adjust to life without her. >> i'm kind of lonely. >> why? >> because now i ain't got

nobody else to speak to. and building conversations with another person ain't going to be the same. a lonely, normal day, like my routine has changed. like i won't wake up to hear her calling my name, or visa-versa. i don't wake up to our conversations. >> his mood improves when he discovers a small bit of contraband, a gift secreted away in the shampoo bottle for him. >> samantha elaine mcdonald. she put it in there for me. so i can always have a picture of her.

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