msnbc takes you behind the walls of america's most notorious prisons, into a world of chaos and danger. now the scenes you have never seen. "lockup: raw." these girls, these girls here are my homeys. >> damn right. >> some of us gather here four years, some five. some have been together a long time on relationship. know what i'm saying?

>> if male inmates look for sex in secret, we found a different story when we visited the north carolina correctional institution for women. >> a female offender has a lot of needs. and part of that is to feel that someone cares about them. that has a lot to do with them bonding. because a lot of women have been abused. for the first time they see somebody they think they care about, they run to it. they don't take time to see if that person is really good for them or not. >> as a result the prison places strict limits on intimate relationships. >> ladies put some space in between y'all. >> it is a rule violation for women to have sex in prison. >> i love you! >> when we see it, they are punished because of that. we can't have it. >> we met one group of inmates willing to share their secrets for skirting the rules. they were led by dawn braswell known around here as heavy "d." >> you have ten fours in here. ten fours is like another

inmate, like i say, me and my girlfriend, man, while i go in here. she's going to be a seizure. it's easy to get them to ten four for me. you can give them two or three cigarettes. coffee. some know what you are doing and they don't care. that's why i tell you you got some police down with inmates and some police that's against inmates. >> while some inmates sneak away for quick sex, others like kathy phillips and devon gann seek long-term relationships. >> we have a good relationship. we have been together for two years. for a relationship in here, it's good. >> when we met them, cathy was 42 years old and serving 14 to 17 years as a habitual felon with multiple counts of forgery, larceny and resisting officers. devon was 25 years old and serving 9 to 12 years for second degree murder. >> it was a man i lived with. he was a drug dealer. it was a robbery gone bad. he got killed. i left the crime scene with the

guy who killed him. because i was -- it was a bad situation. >> but in prison the two women seem to have discovered a comfort zone. >> you get in here and you don't have anybody, you don't have anything, so you just sort of cling to somebody. >> and women are more affectionate or whatever, anyway. >> yeah. >> so it looks like normal couples on the streets. but it's all women. >> but any relationship in prison involves toeing the line. >> a new couple is like the staff zoning in on them, give them a hard time. after awhile, they get used to seeing them as a couple and they sort of ease off. i mean you can't, you know, kiss in front of them or do a sex act in front of them, but they're not on you for every little thing. i respect the staff. they got their job to do. so i don't cross that line. >> in spite of rules against it. kathy and devon appear to be a picture of domestic bliss. >> i'm the wife. we spend our money together.

i shop and get our stuff and cook our food every day and make sure she has her stuff. we do everything together, we do everything together. everything. whatever she is involved in i'm involved in. yeah. >> that includes the family business. kathy and devon are not only lovers, they're loan sharks. >> whatever you give them they, they owe you double. i started out with $10. put the 10 out, pulled in 20 the next week. put the 20 out, pulled in 40 the next week. kept doubling until i got on my feet and got stable. it's a good hustle. mostly everybody in here has some type of hustle. because, i mean a lot of people don't have help from home. you have to survive in here. prison is not free. they give you three meals a day and a bar of state soap and that's about it. >> your food if you don't want to eat what's in the dining room. you pay for it. if you don't have anybody on outside sending you money. the only jobs here you can make money off of is probably 40

cents a day. 40 cents a day will never support you. people do all kind of stuff to make hustles. they don't have somebody on the outside. there is all kinds of hustles. loan sharking is one of them. >> but the loan shark lovers insist they never use muscle to extract payment. >> if somebody doesn't pay me, i generally just -- >> it's a loss. >> i mark it up as a loss. i just don't deal with them no more. i tell my friends that loan shark don't deal with them. you got some people in here that will bust them in the head with a lock or something. i ain't down with that. >> devon told us she used to run an even riskier business. >> before her, i had my own hustle. that was pretty much staff related. yeah. i would find weak staff whoever i found in here because they, obviously can't find somebody on the streets to hook up with.

and then i would play them to get some money. >> then what? >> i would continue to get money. >> then she would have them fired. >> devon believes the officers she seduced deserved their punishment. >> i have no remorse when it comes to that. i feel as though it's some type of perverted injustice when you come in here and think you can get a free lick off of an inmate and you have access to the free world. yeah. i have gotten a lot of money that way. yeah. but i have kind of cut that out in this relationship. >> yeah, no more. no more. >> i'm retired. >> as close as kathy and devon were, they told us they have no illusions about a future together. up next on "lockup: raw." >> i raul, take you leticia. >> exchanging vows when the groom is locked up. and later, when visitation includes sex, emotions run high. >> we're going to let you take one of these in. >> i need both of those.

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raul and laquisha. today is a very special day for both of you. because today marks the beginning of your new lives together as one. >> under the best of circumstances marriage can be challenging. even more so, when it begins behind the walls of one of the nation's most dangerous maximum security prisons. >> i can't touch her or nothing. you can't even, you know, consummate the marriage. >> the groom, raul vidal has been in california's pelican bay state prison since age 18.

>> i was involved in a gang. street gang. drugs, violence all that. and got in a shoot-out. there were six guys in the car. and they say i shot at. and actually they gave me -- six life terms for that. >> because of his gang affiliation, vidal is assigned to the secured housing unit where contact visits are not permitted. >> right now here together you stand free and apart from all other people in this world because right now you stand within that charmed circle of your love together. >> vidal and his bride were childhood friends and had reconnected five years earlier. though it's unlikely vidal will ever be free, laquisha agreed to marry him anyway. her son reuben stood in as best man. >> you have a ring picked to go on your hand. >> oh, my gosh the ring. >> she sees me, she opened up her house, here heart, she gave me her family.

>> i raul take you laquisha. >> i raul take thee laquisha. >> to be my wedded wife. >> to be my wedded wife. >> to have and to hold from this day forward. >> to have and to hold from this day forward. i'm the black sheep from my family. i am the only one that has ever been to prison. >> i laquisha take raul to be my wedded husband. >> to have and to hold from this day forward. >> to have and to hold from this day forward. >> i have been thinking about the sacrifice she made. how much she loves me to do something like that. >> as you take this ring and place it on her hand, raul, would you repeat after me. i give you this ring -- >> i give you this ring -- >> as a symbol and commitment in marriage. >> she knows that the possibilities of me getting out are slim to none. and she accepted that. >> this is the first day of the rest of your lives together. and we would all hope that tomorrow would be even happier. you may kiss your lovely bride.

>> though there will be no reception or first dance for this couple, the odds aren't totally against them. according to one study unions in which one partner is incarcerated are less likely to end in divorce than a conventional marriage. >> it gives me the hope, and the love. she is a friend. i'm a friend. and you know we just got married so to show our love for each other. >> next on "lockup: raw." >> being with a female makes you appreciate the little things in life. >> a rare night of physical intimacy for a convict and his wife. in the nation, we know how you feel about your car. so when coverage really counts, you can count on nationwide. ♪ love because what's precious to you is precious to us. ♪ love is strange just another way we put members first.

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prison inmates don't have a lot to look forward to. so visitations are a big deal. for some of these inmates they haven't seen a child or a wife or parent in years.

so it is a very dramatic time when they come to visit them. and in lockup, these visitations have provided some of the most compelling moments in the series. >> few visitations provide as much drama as conjugal visits when an inmate is allowed an overnight stay with his spouse. >> makes you appreciate the little things in life. >> when we met ron golden at the california's kern valley state prison he was serving a 22-year sentence for armed robbery and assaults on correctional staff. he claimed his recent marriage to a childhood friend helped turn him around. >> before we were married i was always in a lot of fist fights and riots, whatever, in and out of the hole. >> golden's improved behavior earned him the right to a 46-hour conjugal visit with his wife in one of the prison's

family cottages. before the visit begins, she must pass through security. >> you have your i.d.? >> it is in here. >> okay. >> when ron's wife hope showed up, we thought we would get shots of her being processed coming through the metal detector, opening her bag. getting shots of her. and the c.o. there going through her things. then it turned into a bit of a scene. >> baby oil can't go in either. >> that wasn't on the list. >> it's a lubricant. this isn't factory sealed so it can't go in. everything has to be factory sealed. this is not in a clear bottle and unopened and contains alcohol. >> everything that is made like that has alcohol in it. >> everything that contains chal, it specifies in the rules. >> everything just about has alcohol in it. >> after coming dangerously close to being denied her visit, hope is allowed to proceed to the prison's gated conjugal unit. >> it's good things and bad things that you have to go

through to get here. >> hope says the difficulties of a prison visit are worth it. >> i knew who he was before i started coming to see him at the prison, and i liked him then. because we were friends first. and that's what made us bond as lovers even better. and it was special because we didn't make love until we got married. that's something that i never did before. so i was happy about that too. >> what are you going to do for two days? >> we are going to have fun. do a lot of exercise, jumping jacks and stuff like that. >> liar. >> golden is finally escorted across the prison yard to the family visitation center. his long awaited reunion with his wife is just moments away. >> okay. extremely excited.

>> yes. >> are you nervous? >> mm-hmm. >> i know, we ain't used to this. >> you know, sometimes when a camera is in the room, people are not going to act naturally. and ron and hope both knew that we would be there for the beginning of the conjugal visit, certainly not during any part of the conjugal visit. >> the crew was real nice. very pleasant. >> but as i stood to the back of the room to get kind of a wide shot i could hear them talking saying is he gone yet? is he gone yet? they just wanted me out. >> but visitation is also bittersweet. our crew saw how much so at indiana state prison when the family of inmate jerry bonds arrived for their first visit in months. >> to be honest i grew up two parents, middle-class home. you know, my brother and my

older brother they all graduated from college. you know? i just happened to go down the wrong road with selling drugs and living on the streets. >> bonds is serving 85 years for robbing a liquor store and killing the owner. >> i had two daughters at the time. and my girlfriend at the time she was pregnant with my son. she was 2 months pregnant when i got locked up. >> that child, bonds' son eddie was 8 when we shot at indiana. even though he had never lived with his father, eddie was missing him, nonetheless. >> he actually shot a person and didn't mean to. but -- when i see him again, i can live with him and be with him together until he can go to the park and the museum. >> his youngest son cries some times because he doesn't have his father around. there are some things he really needs to be in his life for.

>> but bonds has had a tough time following the rules in prison, as well. his last infraction was for attempting to intimidate an officer. that along with three urine tests that proved positive for marijuana has cost bonds visitation privileges with his family. he had only recently gotten them back but with restrictions. >> so right now i am on noncontact status. it's like through the phone and the glass. >> how did you react when your son told you he wasn't going to have contact visits anymore. >> well i was upset at first. i even threatened him to not even bring his kids up here. you know? and it's very upset with him. matter of fact i was so upset with him i couldn't think straight. >> bonds acknowledged his actions in and out of prison don't set the best example for his children. >> how can i tell you to be good, do good, stay out of trouble. every time you come and see me

i'm on restrictions for visit. or i can't have visits, i'm in trouble. they're like, well, you are telling me to be good. but you're not being good. >> our crew caught up with bonds shortly before his first visit with his children and parents in months. >> you boots are like shiny new. >> you want to look kind of spiffy, it is a special day. when they do come, they have came from so far. it puts a smile on their face to see, okay, you are doing okay. because they worry about me in here. >> but first bonds would need to pass pre-visitation security measures. starting with his freshly pressed clothes. >> all right, do me a favor. go ahead and completely disrobe. >> despite the fact he will not have physical contact, bonds like every other indiana inmate is strip searched prior to visitation. >> this time open your mouth. put your fingers in. spread the cheeks apart. upper lip up. lower lip down. look inside your nose, please. >> authorities must ensure that

inmates are not attempting to pass contraband to the outside. >> turn back around. squat, cough. all right, go ahead and get dressed. >> meanwhile the bonds family has to pass through security as well. though it was nearly a three-hour drive to get here, jerry bonds' sr. feels it is worth it. >> when a person is down you really have to be there for them. so what we try to, relay back to jerry is that we hope he will get out of here sometime soon. and then when he do get out, you know, to pick up where he left off. and show these kids they're not just coming up here for nothing at all. >> i mean -- i'm anxious, man. i want to see them so bad. i wish i could touch them and hug them. i guess it's better than nothing. >> finally, the waiting is over.

>> what's that? how y'all doing? look at you. >> see him and smile him. >> how are you doing in school? >> good. >> what grade are you going into, eddie? >> the hardest part is like seeing him behind the glass. and when he's in here and stuff. so i really want him to get out. >> when his kids can't hug him like i told him he is hurting his kids. you know i can stand the hurt. sometimes the kids can't. >> let me speak to him. >> what's happening, dad. how you doing? >> staying strong? >> yes, sir. >> thank you for bringing them up for me, dad. >> i want to let him know we love him no matter what. make it easier on us when we come up here. we're in here with you. don't make it to where we, we are locked up being locked up. you understand?

>> hey. >> tell the kids, i love you. >> i love you. i'm sorry i pained you. >> limited to only 30 minutes, the visit hardly seems to have begun when it's time to leave. >> i love you. y'all be good. bye-bye. >> all right. >> yes, sir. >> i'm praying, hoping, hoping that this is the last time they have to come up here like this and see me behind the glass. because it is not a good feeling. it's not a good feeling. >> i just feel that, i don't see him anymore i get sad. and when i see him again. happy. >> i want him to be here and i don't want him to be here. i want him to learn his lesson while he is here so when he comes home he knows right from wrong and knows what to do and what not to do. >> as a mother i would like to just touch him, and are you okay, i want to give him a hug. i haven't been able to do that. but i know one day i will.