that's all for now. i'm matt lauer. thanks for joining us. 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." >> 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. when we met keith precious at the holman correctional facility in alabama, he was carrying on a

sexual relationship with inmate marquis nobles. >> when i first met him i told another one of the girls, he has pretty feet, you know. i have a foot fetish. i'm in to feet, man. 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 you really want to do. 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 opening 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 frustrate 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. you're dealing with reality. when a man wakes up first thing come to a man mind, damn i wish i was out on the street. damn i miss my wife. >> but behind bars, sex can be a combustible concoction of desire, desperation, homophobia and predatory behavior. especially at prisons as notorious as california's pelican bay. >> this is the last place they need to be sending a flamboyant homosexual is pelican bay. >> inmate adolph green was out on the pelican bay yard when our producer noticed him and asked for an impromptu interview. >> i'm flamboyant homosexual that wants to prefer to find a fix themselves up like a girl and we call each other girls.

you understand. some of the dudes around here, they call you girl, come here, girl, and this and that. but then you have those that's 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. [ bleep ] >> green told us that those who are open about their sexuality face retribution from other inmates. >> you have people that are undercover. you got people that 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, where a bunch of people telling you what you can and can't do, who you can live with and who you can't live with because of your sexual preference, is wrong. because half of the ones you tell 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 dominoes and whatnot,

but the minute something happen to you they all go the other direction. leave you to die. and they got a lot of people up in here that call each other loved ones. i love you. i 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 want 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. >> first time i went to jail was 15 years old. i burned elementary school down. it's pretty much downhill from there. >> and as an openly gay man, campbell's time behind bars has had its challenges. >> being gay in prison is really

hard. it's hard enough to do time in here. but the fact that everybody knows that you're gay, there's constant pressure for, you know, 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 yourself it's like, hey, man, what's up? >> one of the things that struck me about matthew was 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 to get some 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. >> are you 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 the 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. you know, i told all them when i came here. so you know they all know what to expect from me now, and you know 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. you know, 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 that i noticed 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. >> when inmates adopt. >> basically when they're little babies and you can raise them up, pet them, you feed them, you watch them grow and that's your cat. will still be pain. it comes when your insurance company says they'll only pay three-quarters of what it takes to replace it. what are you supposed to do, drive three-quarters of a car? now if you had liberty mutual new car replacement, you'd get your whole car back. i guess they don't want you driving around on three wheels. smart. with liberty mutual new car replacement, we'll replace the full value of your car. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance.

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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. >> being on death row was -- it was like i needed -- 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. yvette was condemned to die. she told us about her first day on death row. >> i begin to hear insults when i first got in the gate. i began to hear people talk about oh, she's 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, and i see my sister, she'll be in the window you know and i walk by with a group of ladies, and everybody would say, well doris there's your sister. and i would say, 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, and oh, it was such a -- like a great reunion. >> i started crying. i got emotional. and, i just began to praise god. >> though they can see each other on 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. the officers do. 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. is one of the reasons why we house them separately. >> how do i look? >> you look wonderful. you look wonderful. ♪ >> that's my older brother. we're really close. we're really tight. we eat together. we live 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 was -- 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'm going to be like him. that's my big brother. that's my idol. and so you know i kind of followed in the same footsteps. >> but as the love brothers revealed to our crew, those footsteps led down a bloody path

that ended at a holiday party in their trailer park. >> it's 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 had 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 and i couldn't handle that. so we left, went to my trailer, i got a shotgun, my brother got a knife, a machete and we went back out there and did what we did. >> i remember mike standing there and he had the gun pointed up at the door of the trailer. and one of the dudes looked out the window and he was like [ bleep ] you or whatever he said, and boom. then he shot. >> i shot three people. he cut up two. >> we were both charged with first degree murder, which carries a life sentence in iowa. and that's it. life means life 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 come to me and said if i pled guilty to first degree murder they would plea bargain him down to 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 i'll probably end up dying in prison. >> how does that make you feel? >> makes me feel like a piece of [ bleep ] really man, [ bleep ], my only brother, and because of something we did, and we did it together. 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. and he had a whole life ahead of him. could have been a pro football player or a rock star. whatever he wanted to be. and i feel in my mind and my heart that i ruined that for him.

and there's just no way to explain how much guilt i 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. he's like i want you to shoot jiggers, watch out for us. i said all right. so i was standing outside the cell and mike goes in there, and i just -- i don't know what made me do it but i look in the window and it was only supposed to be one dude in there but there was two guys and they was trying to get on mike and 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, that 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. and you know, i ain't cool with that. and he tried talking to me but i told him, you know 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. >> it's just 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 or parole can never visit anybody while they're incarcerated.

>> yvette and doris gay 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 here 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, i mean, these cats is their family. that's all they got. >> the special bond between prisoner and pet. >> it's like anything. show them respect they'll treat you with love and respect back.

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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 my buddy. >> nobody's family home cat is i could see to be happier than these cats in here. >> one of the first things i notice walking out in the yard in kentucky was something that i never thought 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 you can raise them up, pet them, feed them, watch them grow and that's your cat. >> 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 putting them constantly. and it was really interesting how the inmates had developed very, very nurturing relationships with these cats. >> we got all kinds of cats. you got these guys here, these cats is their kids. and you mess with one of the cats, i mean it's just like messing with my kids at home. i mean, 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. now 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 them. so in this funny little way, the cats contributed to a lower level of violence on that yard. >> vet comes once a month, you can buy food and medicine and

toys and stuff like that. >> so guys work hard at their jobs to earn their money -- >> and sometimes they'll $60, 70, 80 bucks, takes everything they got. >> i wish you cats would get to the and get rid of some of these rats we got running around this yard. >> yeah. >> they're people rats. you leave the little bitty mice alone. >> we found an even more unlikely bond at california state prison corcoran. >> like anything, treat them with love and respect they'll treat you with love and respect back. >> we were just kind of out on the yard shooting and i looked over and i saw these guys petting something. and at first i thought it was like a little kitten. and it ended up it was a gopher that they had tamed.

>> bring the termites in and play with them and let them run around with our cells. feed them apples, lettuce, take care of them. >> it's like the best companion i ever had. >> a lot of the guys that we ran into have probably never had anybody, you know, to love, or anything or anybody to love them. and, you know, we you run into somebody who is, you know, adopted a gopher, and it gives him 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 is my real name. and the staff here call me bird man of san quentin. the first day i got here at san quentin, the birds seemed to have flocked to me for some reason. and 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 got them landing on my shoulders and my hands. you know, different kinds of birds, not just pigeons. but i got the, you know, the different kinds of black birds like finch and the redwing. 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, when i'm in here i have a chance to mingle with the birds. and basically that's about the only friend i got is the birds. you know, i can't trust anybody else. looks like some folks have had it

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