tv Lockup Charleston Extended Stay MSNBC December 18, 2015 10:00pm-11:01pm PST
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something that came always natural. >> charged with a spree of armed robberies, an inmate now comes investigation from inside the jail. >> rumor on the street is he's putting out orders to assault officers. >> i wouldn't say it's an assault. i would say more of a punishment. >> i was told that he was up for murder, but you never know. >> a distraught father speaks for his son, who if found guilty could get the death penalty. >> i know my dad knows in his heart i'm not a killer. i know he knows that. >> overlooking charleston harbor is fort sumter. it's here the first shots of the civil war were fired in april 1861 the fort is the one part of history that has been preserved in charleston, south carolina. a city that several travel
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publications describe as the most hospitable in the nation. but 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 get females. you get alcoholics from the streets that come in combative. you've got segregation inmates. you've got a whole bunch that you've got 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 the cases. >> communication is the biggest thing i feel when you're dealing with a whole different variety of inmates is you got to talk with them. the more i talk and find out
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what the problem is and learn how to deal with the problem, you get less resistance from them. >> you don't know! >> officer skipper is a six-year veteran at the jail. most of that time has been in unit a1a, disciplinary segregation, where inmates with major rule violations are confined to single person cells 23 hours a day. they lose most of their privileges and possessionsas well. >> they got to have a shackle because we in disciplinary. i've been wearing these shackles for so long, it seems like sometimes it don't even be there. it's just that it's a normal routine. >> hey, mr. gathers. >> how you doing? >> did you have a bad day today? >> kind of. >> what happened? >> i've 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
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listen to him and have patience with him, because he flips like that. >> there's some people who i have zero tolerance for. and some people i have about 10% tolerance for. >> i don't trust him when he has his hands handcuffed in the front of him. i'm standing there talking to him. my hands are here. i don't trust him. he's unpredictable. you never know what he's going to do. he can be smiling up in your face and be your best friend and turn around and he's ready to swing. >> melvin gathers is in disciplinary segregation after his latest outburst in another housing unit. he became agitated and grabbed a phone from the officer's desk and smashed it on the floor. >> i became upset. i asked to speak to the searge. then it became a demand. the demand wasn't carried out. and i took the phone and chuncked it, and then it shattered. >> gathers was given 60 days in segregation. that's considered a long time for anyone. >> a jail official says it was because the phone incident came
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shortly after a more serious violation. >> i assaulted a c.o., a correction officer. >> the officer had suspended 30 minutes of gather's daily recreation time for refusing an order to return to his cell. >> you took 30 minutes of recreation from me. that's 30 minutes of my day that i can only come out for two hours. i feel like that's a big take. >> he was upset about it. he threw his cupful of juice on the officer. the officer backed away and hit his personal alarm. inmate gathers folowed him behind the desk and started physically assaulting 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 to the unit. with the complex case ahead of him, gathers could face a long stretch in jail. he and a co-defendant each face 13 charges, including 6 for
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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. >> all robbery has been somebody that always came natural as a first instinct. my first 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 says 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 them pleading, 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 that they're going through. >> what happened about their eyes? what did you see? >> their life.
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i can tell they feel like this can be a life and death situation. >> gathers says he always hides his identity during holdups. >> i choose to disguise myself to give the law 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 explain this to me. you have to explain this to me. [ laughter ] >> 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 is going to court. >> coming up. >> so 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 -- >> we ain't got nothing. we just got dirt roads and
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on some of the rural island communities off the coast of south carolina, many african-americans identify as beachy, cultures that date 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 detention center. >> me being here all my life, i have to sit back and listen. they talk fast, and they're rumbling or mumbling, but it's just their language, and they speak deep. >> the gullah and geechee accent
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is sometimes mistaken for jamaican. >> they do kind of relate the language because they speak so we kind of sound the same, i guess. but i'm from south carolina. i'm not from jamaica. >> they call us geechees. we talk like we from jamaica or something like that. >> carlton solomon jr. has lived his entire life on nearby johns island. >> it ain't got nothing. just dirt roads and trouble. that's really it. dirt roads and trouble. 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 johns island. solomon has pled not guilty and is awaiting trial. >> i know the old saying that everybody is innocent in jail, but however you say it, in some
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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 and 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 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 can think of is whoever the dude saw in the house that night probably was a light skinned male. you know. i had a history of trouble. because i'm light skinned, i guess they just 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 is out on bond when the murder he is now accused of occurred.
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>> they got this on the news. the lady that got killed has two little children. those children going to grow up hating me. little children hating me. for something i didn't have nothing to do with, you know. >> if found guilty, solomon would be eligible for the death penalty. >> when i see these walls, when i hear those people, i never thought any of this would happen. never. >> carlton solomon is one of several inmates from johns island. most are familiar faces to officer green who was born on the island and still lives there. >> johns 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 again. then i see them in there again. let me tell you what happened. >> melvin gathers, who is awaiting trial for a series of alleged armed robberies is also
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from johns island. >> what's up, mel? you doing all right? i've known his family for quite 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 to him and engage in conversation. >> the sergeant hopes officer green's relationship with gathers will provide insight to his gang folk nation. >> folk nations is a set of gangs under a common banner. it's manic latin disciples from chicago. they all full under the umbrella of folk nation. we've had documented cases of leader of the gang sending out orders to its members to assault other inmates. we've had some get caught up with smuggling contraband to the facility. they have assaulted staff before. so it can be a real big problem. >> melvin gathers is a second lieutenant in folk nation. he's considered one of the higher ranks.
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when it comes to gang affiliations, his chest is out. he's proud. >> mr. gathers refers to himself and i've heard others 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 his 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 the inmate, a brother or a person. even a nondisciple. 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 kitchens wants to find out if gathers is involved. >> rumor has on the street he's
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been putting out orders to assault officers. hopefully we were able to confirm or deny the information today. >> good evening. how are you doing? go ahead and have a seat. you're folk, right, ganger disciple? >> yeah. >> how long you been involved in that? >> since day one. 13. >> day one? >> age 13. '99. >> how far up are you? >> how far am i? i'm not comfortable answering that question as far as ranking. 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 on my officers to be assaulted. this is coming from the street, it's not from this facility. have you been doing that? >> i wouldn't say it's an assault. i would say more a punishment. >> a punishment. why? >> due to recent actions. >> of an officer in here? >> yeah. you have give respect to get it. >> i understand that. >> can't treat people any way and expect nothing to come of
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it. >> so you put an order out for someone to be punished because of the way they treated you? >> it was more so like a warning. >> a warning? >> yeah. >> you're looking at serious charge right now. we're adding more charges to that. that's a felony. >> there's about so much he can do to me right now. >> that's true. you go to court with additional charges, even though you may not tend to be that serious, they are serious. you feel like you have a glimmer of hope. you need to hold onto that hop. doing stuff like this, that hope can fade quickly. you look perplexed. what's wrong. trying to think of something? >> no. a wise man always think before he speak. dealing with people of your caliber and the person of my nature is like playing chess. >> mm-hmm. >> we on two different sides of the table. >> that's right. >> as kichens and green press
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gathers, he begins to backtrack. >> it's not in my nature to do stuff like that. if anybody knows supreme, people would know i'm the more humble type with my authority. i'm guilty by association pretty much. mr. kichen. guilty by association. >> well, i appreciate you talking to us. but take my advice to heart. but you need to chill out. you don't feed anymore charges before you go to court. all right, man. thank you. >> you kind of flip-flopped. was some kind of hit put out on a specific officer? >> did i send it? no. do everybody think i done it? yes. they think supreme has his hands in a lot of things. >> i think he wants to project himself as very powerful. if he is projected as having that much power, the inmates may respect him more.
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personally i do not believe gathers ordered the assault. i don't think he pulls that much weight around here to order that assault. >> so what's the next step for him? >> change his activity. >> so the game continues? >> that's all it is is a game. i have a simple philosophy. they have 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days to come up with games to mess with our minds. we have 12 hours to defeat the game. coming up -- >> carlton soloman, any family members? >> yes, ma'am. >> carlton solomon stands before the judge and his father. and -- >> love you. >> love you too. >> a young woman finds love through an air vent. >> what you doing? polident's unique micro clean formula works in just 3 minutes, killing 99.99% of odor causing bacteria. for a cleaner, fresher, brighter denture every day.
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whfight back fastts tums smoothies starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue and neutralizes stomach acid at the source tum, tum, tum, tum smoothies! only from tums inside the sheriff al cannon detention center, inmates often take creative steps to make jail feel a little bit more like home. for samantha mcdonald, that means using just about anything to feel attractive. >> the eye shadow is new.
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i just invented it. this is my toothbrush. >> but recently when she took another step to simulate her life at home, she got 30 days in disciplinary segregation. >> this time it's 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. then i use juice from the lunch, which is also 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 the time she was living on the streets and addicted to drugs. >> i went to the fridge to get something to eat. and i went to the bedroom to see if they had any change on their
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dresser or whatever. 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/cocaine. she says she turned to drugs after a painful childhood. >> i talked to my therapist about that. he said it's because of your past. you don't want to feel anything. i'm like, yeah. >> and now she has new feelings to deal with. she met a man out here. >> when he comes to rec, he comes to my window. we sit there and talk. which is not really allowed, but you know, he does it anyway. >> charleston county has one of the few co-ed segregation units in the nation. since there are rarely more than a few women, the jail put them together in adjacent cells. >> it's policy not to talk to each other, not to interact at all. but how do you avoid that when
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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. >> this is the only unit that has males 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 the inmates for going up to the door. they watch us just as much as we watch them. if we get distracted by somethine else, it's human nature. you're going to find somebody to talk to. >> sometimes inmates communicate through the vent system. 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 they we're not supposed to communicate with the females, but it's to the point where you can't control it. we're in a vent together.
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you going to tell me to stop speaking in my room? >> mcdonald's new boyfriend is melvin gathers. >> you miss me? >> yeah. >> samantha, samantha, samantha. i've known her for not very long. it's probably been 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 have known her for month. >> yes. >> 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 doesn't have a time limit. as long as it's real and as long as it's solid, i feel like we should have a time for each other officially. >> we do talk sexually through the vents and stuff, you know.
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>> 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. she's no different than any other male or female together. so you still got to watch them just like you do the guys. >> you're talking through the vents. and 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? are you listening? >> 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
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be living with my grandmother. >> samantha mcdonald plans for a future that may or may not include melvin gathers. >> when samantha leaves, it's like a test. now this is when the ball game starts. what super poligrip does for me is it keeps the food out. before those little pieces would get in between my dentures and my gum and it was uncomfortable. just a few dabs is clinically proven to seal out more food particles. super poligrip is part of my life now. if yand you're talking toevere rheumyour rheumatologiste me,
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>> oh, that's what i'm talking about. break it on down. >> we're waiting on inmates to come downstairs. >> video courtrooms are used for new arrestees and current inmates have to 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 john's island. >> man, i was doing good, man. >> carlton solomon, we lived two doors apart. his grandmother is like everybody's aunt in the neighborhood. used to always go over to their house. especially summertime. nicest person in the world. comes from an awesome family.
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>> she's like family to me, too. she knows all my family. she's cool with all my family. i got love for her. >> i remember when he was born. i remember him small as a young boy. he wasn't a bad child. he threw his life away. he pretty much is condemned himself. he's going to be here for a while. he's going to be here for quite a while. >> murder, kidnapping, burglary, all type of [ bleep ]. >> you ain't getting no bond. >> [ bleep ], no. >> solomon is accused of murder and other crime ls related to a home invasion robbery on john's island. if found guilty, he could face the death penalty. >> all right. carl on the solomon. any family members? >> yes, sir. >> you're family member? >> yes, ma'am. i'm his father. >> carlton solomon, your father is here today. you've been charged with murder, burglary, kidnapping, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. on the charge of murder, kidnapping and burglary first,
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you're placed on a no bond with a charge of a weapons violation, $100,000 surety bond. you may exit. >> thank you, judge. >> she give me $100,000 bond on my possession of a firearm. and for burglary and kidnapping, i didn't get no bond. >> what does this mean for you, carlton? >> i'm stuck. stuck. you know, stuck between a rock and a hard place. >> 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 does his his son's case with reporters. >> i was told he was up for murder and 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, clothe them, house them, put them through college.
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you do everything you're supposed to do. but you never know. right now i still don't know. i went off to the military. somewhere down the line, things shifted in his line. why it shifted, i still don't know. i wasn't in the present. but he's my son. he is my son. be it right or wrong, he's still going to be my son. >> i know my dad knows in his heart i didn't kill them. i know he knows that. i just really want to talk with him. that's the worst thing in my mind. having my dad think that. >> though carlton sr. couldn't meet with his son, in a p few days he will return to visit him. but can carlton jr. denied bail, it could be years before he touches them again since murder trials rarely move quickly. ♪ i was running from somebody
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>> facing six counts of armed robbery and several related charges, melvin gathers' case has also been lengthy. most of his time is spent in disciplinary segregation where he walks around the rec yard during his one hour. >> what can you see from here? >> grass, freedom. i think of another chance. in the penitentiary, it's not granted you see another chance. the only thing you see is another facility. when i look outside, it flashes. will i be able to touch the outside society freely again? it gets emotional sometimes. that's my life. that's the first leaf i've seen in a long time, brother. [ laughter ]
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>> samantha mcdonald prefers to take her rec time at night. >> i never come out during the day. i usually come out at night. i never get sunlight. little "b". and i still slice with other units and my friends. >> i don't know. >> gathers and mcdonald say they have developed a romantic relationship by speaking to each other through the air vents to their cells. mcdonald has recently entered a guilty plea on her charges of particularly and petty larceny. since she has no prior offenses, she's likely to bond out soon. >> when samantha leaves, it's like a test. this is when the ball game starts. all of what you said during the introduction and interview and during our honeymoon period, you know what i mean, now it's to put to the test. would you contact me in would you write me like you said you would? it takes determination. you have to be devoted. >> mcdonald isn't sure what will happen with gathers but says her life which has included jail, drugs and homelessness needs to
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change. >> when i get out i'm going to live with my grandmother. it's the best place to live. she's a 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. i don't want to live the lifestyle i was living in. >> i talked to your boy. >> carlton solomon sr. visits his son and questions the system that's holding him. >> right now you're guilty until proven innocent. you're not innocent until proven guilty. opportunity is everything you make of it. this winter, take advantage of our season's best offers on the latest generation of cadillacs. the 2016 cadillac ats. get this low-mileage lease from around $269 per month, or purchase with 0% apr financing.
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whfight back fastts tums smoothies starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue and neutralizes stomach acid at the source tum, tum, tum, tum smoothies! only from tums johns 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 facing murder and
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other charges, soloman began getting into trouble with the law at age 15. sergeant sineton has known him ever since. >> carlton, what do we have ourselves into this time? >> more other stuff. >> serious? >> yeah, real serious. >> i've been dealing with him for a long time. from what i see that he's a good kid. he's a real good, but he's making a lot of the wrong decision. and right now he came in here. and he has serious charges this time. he says it's a big mistake that will get worked out. >> yeah, when i saw that on the news, i swear my heart stopped beating for a couple of seconds. i'm serious. ifs like, whoa. i'm going to get out. they've got false charges on me. >> okay. okay. well, the justice system does work.
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if it's innocent, it will prove you're innocent. for his sake, i hope it's true. cause i want to see him live a prosperous life. i've talked to him about changing his ways. he'll give you that classic smile of his and say yes sir, buth then i'll see carlton in trouble again. you better stop doing this to your dad. you're putting more and more on your dad's head. you going to make a promise to get out this time. >> if i get out this time, for real. deep down inside he's a good person. i just want him to learn from his mistakes and make his dad proud. >> today soloman's father, carlton sr, has come to the jail to visit his son. >> hey stranger. >> how you doing? >> it's been a long time. >> i met his father from visiting at juvenile and spoke with him a lot. i know he coaches football.
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he does a lot with the youth in this 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. >> well, thank you. >> any time. i know you're a good dad and look out for him. that's why i talk to him also. >> my son has been accused of a horrific crime, and i'm here to support my son. not to find out what's going on. because i can't do it here. i need to let him be assured his family is here to support him. i'm a little ashamed i have to come in this type of environment to see my son behind bars. >> number 18. >> thank you very much. he came from a family that don't drink, don't smoke. he came from that 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 going to the streets. carlton told me that he was bored.
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carlton was being pulled to 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 then they cater to the weakness. once they introduced him to alcohol, then they gave him for alcohol. and from that point they gave him reefer. and from that point then they put something in there. next thing you know, it's a little habit. i didn't find out until after he was arrested that he had a habit that dealt with cocaine. >> prosecutors allege he was one of three men involved with the murder of a woman during a home invasion robbery. the victim's brother was assaulted but survived and later identified solomon from a mug shot. 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 and shoot
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somebody. >> this is despair. i just close my eyes and wish i could just be laying next to my girlfriend. just anywhere else be right here. >> 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? let me see your face. you got a beard? [ laughter ] >> oh, yeah. definitely. you 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. >> yeah.
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trying to keep my head up the best i can. >> 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 a modern form of slavery. >> carlton has a little past. everything is based upon the past. but i see this with many kids. there will be lock up. they'll be searched 15, 20, 30 times. but a caucasian 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 problem 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.
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and i couldn't understand why. after you search a child 20 times, why search him 20 more to find nothing? it doesn't make any sense to me. it seems like people are getting together and doing these things on purpose. i don't know if the law has the right for them to do that. i think it's excessive power of force. i think it's abuse. i don't think they have the right. my son says daddy, i had nothing to do with this. i don't believe carlton had anything to do with this. can he be set up? i believe he can be set up. that i believe. >> if there's no evidence? what are they trying to do? make up evidence? create evidence? if it's not there, it's not there. right now you're guilty until proven innocent. you're not innocent until proven guilty. understand this is a period of time in your life. this is your whole life. this is a bump in the road.
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all right. i love you, man. all right, peace brother. >> i think the visit went very well. the only advise i can give to him is just be strong and let this thing work itself out. it's a hurt thing to see him behind bars. he's not free. there's always a question in your mind. could you 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 from carlton solomon's case. and then. >> what's your longest relationship? >> a month and five days. >> melvin gathers says good-bye. >> this is where it hurts the most.
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he's charged with murdering a 27-year-old woman during a home invasion robbery. today there's a new development that he thinks will set him free. >> they gave me a search warrant and he said he's going to convict me or clear me. hopefully when it comes back and says i wasn't there, they'll let me go. i'm happy. i'm real happy. people try to give me a lot. i was thinking in here two or three years on trial and all this other stuff. but the dna take up to three months. so hopefully everything will be good and i'll be going home this year. this is a bunch of b.s., man. i just feel real good. for leal. >> while solomon hopes he'll soon go hope, over the jail's disciplinary unit, that day has come for samantha. >> my grandmother is bailing me out. i'm really nervous.
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>> why? >> because i've been locked up almost six months. going back out to 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 the free mare means of communication is shouting through the vents of their cells. >> it's very sad. >> i'm going to miss my boyfriend. melvin. i'm going to miss him a lot actually. and i didn't know i was going to miss him as much as i did until i found out i was leaving. >> what's your longest relationship? >> a month and five days. >> we're going to keep in touch. he has my grandmother's number, and he has my address so we can
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write each other. >> this is the test. she's going home. will it just be a county jail thing, or will it develop into something beautiful? >> am i processing yet? am i gone yet? it's driving me crazy. >> mcdonald then asks officers for a favor regarding personal items. >> the stuff in my box i need to give to melvin. >> okay. >> some of them with the purchase canteen. they'll leave their hygiene items and stuff like that for another inmate to have. >> radios, brushes. >> gave him the soap dish and the radio. gave him lotion and everything? >> yes. meanwhile, gathers returns to the event for his final good-bye to mcdonald, whom he calls tiny. >> hey, tiny, come here. >> i'm coming.
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i'm trying to get my stuff to give to you. >> you heard me? >> i know. >> i've got attached to you, man. >> i know. >> you ain't even fully gone out the deer, man and i feel [ bleep ] up already. >> no, don't feel that way. >> i mean, it's a good thing, tiny. you know. >> all right, going home. >> freedom, girl! freedom, girl! [ laughter ] >> bye! >> you too. >> this will be the first. to see her walk.
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>> i'm excited, man. >> i bet. >> i've been here for almost six months. >> can i get your thumbprint on the red light, please? and this will get your property next door. >> okay. thank you. >> outside, mcdonald is greeted by her grandmother and great grandmother. look at you. >> i know. i'm fat. i know. >> you're not fat. oh, sweetie. >> 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 i ain't got nobody else to speak to. and building conversations with another person ain't going to be
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the same. normal people. like my routine has changed. like i don't wake up and hear he calling my name or vice versa. i don't wake up to her conversations. >> gathers' spirits improve; however, when he discovered a small bit of contraband, a gift secreted inside the shampoo bottle samantha left for him. >> samantha elaine mcdonald. she put it in there so i can always have a picture of her.
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in a small town in kansas, a woman is brutally raped. >> she thought she was going to die. she was very frightened. >> a young soldier is in the hot seat. >> he says, i got you now. he goes, i know you did this. and he slammed his hands down on the desk. now, i know you did this, mr. lowery. come clean with me. >> and a confession sealed his fate. >> it appeared to be a situation where justice was done. >> but after 20 years, the young soldier is a middle-aged man with a history and one big regret. >> i tore myse
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