due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. ♪ two inmates fight for their lives. >> i think the three strikes law is fair? no. >> a lot of his charges have to do with death and violence. that seems to be his claim to fame. >> one contends with the law that could put him away forever. >> the judge, he basically deemed me unfit for society. told me i was a career criminal.

>> and the other -- sentenced to life without parole for murder when he was only 17. prays that a newer law will set him free. >> every single juvenile offender should have a chance to get out. every single juvenile offender should have a chance for rehabilitation. >> and deputies deal with the frequent problem caused by other inmates. >> a female pod, currently being flooded with water from upstairs. >> flush, flush, flush, flush, flush and then it will -- all over and it drains down on the floors, on the table, everything. ♪ california central valley produces nearly 10% of the

nation's food supply. but in the northern part of the valley lies the capital city of sacramento. where the harvest of crops is replaced by the passage of laws, hundreds every year that impact every citizen of the state, including -- >> sacramento county's finest. >> reporter: those residing inside the sacramento county jail. located downtown, the main jail houses about 2,000 men and women. most of whom are only accused of crimes and awaiting trial for the resolution of their cases. should any of them be found guilty one of several laws, some passed by legislators, others by voters, could affect their sentencing. the best known of these laws was approved by voters in 1994. california's three strikes measure. >> folks reached a point of saturation. three strikes was an initiative that said, look, if you get two

serious or violent felony, the third strike, locked up 25 to life. increased the population of state prisons to be sure but filling the state prisons with folks that had a demonstrated track record of victimizing others. >> it would appear that this get tough on crime initiative was voted in because of offenders like gregory gavin. >> a lot of this charges, theft and violence. seems to be his claim to fame. >> his first two were for burglary and robbery. though he's racked up others over the past ten years as well. >> i didn't have no job, nobody looking out for me. i was doing what i felt i had to do to survive. you feel me? to live day to day. >> i had two strikes, i'm like, man, the next thing i do [ bleep ] it's over.

>> convicted on second-degree robbery. part of a crime spree that spanned three months. authorities say in one of the holdups he shot and the badly wound add store clerk. gadlin has yet to be sentenced. as a three-strike convict, face as minimum of 25 years to life. >> the judge basically deemed me unfit for society. told me i was a career criminal. >> reporter: gadlin denies taking part of the robbery that led to his third strike but admits to prior thefts. >> like i'm in control of everything. i took on that role. i'm playing god, because i got a gun. give me everything. this little time that i've been down now, i dedicated to, like, soul searching, starting from the beginning and changing everything, like, the way i live. the way i talk. the way i carry myself. everything.

>> reporter: gadlin says the grocery ads on his wall represents hope that he might go home one day. >> this right here, this was my favorite meal my mom used to cook for me when i was younger. now the fish sticks with the broccoli, that reminds me of my kids. they like fish sticks and chicken sticks. the fajitas, my wife loves chicken and mexican food. constant reminder, like, damn, that's my wife. that's my mom. that's my kids. >> reporter: the specter of the three strikes law looms over gregory gadlin, a newer law might prove to be a salvation for giles davis convicted of murder and robbery booked into the county's juvenile facility 20 years earlier at age 17. he's been incarcerated ever since. >> i was basically a troubled kid. followed my case 2 1/2 years. by the time i was sentenced i

was 20, and a couple weeks after that, i was in prison. i kind of thought maybe i would get 25 to life. i thought i would have a chance to get out eventually. one day. but when she says, gave me the life without a possibility of parole sentence, you know, it was like, it's over with. it's a death sentence. i'm dead. what that did to me, i can't even put into words. it took away any hope that i had. i don't know. just a part of me felt like, you just threw me away. >> wallace spent the past 17 years in some of california the most notorious maximum security prisons. >> i first got off the bus i knew this is my life. this is it right here. this is -- this is all i'm going to see.

this is all i'm going to know. i'm going to die here. >> but wallace was recently contacted by an organization called human rights watch. about a new law passed by the california state legislature. >> you know, they helped get this bill passed and for juveniles sentenced to life without a possibility of parole and basically saying, like, in the united states, basically it's the only civilized country in the world that gives juveniles life without sentences and saying it's a crime against humanity, the human rights watch. >> california senate bill 9, or the fair sentencing for youth act, gives some 300 inmates sentenced to life without parole at juveniles the opportunity to petition for resentencing. wallace says human rights watch has helped him do that, and he has been transferred to the jail for the court hearings that can some day result in parole. >> what we're saying is, every single juvenile offender should have a chance to get out. every single juvenile offender

should have a chance for rehabilitation, but it's nothing that's guaranteed. and even if they reduce your sentence to 25 to life, it's still not a guarantee you're ever going to get out, but there's a chance. >> my claim. >> ah -- >> wallace acknowledges his role in the crime that occurred at age 17. he was the only juvenile among five co-defendants all of whom were convicted and sentenced to prison as well. >> i was charged with murder/robbery, special circumstances, which means that i wasn't the trigger man but i went there to commit a robbery. somebody was murdered during the commission of the crime. so, therefore, i was just as guilty as the person who pulled the trigger. >> according to a human rights watch report, almost half of the juvenile offenders sentenced to life without parole for murder in california were, like wallace, convicted as accessories.

as he awaits his resentencing hearing, wallace shares a cell with 20-year-old marcus swift. who will soon transfer to prison to start a nine-year sentence for robbery. wallace has taken on the role of mentor. >> you know, like when you're young you want to fight every battle. he said this to me. he said that to me. every little slight, everything bothers you, irritates you. you know? but you can't -- if you do that you're never going to make it out. >> wallace and swift share something else in common. they are both members of the bloods. wallace says he is no longer active, but swift who was once shot in a gang dispute says he is fully committed and hopes to some day run into his shooter. >> i've been in it for so long it's just me. it's the -- i don't want to look at myself as in a gang. it's like an extended family to me. as far as me being shot, i will feel less of a man until i get my get-back. >> does that sound familiar? >> yep. yeah.

it sounds like the exuberance of youth. >> coming up -- marcus swift leaves his mentor behind and gets a new cellmate. >> i knew him from outside life. we'll be able to relate more. and -- >> your breath stinks. >> got their face in the toilet bowl. that says nasty. you don't know what's going to come out of there. >> able to use the pipes to talk to other inmates on different floors. >> hello? >> it's called toilet talk, and nobody does it quite like gregory gadlin. >> the pressure makes it go downs.

at sacramento county jail's downtown facility, women make up about 10% of the inmate population. their housed on separate floor, from the men, but that doesn't keep them from meeting the men.

>> talking on the bowl? >> smells like [ bleep ]. your breath stinks. [ laughter ] >> they are able to use the pipes to talk to other inmates on different floors. they usually bail out their toilet, take all the water out. once the line is cleared to the main pipe they're able to talk to somebody else and have a direct line of communication. >> hello? >> they got their face in the toilet bowl. know what i'm saying? that's nasty. you don't know what's coming out of there. >> you know? [ laughter ] >> soo-ee! >> people go to the farthest extreme to get their goals accomplished. >> so on the line. that's networking. how i communicate and keep in touch with the world. >> a-b-c, all that. >> in that toilet. stick her head in there to talk. >> don't nobody want to talk to everybody else's poop. that's nasty, okay? >> gregory gadlin has his own technology.

uses a distinct knock to call his downstairs neighbor to the bowl. >> i got one knock like this. it go -- >> and while most inmates scoop the water out, gadlin uses a makeshift plunger. >> flush, wait a minute and i'm -- i use my mattress, and it's kind of crazy, i would have never thought until i was taught. but this is how i do it. take it, i go like this. i put it over here. right? and you know the pressure, it makes it go down. so -- it's pushing the water down and out like little tubes down there. grab a couple things so my head won't be all the way in the toilet and i get down like, like a little microphone and just be like, what's happening? you feel me? just talking like that. >> hello? >> hello? >> hey. what's up. who am i speaking to.

>> this g. who is this? >> this is "daily rundown." >> what's up? >> gadlin says talking to women even through the plumbing helps keep his mind off his upcoming sentencing. >> huh? >> convicted of 16 counts of robbery, he faces a minimum of 25 years to life. under california's three strikes law. >> i think three strikes law is fair? no. hell no, it's not fair, man. i'm a good person. it's not like i'm just a real [ bleep ] person, but at the same time i got a real, real positive attitude about it. because it's not over. like i say some say it's too late to change. about to do life. i look at this, it's really not. not too late to change and it's not over. >> jiles assumed his fate was over when brought to this jail at age 17.

>> fight with inmates. insubordinate to staff. >> constantly getting into it with sheriffs maybe three, four times a week. >> maintained being a consistent discipline problem while here until the day he left. >> it took three years for wallace's case to move through the courts before he was found guilty and sentenced to life without parole. >> then i went to prison with the same type of behavior. just responding with anger and violence towards everything. >> he has spent the past 17 years in some of california's toughest prisons. >> i'm pretty dumbfounded. talk about the internet. starbucks. you don't realize, but i don't know nothing about any of that stuff. >> i don't know. especially i feel like, i don't feel like i really lived. i was 17. i don't feel i really experienced very much. most of my experience basically is prison.

>> and that has helped wallace at least feel at home here. many of his friends from prison are currently in the jail as well. either for appeals or while awaiting trial on new charges. >> this over here, this is mr. palmer. this brother right here he did 16 years, man. got out. now he's back. this guy right here, witnessed the change, changes that i've made. >> see the transformation, it's -- whew. breathtaking. >> stop it. [ laughter ] >> wallace will soon need to prove that transformation to a judge. thanks to a new california law, inmates sentenced to life without parole at juveniles now have a chance to be resentenced. wallace has been sent back to county jail from the state prison for just such a resentencing hearing. >> yeah. this is my boy right here. i know him. he's known me from when i first started out doing time and

stuff. >> doing the hole. >> this is my big bro right here. mr. mo. >> what they telling about at court? is it looking good? they going to reverse it? >> i don't know. got to wait and see. you know? >> yeah, they should, though. everybody else -- everybody else they god tried under that juvenile thing seems to get reversed. >> well, not everybody. >> prior to any resentencing hearing under the new law, inmates must complete several steps including writing a letter of remorse to the judge. >> all right. >> all right, bro. >> all right. y'all have a blessed day in there. >> yeah. >> all right. the letter i wrote was basically directed towards the victim's family and, you know, me being able to really comprehend on a much more -- you know, complex level than when i was 18, 19, 17. you know? since i've been locked up, my nephew was killed.

murdered. so i know what it feels like. what's that word? empathy? when you can really feel somebody else's pain. i can honestly say i can really feel their pain. >> inmates must also be free of any gang affiliation. wallace joined the bloods at age 13. and has been a affiliated with the gang ever since. he says it's been years since he's been an active member, and his prison record has not shown any obvious gang activity during that time, but he never went through what authorities consider an official cutting of ties. it's a process known as debriefing. where inmates share knowledge of their gangs and are then placed permanently into protective custody. >> i would say probably around 26, 27 i started feeling differently, but i didn't have the courage to just step away and just tell people, like, i'm done. i don't want nothing to do with that, but deep inside, i knew that -- i really wasn't with it anymore.

>> but deputy gaiman, one of the jail's gang investigators, says debriefing is important. >> he can say that, you know, he's out of the gang and doesn't participate in gang-related activities anymore, but it's hard to prove that when you're still living with other validated gang members. if he's truly out of the gang and wants to step away from the violence and the criminal activity, the only way you can show somebody that you're doing that is by taking the steps to remove yourself as far as possible as you can from other gang members. >> while debriefing is not a requirement of the law, the inmate must be free of violent behavior. >> the criteria says you have to have five years clean. you can have violence, but you cannot be the aggressor. >> wallace says the anniversary of his last prison fight in which he was the aggressive is two days shy of that requirement. he says the other inmate suffered a broken jaw. it was after that fight that he ended his gang participation.

but wallace had been involved in one other fight that could also affect his hearing. even though it was well outside the five-year window. that's because it ended in a fatality. >> 10 months within being in prison i got in a fight with an older inmate and it started out just a fight, but i don't know. i guess i -- his head -- i hit him. i don't know. he just died. >> though wallace received sanctions within the prison for fighting, he was never criminally charged for the man's death. >> i would assume that the d.a. deemed it was self-defense. there was no weapons involved, any of that kind of stuff. he was 37. i was 20. >> but it looks pretty bad. i can imagine looking at it, it's pretty bad. >> coming up -- >> i was wishing on a star that america would have -- >> the judge issues gregory gadlin his sentence.

life without the possibility of parole, usually the court deputies call over and let us know, hey, this person just received a significant sentence. maybe you should keep an eye on him. we'll talk to the inmate when they get back. >> 24 hours earlier, deputy gaiman received just such a call. it was regarding gregory gadlin, who received his sentence on 16 counts of robbery under california's three strikes law. >> i knew it was going to be bad. i was wishing on a star that america could have feeled me all the way home, but, nah. >> gad lynn knew his third strike meant a minimum of 50

years to life. instead a judge handed down a sentence of 967 years to life. >> i had a -- because of that, went on a binge. i had stored and made everything. everything that i had, just made it. ate much as i could and threw the rest away and went to sleep. >> while gadlin turned to food for comfort he took out frustration, simulating eating a homemade meal on the outside. >> ripped all my pictures down, the food. the closest thing i could hurt, i wouldn't hurt nobody else, so i just took it out on my pictures. >> gadlin uses his wall space to do the math behind his devastating sentence.

>> i was curious. our the years, how many days do i have to count down, because i got a calendar and i mark off my days how long i've been down to keep track. that made me wonder. damn, how many days would i have to check down until i bounce back, until i get back? came out to 352,955 days. man, i'm so much -- i'm a good person. i don't deserve that right there. i don't deserve none of that. not none of that [ bleep ], man. i made [ bleep ] mistakes in decisions and choices i made but they gave me 967 years. hell when baseball players, they make three mistakes, they strike out, they go back to the end of the line. they get to come right back up. another chance. >> gadlin will soon transfer to prison with the knowledge he will never leave. 17 years earlier, jiles wallace had to confront the same reality

t. was like okay. life without possibility of parole. never going to get out. what's the point? what's the point of trying to do good for? it's over with? >> wallace was sentenced to life without parole for murder. he wasn't the trigger man but at age 17 was involved in a robbery in which a victim was shot to death. he says with nothing to lose, his early years in prison are marked by gang activity and violence. one inmate even died after getting into a fight with him. the death was ruled to be unintentional and in self-defense. so wallace was not charged. but during his tenth year in prison, he got into another fight and was ready to take things further. >> from this altercation i basically went back made an inmate a weapon and on my way out to the yard to go use it and thank god i did get caught, because i was going to go and possibly seriously harm somebody, or get seriously harmed myself.

one or the other. so they kept me in the hole for five, six months. probably about a month later, i just hit rock bottom. i just woke up, wondering, how did i get so far gone? i got on my hands and knees and i prayed for the first time ever. so the next day, i got a letter from an acquaintance on the street. looked me up. got my address and wrote me just to see how i was doing. she needed somebody to talk to. i needed somebody to talk to and she came visit me and ever since then, we've been together. >> six years late. wallace and jennifer palmer were married. during a ceremony behind the walls of the mex mum security prison in which he was housed. >> even though i knew her on the street i never knew her. and even though she knew me on the street she never knew me and it's a spiritual thing. >> i'm happier now than on the streets. there's people on the streets that are in prison. you can be in prison without physically being in prison.

you know what i'm saying? >> coming up -- >> hi, baby. >> good morning, sunshine. >> charles wallace gets a visit from the woman who changed his life. >> i told him, if you expect me 20 dedicate my life to you, you're going to have to make some major changes in your life's hi. 0

due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised.

while the rest of california has been in the grip of a year's long drought, it seems to rain almost daily inside the downtown branch of the sacramento county jail. thanks to inmates who intentionally back up their toilet bowls. >> here in 7 west, 200 pod. fee mall pod. currently being flooded with water from upstairs. some of the inmates upstairs, they will get angry at the females downstairs for not responding to them when he knock on the toilet. >> how often have you seen flooding? >> every freakin' day. >> make a string out of a torn blanket or towel and make a parachute with matting from the mattress. flush it down just so it's far enough to the person they want to flood. push the button. >> flush, flush, flush, flush, all over. drains down on the floor, on the tables, everything. >> it takes 30 seconds to cause it and literally six hours to

clean it up every time. >> gregory gadlin admits he takes part in what inmates call toilet talk, but says he never floods his cell. either way, all of that seems trivial now that he's been sentenced to 967 years to life for a spree of 16 robberies and prior felonies convictions under california's three strikes law. >> i just -- i just don't feel it's fair. how the hell can one live out that long being incarcerated? how does that seem fair? does that even sound fair? >> as gadlin awaits his transfer to prison he's just gone through another transition. he was placed into a new cell with a new cellmate. jiles wallace. >> yo! >> i got a good cellie. feel like i know him. a little history together. so it's not like i came over here with a straight jackass because he -- or odor or so, perfect match damn near. >> though the two men might be on opposite trajectories.

wallace is back in jail after serving 20 years in prison for a resentencing hearing that might make him eligible for parole. the men appear to have other differences as well. >> he big brother and i'm the little brother. always pestering him. feel me taking him through hell and putting him through [ bleep ] hell. >> always want to debate. >> debate-ians? everything's a debate. >> what do you think about this? i tell him, it's a debate. >> because -- man -- >> you know what i think? why you asking me? >> and the debate can be on almost any topic. >> and if you're not -- i feel you should not be rockin' dread. >> how can you sit there and say, if i'm not of a certain religion or background that i can't be rockin' the hair-style that i like on me? >> because it comes from him and i feel like, i think they might be offended by it. what if you walked around with a yarmulke on but you weren't

jewish? everybody wants to do it as a fashion statement? but this is part of their religion. >> wallace's former cellmate marcus swift requested to be housed with a younger inmate he knew from the outside. like swift, stevie boston is also an active member of the bloods gang. >> we'll be able to relate more. not that we didn't relate, but you know, we'll be ale to relate more so i just moved over here. >> boston says he wouldn't have wanted to share a cell with wallace either, because wallace says he's no longer an active blood. >> i -- we just have two different minds. i wouldn't want him to put that and try to -- put, like, that on me. because we ain't not nothing to talk ab's you made a decision. ain't got nothing to talk about that. >> when i hear dreads, this is what i go to, just because this is me and i don't -- it's just short for dreadlock. that's all it means. >> no it's not short from dreadlock. when did the word dread derive from.

>> talking about the ways used. dread head. >> his dictionary came for another reason. >> responsibility state of being reliable. trustworthiness, reliability. trustingness, depend act, loyalty, faithfulness. >> now wallace hopes the same words will have meaning for gadlin as he awaits his transfer to prison. >> i'm getting the counseling and teaching firsthand. feeling like i don't have to do it myself. i'm getting help, more support. so it's kind of cool. >> if you don't learn anything else from me, learn from my mistakes. that's my thing. even if i never get out, if he learned from my mistakes then it wasn't all for no reason. it's not worthless. >> coming up -- >> i was supposed to go to court about a week ago, and my lawyer called my wife and notified her it was going to get pushed back.

>> jiles wallace gets caught up in the bureaucracy of justice, but the day isn't all bad. >> you look beautiful this morning. >> thank you.

all right. here we go. >> inside the downtown branch at the sacramento county jail, inmates spend the majority of their days confined to their cells. overcoming monotony, one of their greatest challenges. manilito battles productivity. >> to kill my time i end up, starting making all these. just to kill time. >> what is this made out of? >> a garbage bag right here. i use a string, which isn't

contraband, from the clothing we wear. takes a long time. takes one day for me to fill this whole pack right here. it takes me one day to pad it, to -- and it takes me one day to build this. i need to be precise on the measurement of the, the rings so i put a down here. i made my own, as pattern, as, like, a template. i'm going to mark it over here. this -- and then cut it. and the outside, i've been doing carpentry all my life, and i kind of love my job. i love it so much. it's like a passion. i have passion for it. building stuff. the cups inside -- and this is from -- this is the top of the, this is, actually for the air conditioner, which feeds right to make it waterproof and then --

keep the water hot inside. longer. it's like insulating. >> his creations have always become source of income. he sells them to other inmates and transfers money to his own account allowing him to buy food and other items in the commissary. >> charge $3. $1 for this, $1 for this and $1 for the top, and for this bag right here, they call it the shower bag, i charge $3, for the whole thing. >> more important than turning a profit, he says his weaving gives him time to think about the mistakes that landed him in jail. he's serving a one-year sentence for auto theft and possession of a controlled substance. >> i came here to the united states 2000. i married my wife and she brought me over here. and because of drugs and now we're separated.

my plan, when i get out, to get everything back. and i'm starting it here. >> how you starting it in here? >> be productive all the time. >> jiles wallace looks forward to regaining all he has lost after spending the past 21 years in jail and prison. he awaits a court hearing that could reverse his life without parole 70sens for a murder/robbery he was involved in at 17. like many proceedings in the criminal justice system, the process has been slow, and getting slower. >> i was supposed to go to court about a week ago, and my lawyer called my wife and notified her that it was going to get pushed back. now i got to wait 60-something more days, and then when i do go to court and still not going to get sentenced, then they're going to actually schedule my sentencing hearing, maybe. hopefully.

it's been very stressful, because i've been here almost eight months already. >> even if wallace succeeds in being resentenced, it's still not a guarantee he will ever go home. >> best case scenario, i get resentenced to at least, you know, 25 to life, and go back to prison. i don't know how many more years i would have to do on that sentence. i got over 20 years in. so maybe four more years? be out for parole. worst case, resentence me to life without again and i'd have to come back next year and go through the whole process all over again. >> wallace says during one of his lowest points in prison and old friend wrote him a letter. it was from jennifer palmer. the woman who would later become his wife. >> that's the turning point for me, because it's like, somebody changed your life by being a part of it. you strive out of love and friendship for that person, and it takes somebody to believe. even as my child, i never had a

person to believe in. >> you're here to see? >> here to visit wallace in 215. >> i've known her since we was kid. i met her when i was like, i think 14. >> years later i ran into a mutual friend of ours and so i asked, have you seen jiles? like, whoa. you didn't hear what happened? no. what. i got this big, huge, fabricated exaggerated story how he killed somebody and was on death row and i was just very shocked to hear that, because that wasn't the person that i knew when he was around me, jiles was always respectful and, you know, friendly and i nerve her seen that side of him. so i wrote a letter to him reaching out to him. >> well, the first letter she was like, it was hard for me to justify. some of the things i've heard you've done since you've been in prison and what you're in there for. you know, but at the same time, it's even harder for me to imagine you being where you're at, and not having anyone to

turn to. >> hi, baby. >> good morning, sunshine. >> how are you? >> good. what about yourself? >> i'm good. >> i know that people aren't perfect, with that being said i knew he was young when it happened and he was very honest with me about getting in fights while he was in there and causing problems initially. you know, as a teen, and even into his early 20s. he's like, this is prison. i'm not going to try to make it seem like i'm a saint, but i'm also not a monster. >> you look beautiful this morning. >> thank you. >> after time went on and we established that we were going to be in a relationship, i told him, if you expect me to dedicate my life to you, i'm going to expect a lot from you in exchange and you'll have to make major changes in your life, which over time he's done. >> i know. >> starting to get a little anxious. >> anxious? >> a little bit. >> yeah? >> not knowing what it's going to happen. >> it will be all right. >> i've always told him, it's not if you get out. it's when you get out.

i have no doubt in my mind that his sentence will get reduced. he was a juvenile influenced by adults. he wasn't the tricker person. he was in a different room at the time of the murder. he wasn't aware that that was going to happen, and he served 20 years. >> so -- are you getting nervous? >> hmm -- not really. i mean, i think you've prepped me pretty well. what to, you know, most likely expect from them. i'm pretty confident that you're going to get your sentence reduced at some point. it would be crazy if you didn't. >> yeah. at some point. >> and then you get to come home. >> that would be a trip. >> and i'll drive you crazy! >> she has a very large support system. my family has completely embraced him. he kind of has already a made home. i'm a registered nurse. i have a good career. he would not have to work initially, if that's what he chose, which i know he wants to get to work right away.

my family, my immediate family, my extended family all will embrace him. for the most part, i think the initial adjustment is going to be more the technology side of things. >> that's it. >> internet, cell phones. starbucks. >> i can teach you about -- >> walmart. >> i can teach you about starbucks really quickly. in a matter of days you'll have it down. >> all right. i love you. >> i love you, too. >> thanks for coming to see me. >> i don't want to say good-bye. >> you don't have the a choice. >> all right, baby. >> give me some sugar. >> all right. i'll talk to you later. >> all right. >> okay. >> bye. coming up -- >> gadlin pressed the emergency button inside of his cell and when they went to handcuff him and pull him out he said, you need to get me out of here before i kill my cellie. >> a blowup between gregory and jiles.

>> what were you afraid you were going to do? >> kill him. literally.

in the middle of the night at the sacramento county jail gregory gadlin took what is considered to be an extreme measure among most inmates. >> gadlin pressed his emergency button inside his cell. in every cell there's a little red button, it's the emergency button. the only reason you should press is if you have an emergency. >> an officer responded to gadlin's cell to see what was wrong. >> and then when they went to handcuff him and pull him out, you need to get me out of here before i kill my cellie. >> what were you afraid you were going to do? >> kill him. literally. >> serious? >> yes, that serious. >> gadlin's cellmate was jiles wallace.

>> i would hope that he learned to restrain hisself a little more, because in prison it's a little worse. restriction is part of life. learn how to restrict your emotions and restrain them, because if you don't, you know, that's why i'm in prison. that's why people get locked up, because they didn't restrain or restrict themselves. >> while they initially got along, both men acknowledged they liked to debate, and apparently the debates began to wear on gadlin. >> he don't have no understanding at all. it's his way or nothing. but like, i would just reflect, like, damn, ain't you talking your -- feel me trying to change and all this and you glorifying, this, oh, negative fast lifestyle? you feel me? like -- that's like being a hypocrite. you feel me? and then i give it to, the situation that brought it about that morning, yesterday morning, was that. i brought up the word hypocrite. you feel me? asked how he felt about it.

i was serious. aiming it directly at him and he knew it. >> he likes to tell me about myself. i really don't care what another person thinks about me. god knows my heart. he knows my intentions. i know where i've come from and where i'm at now. >> yeah. he start calling me all of this crazy stuff, a few words i didn't know. look it up? i'm like, damn. you feel me? >> gadlin says he then used the dictionary to find a word to express his opinion of wallace. >> i looked up a couple words. i was like -- unaware. and i read to him, out the dictionary. what i read to him, the source part of it. uninformed, oblivious, ignorant. that's where he, i think he lost it. i seen his facial expression. not cognizant. unmindful. unknowing. headless. negligent, careless. insensible, forgettable. unconcerned. blind. deaf.

inattentive, without notice. >> you're not supposed to go through a dictionary trying to belittle people. fools do that kind of stuff. >> so i said, can you not call me that word, fool? you feel me? >> call me that again, they'll be problems. >> i'll call you what i want. >> from there it just -- >> i will to stop talking. if i'd have said more, it would have escalated it. >> i guess he felt i was stresses him out. >> i'm going through, [ bleep ], i'm going to try to kill you, period. >> you lock two people in a room like this and especially when you lock them down and don't allow them out for showers and phone calls, what happens is, they start taking out their frustrations on each other. >> so before i -- subject myself to that, any further -- a bam. i just take myself out of the situation. >> gadlin will soon transfer to prison to begin his 964 year to life sentence under california's three strike law, while wallace

continues to wait through delay after delay for what he hopes will about release under a different california law. one that gives sentence to life without patrol to juveniles the chance to be resentenced. >> i mean, i always feel like i should have got a chance. now, that's my thing. i don't expect the doors to just open up. but my thing is, you know, i've done a lot of things that i'm not proud of doing. but most of the stuff that i did do, and the worst stuff that i've done in my life, all occurred before i was 22. so to say that's just who you are, i don't believe that that's who i am.

>> announcer: due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. ♪ a recent law brings a wave of prison felons to the county jail. >> we're seeing greater propensity for smuggling, we're seeing greater propensity for assault on officers and staff. >> a family man gets a decade in jail for manufacturing weapons. >> it's all home grown guns. you can legally make one for yourself, but you just can't