>> msnbc takes you behind the walls of the most notorious prisons into a world of chaos and danger. now, the scenes you have never seen. lock up, raw. over the years, lock up crews ventured inside america's most dangerous maximum security prisons and all encountered one absolute certainty. >> we film in extreme environments. most people would never want to

step inside a maximum security prison and yet we cent our crews inside the most dangerous facilities in america. >> you can't let your guard down. you have to keep your eyes open in the back of your head. the hairs are constantly up on the back of your neck. they are violent places. violence can and does break out at any time. >> our cameras have been there to capture these dramatic and death conflicts and now we take a closer look. through the experience of our field crews and their encounters with violence behind bars. california state prison corcoran, home to hundreds of theidate's most violent and

infamous offenders hosted lock up crews in 2000 and 2005. >> right before i walked in, i had to sign a document that made me think twice. it basically said that in an event that there is a hostage situation inside the prison walls, they will not negotiate with your and they know the risk you are taking when you walk in. >> while at corcoran, you hear the alarms going off. you are never sure of what's going to happen in this place. when you hear the alarms and they're dropping down to the ground and you get the rifles out, immediately it takes your breath away for a second. >> in most cases the alarm is when a fight breaks out between inmates am they are usually brought to a stop within minutes, they always pose

serious danger to the responding officers and crews. >> while at corcoran, there was one instance where we were doing a routine cell search. you had the dogs and it was like a very controlled environment. we were in one of the pods and right in the middle of it, we heard it and we saw the guards. they didn't say anything. they started sprinting. i'm going. >> inmates know they are required to keep it on the

ground. >> on to it, they zip tie it up. they counted 600 inmates and they were completely down on the ground. >> they get a little bit heavy and allowed things like that to continue. they are going to start fighting and the possibility of other people getting involved. >> though the alarm call at corcoran ended peacefully, our cameras encountered a different situation in pelican bay state prison. >> our producer was conducting an interview and the camera was shooting routine footage on the yard below.

suddenly -- >> this is an actual alarm because nobody is waving us off yet. >> what might be happening? >> an assault or some type of a fight or a slashing. >> officers subdued six inmates and one was slashed with a homemade weapon. >> fortunately this was nothing like the deadly events of february 3rd, 2000. >> i was standing in this exact spot. >> on that rainy day, a newcomer to pelican bay was down in the recreation yard with scores of other prisoners. >> many werer waing rain gear not only as protection from the elements, but to hide dozens of

homemade weapons. >> i noticed people started stabbing each other. >> this footage reveals gang members unleashing a vicious coordinated attack against a group of black inmates. the beginning of california's worst prison riot. >> i looked around all over the yard there was fighting and stabbings going on. >> doug and dozens of his fellow officers tried to subdue with pepper spray and tear gas, every time they had it under control, another fight broke out. >> it looked like a fight, but it was the real deal. they started firing shots and everybody that was not involved in the riot laid on the grounds. >> even the gunfire raining down did not quell the riot until one of the inmates was killed. 15 others were wounded.

>> i was cleaning blood off the walls and benches in here for a good hour. >> pelican bay's worst riot was fuelled by the impulse for violence and many of those inmates ended up here in the security housing unit or the shoe. >> inmates placed into the shoe housing unit were placed in for the most part because of violence and the violence could be against other inmates or the officers. >> it was here in pelican bay's most secure unit that we came across the prison's most dangerous inmate. >> i have been named and my mother wanted me to have a name no other black man in america would have. >> he was sent to prison for possessing a weapon in a youth facility. at the time our cameras profiled him, he was locked up for more than 12 years, almost half his

life. >> everything is the same. nothing really changes too much. i wake up in the morning and eat breakfast. when i get home, i will get into stuff. the prison system more than 2,000 points now. anything you can beat that. one thing i have been a victim of in prison, the drugs.

>> he is probably one of the most difficult behavioral. he will tell you to your face his agenda. that's to fight you every chance he can. >> he will watch you and his hope is that you will make a mistake to either get out or fight with you. that is his plan. that's what he does 24 hours a day. >> every time i see him, it's to make that hours as stressful as possible. >> i need to you turn around and back up. >> nope. >> whatever it may be, weather making noise all day -- >> i can do to make that hours as stressful as possible. they say i'm going home. yeah, but when you go home, you will be back tomorrow.

>> that's the thing about this place. they don't want me, kick me out. >> transferred to san quentin, the man who was arguably california's most violent inmate completed his sentence and was released in 2007. >> you have people locked up in this type of environment, what do you expect? >> back up! >> next, a lock up raw. >> they will come across their enemy and slice them across the neck. >> the the ingenious weapons they use to attack and the lengths officers will go to in combatting them. latte or au lait?

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>> every day, correctional officers are searching for them. >> a lot of weapons were confiscated. they are known as shanks that inmates create from behind bars with ingenuity that defies imagination. >> they get the disposable razor and put both blades, on either side of the tooth brush and come across their enemies and slice them kroogs the neck. it filets the individual wide open. >> inmates will do almost anything to hide the weapons. >> it looks like a wire shank.

these are all covered or wrapped in a linked material and lubricated with whatever they can find. >> how long can they keep it? >> the average time is about a day. when it's time pull it out, sometimes it won't come out. >> because inmates go to such extreme lengths to fashion and conceal weapons, officers must be outfitted with a nonlethal arsenal of their. >> our cameras were rolling as correctional officers practiced firing tazers as inanimate objects and then it moved to other targets. their fellow officers. >> how did you get chosen? >> i'm a glutton for punishment.

>> you ready? >> at the los angeles county jail, we encountered inmates who seemed impervious to tazers or anything else. deputies had to resort to a-point restraint. >> there is a lot of ipsidens and they are coming off the street. >> they often go off.

>> one inmate couldn't deal with it and went berserk. >> we had to restrain him and one of the ways is the four-point restraint asks they told him what they would be doing. >> this is how the staff would place you in four-point restraints. i need your cooperation. the more you cooperate, the faster you will be out of points. >> sergeant gilbert supervises the choreographed restraint process. >> they have been briefed as to who will take the upper and lower body. it takes a couple to hold the and if they are upset about what's happening.

>> about how many have done this per week? >> we have it here on anywhere from three to six a day. >> as extreme as four-point restraints are, inmates sometimes take an equally extreme measure to attack officers. one that is particularly vile. >> gassing can is a mixture and permitted for days until it stews into something so grotesque, you can't mention it. >> during 14 years on the job, the san quentin officer never had a worse experience. >> i would rather be punched and kicked and stabbed than to be gassed like i was in 1992. >> we have never heard a more extreme account of gassing as the one described by kentucky

state inmate johnson. >> set it down. star star step on it and i saw it on them and they wipe it in their blood. they throw it in their place. they would go nuts. so the correction finally made a law that made it a felony. >> coming up on lock up raw. the most violent confrontations behind bars.

cell extractions. >> back up to the door and if you back up, you are a pitch.

>> some of the most dangerous confrontations in prison happened when correctional officers are forced to extract an inmate from his cell. extractions are carried out by specially trained teams of correctional officers according to exact guidelines. >> i'm officer allen and the number three man on the team. i'm responsible for controlling the left arm. i use the least amount of force necessary. >> the entire process is carefully choreograph and videotaped for the protection of officers and inmates alike.

. >> when we visit the kentucky state penitentiary, we met twain harper who had a long history of having officers to extract him from his cell. >> i'm not violent. i've done a lot of time. i have been doing time on and off since i was 12 years old. >> when we met harper, he was serving a third year in administrative segregation or solitary confinement for having assaulted correctional officers. >> in my opinion, duane is a stressed out individual. >> strip everybody out! >> shortly after lock up arrived, officers had to extract

him from the cell again. >> the officers spitted at the door and threatened our families. >> they have known me when i was a youngster back down. we have a different type of communication level and understanding. >> every night you work on me, you -- [inaudible]. >> he will serve at least two more years in segregation. >> i make things hard for myself. i have been in segregation three years and i don't blame nobody else. i had the opportunity to get out and i let my anger and my things get to me that i shouldn't have

and as a result i'm still here. >> i can't say i'm sane. i'm pretty off balance, but i keep it in a certain amount of control. >> another inmate at kentucky state penitentiary who is no stranger to cell extractions is victor hyatt. prior to interviewing him, our producer was warped. >> he is a very, very dangerous individual. probably the most dangerous individual we have. >> i remember watching victor being led to the interview. he had such an intense security detail. it almost felt like i was about to interview hannibal lechter. >> he was cuffed behind his back, but i will never forget it was like a normal fiberglass and metal cafeteria chair. there was nothing special about that chair and he was not chained to the chair itself.

it was not secured to the ground in any way. i started to think to myself, here i am about to interview this guy. i'm knee to knee with the most dangerous man in the state of kentucky and he's not chaped to anything. all of a sudden everything i had prepared for went cleatly out of my head. >> victor, tell me what originally what your crime was that brought you to kentucky state penitentiary and how long that sentence will serve you. >> i'm in for murder, a life sentence. convicted in 2001. you proud of that notoriety? we heard you are one of the most dangerous guys here. >> that's what i hear. i'm also one of the most laid back guys here. >> i received threats from different inmates for bodily

harm, but he's the only that tried to pull through. >> i'll show you what a red neck will do! >> hyatt's refusal to cooperate with officers has resulted in numerous violent cell extractions. >> back up to the door. if you back up, you are a pitch. if you make them come in and get you, you get more respect. i never backed up yet. it takes a lot to get to that point. i go blank inside of my mind. you have to expect to be killed at any time. >> next on lock up raw -- our producer witnesses a vicious

prison attack. >> i looked down and saw the younger hispanic guys, kicking them in the head. >> later on- >> he threatened to kill everybody out there. >> an inmate goes too far in a confrontation with staff. >> i can't get along with people too much. especially when they are evil. female announcer: it's time to make room for the new mattress models!

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the top story this is hour and a good new year to you. hundreds are ringing in the new year by protesting the police killings of african-americans. demonstrations are close to times square and police are distributing photos identifying the 36 killed in a stampede at the new year's eve celebration and nine bodies have been recovered from the air asia crash as crews battle to find the 162 passenger as, board. now back to lock up.

with lock up, we film in some of the toughest prisons in america. every time we go out to a maximum security prison, you never know what happens with regards to violence. whether it's a stabbing or a riot. there is always a chance that violence may break out. >> we found that was the case. >> in the blink of an eye, how much time did we change? it's an attitude or a change. >> tempers flaired while our cameras worked in the yard. >> basically a prison creature.

>> i believe that everybody should know the lord. if you don't know the lord, i encourage you to know the lord. i heard a ping. bing, bing, bing. >> i see this man probably in his latest 50s or early 60s. i look down and saw this younger hispanic guys. repeatedly. his head was bouncing off the pole. >> today was the battery and it was stopping his head and that was pretty messed up. >> the inmate attacked survived because of quick response on the yard. some of the most violence gang attacks have taken place here. at california state prison

corcoran, the housing unit or shoe. we visited the shoe's now vacant exercise yard, the scene of the prison's most brutal violence. >> i can see why fights went on. it was like a cage. there was nowhere for you to go and if you wanted to take them out, that was the place to do it. it's literally like the extreme ultimate fighting you would see. >> they showed cameras how they quell the violence with an arsenal of their. >> hopefully they will make them

stop. >> those are louder. the smoke you see there is the end gas. it messes up your sight and makes your snot roll. we have a lethal option and many 14. >> today california state prison corcoran no longer has to resort to such drastic measures. they close it down and inmates exercise and walk alone in areas called the cages. sorting it out can be just as difficult. as the crews found out at the correctional center in seward, alaska. >> slow down. slow down. >> they will let the persons

clean up. >> his adversary is serving a sentence for sexual assault. >> what was this all about? >> it's a rapist and i was talking to inmates with him. >> i was talking about him being a rapist and he said you ain't -- and i said you're not. he said what are you going to do? >> five minutes later, he bum rushed me. slam me against the wall.

>> i don't know what i did after that. >> he started scratching my face. i grabbed them around the waist and threw them on the floor and i hit him twice in self defense to get him to let go. >> you have witnesses about that. i'm talking, you're not. you have witnesses to start this? >> i didn't start it. he did. >> we will figure that out. we have that. any more marks. the bottom line is he hit me first. >> that's the bottom line you have been talking about.

does that give you the right to hit him first? >> not at all. don't cop an attitude. >> i'm sorry, what? >> you better. >> i didn't hear. >> after a hearing, the disciplinary board ruled that he had been provoked by the repeated at what points. while he was not punished, he got 30 days in solitary confinement. >> prison is something you never get over. it sticks with you. even though i don't have life, moment of anger is a lifetime of misery. the prison will always stick with you. >> coming up -- the victim of one of the most sbrulths attacks ever profiled on lock up. >> the doctor said i don't know how much more you could have taken. >> an officer faces her fears as she returns to the scene of the crime.

>> when we visited wabash, officers were dealing with the latest of incidents involving the convicted burglar. >> he was on a strip cell. when you see him come out and only wearing his underwear, at that time he was on strip. i think it was for resisting staff or we had trouble with him about every range we put him on. >> i can't get along with them

too much. especially when they are equal. >> one of the people who was evil is the officer. >> after average day in the shoe can be mundane. you have things to do. some day like today get more exciting. we had an offender who became belligerent in the shower. >> he told us he had good reason to be upset. >> they tried to get me to take a shower. they don't have no soap. i said ma'am, i came from the other side of this. i need something to wash like a bar of soap. she is talking crazy to me. she come up here talking to me and started talking to me -- well you [ bleep ]. i said what? wait a minute. i just asked you for some [ bleep ] and i snapped on her. >> he threatened to kill everybody out there.

staff and all. >> when we tried to get him to come out, he was refusing and started throwing toilet water on myself and several other staff members. i got it through my face and down my back. it was toilet water. >> he was moved from his cell and because he is so dangerous, we were prestricted. >> having him face the wall, we don't want him to turn his head. you are going to get spit on.

>> face the wall. >> i'med of this? >> he freely admitted to the producer that by the time the officers put him back in the cell, he was looking for any possible way to hurt them. >> i just grabbed them and i'm getting tired of what's going on with these people. if they don't get me out of here, i might end up killing somebody or they might kill me. >> today he remains incarcerated and has been transferred to another state prison. >> i figured that if it was going to happen, it would happen in the first year. >> karen was in her 6th year at indiana state prison when she was so broultsly attacked, she

nearly died. they know me. i used to work the intake unit. they know me. i will be already. i never imagined it for all these years later. never imagined it. >> at the time of the attack, the officer was responsible for supervising b cell house. an important part of her job was securing the inmates back in the cells with a system called rolling of the bar, an older manual cell locking device. >> that day they can go into it. i figured all of them would be bigger than anything and the story. i worked my way up. the last one was 4:24.

i went to 418 and locked his cell and went to the next one, 410. i said come on, go on in your cell. he said i'm not going in. >> alone on the with the inmate she said she knew immediately she was in the trouble. >> at that time a sick feeling overcomes you and you think wow. something is not right. and the guy just hit me. both of my eyes were busted right in the eyebrows. i had 50 stitches in my eyebrows. he broke my jaw. it was broken in two places. the doctor said i don't know how much more you could have taken. had he kicked you one more time, he could have killed you, without a doubt you could have died. >> her attacker received an

additional ten-year sentence for aggravated patry. after recovering for her injuries, she took the step of returning to work at the prison. this time monitoring the trucks that deliver food to the facility. she no longer has contact with the inmates. >> in life itself, within seconds, your life can change. in a prison environment, it doesn't even take seconds. >> she said she was ready to return for the first time since the attack. escorted by an officer and our crew, the return proved to be far more emotional than she could have imagined.

>> sit down. okay. sit down. >> though returning was difficult, she told us it was that is but i'm not dead. they didn't kill me. i'm okay. emotionally, i'll heal some day. and the sleepless nights and the worry and the wonder, "oh, my god, is this ever going to happen to me again?" i've dealt with most of that and it's really a hard thing. next, on "lockup: raw," an inmate turns violent against himself. >> i swear i'll break my neck [ bleep ]. yeah, i love pain! yeah, yeah! >> etters, stop.

[ bleep ] violence inside america's prisons comes in many forms. at iowa state penitentiary, we found that the most brutal violence is sometimes against oneself. >> open 11. 22-year-old inmate caleb etter, suffered severe burns over two-thirds of his body when the methamphetamine lab he was running exploded. when we interviewed etter, he was also serving time for both sexual assault and for attacking a peace officer. >> i push everything to the limit, because as you can tell, uh i think i'm unstoppable. i think nothing will stop me. nothing will ever kill me. i thought i was god. reality check, i'm not. >> in spite of his calm

demeanor, a few hours after this interview, etter got into a verbal confrontation with a female correctional officer that quickly escalated. c.e.r.t., the correctional emergency response team, was called in to extract him from his cell. >> he's been banging his head on the door, spitting at the glass, refusing to move or comply with any orders. we have permission to use force to extract him from his cell. >> for security reasons, the prison videotapes all extractions. >> you ready to move? >> put your hand out. other one. >> a mask is placed over etter's head to prevent him from spitting. >> let's go. >> initially he seems to be compliant. but as they pass through the doorway, etter explodes. >> hey, hey, hey. >> [ bleep ] [ bleep ] [ bleep ] i swear to -- break my neck. break my neck!

i swear to god, break my neck. yeah, i love pain! yeah! yeah! etter, stop, stop, stop banging your head. >> yeah. hurt me more. >> secured. >> etter, let's walk. no more banging your head. understand. >> i'll kill you all. i'll kill you all, you [ bleep ]. you understand? i'll kill you all. i'll kill you. >> etter. calm down. >> hey, calm down. >> put him down. >> on the floor. >> all right. >> got his legs. >> all right. easy. >> hurt me more. hurt me more. ow. ow! let's go up. stand up and walk normal. >> etter. etter! >> as his fit continues, etter is taken to the suicide prevention unit for observation. >> [ bleep ] come on, hurt me more! come on! hurt me! >> nobody wants to hurt you. >> why are you [ bleep ] and

smashing me against the wall if they didn't want to hurt me, huh? >> to prevent him from harming himself, etter is placed in four-point restraints. >> lay back. lay back. >> no. it's not bruised. >> our cameras were there the next morning when a nurse came in to check on him. >> etter, are you feeling like you still want to hurt yourself? >> i never wanted to hurt myself. >> now, were you banging your head last night? >> yes, because i was frustrated. i do that when i'm frustrated. >> that's not the right thing to do though, is it now? >> it's better than hurting somebody else. >> well, you're right. when i'm going to do now is call the psychiatrist and see if we can discontinue the four-point order so he doesn't have to go back into them now. i don't feel he is of any threat to himself or others at this point.

>> released from the four-point restraints, etter is moved to a 24-hour observation cell and is placed in a suicide smock. a tear-proof gown to prevent him from hanging himself. our crew later accompanied the nurse when she asked etter to relay his version of what led to the extraction, the confrontation he had with a female officer. >> she started antagonizing me on my door. i said, get lost. get the [ bleep ] out of ear. i don't like you, i don't want to talk to you. she made a smart out comment. i smashed my head on the door. i said, you see that right there? next time it's going to be yours. i said, get the [ bleep ] on. and then i spit on the window. that's what i think of you, you're nothing but trash. i said, get the [ bleep ] gone. she started [ bleep ], saying, at least i ain't some meth-using, something like that. i snapped. i said, if you want to go there, i'll have someone on the outside pay you a visit and it will start [ bleep ] and rape every one of your kids and kill you.

i said, how do you like that [ bleep ]? you don't [ bleep ] go there. >> four days later, etter is released back to his cell. >> you seem to be doing a lot better to me. i hope you feel you are. >> yeah, i'm doing better. >> i'm glad to hear that. just keep it up. >> i just get a little frustrated. i react off my emotions. i never think ahead -- i never plan ahead about what i'm doing. >> etter has since been moved to iowa state's maximum security unit due to ongoing disciplinary issues. while no one can tell if he'll hurt himself again, etter still feels it's better than the alternative. >> i've learned to take my aggressions out on myself instead of other people, you know? it may be the wrong thing to do, but i've learned hurting other people will get you more in trouble than it does hurting yourself

msnbc takes you behind the walls of america's most notorious prisons into a world of chaos and danger. now, the scenes you've never seen. "lockup: raw."