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tv   Hardball With Chris Matthews  MSNBC  July 5, 2011 2:00am-3:00am EDT

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due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. the young actor is accused of a heinous crime. >> they were saying that i shot both of them and decapitated one of them. >> a male inmate and his girlfriend await trial on charges of rape. >> me and my boyfriend had a threesome with another woman and she turned around the next day and said that we raped her. >> a drinking problem sends another inmate to prison. >> we left the bar. and what essentially happened was i ended up running my boyfriend over with a car. fleeing and trying to get away. >> and a convicted killer with a loyal wife finds a new love.
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every year, close to 70,000 people are processed through the five facilities that make up the orange county jail in southern california. most have not been convicted but they're awaiting trial, charged with everything from minor infractions to murder. some will be released or bailed out within hours. others will call the jail home
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until their cases are resolved in court, a process that can take years. one inmate facing a prospect is daniel wozniak, who prior to his arrest can be found performing as an actor on the stages of various orange county playhouses. >> i want people to know i'm a good guy. i'm easy going. i enjoy long walks on the beach. i'm an aries. i just want people to know that no matter what throughout all of this, i'm really a good guy. almost everyone in my life will say so. >> what i know of wozniak is he's in custody for a double murder. a beheading was involved as well as dismemberment. >> wozniak is entering a not guilty plea in a case that made headlines in orange county. he's alleged to have murdered two friends in order to steal money out of their bank accounts.
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>> they were saying that i shot both of them and decapitated one of them. it's not true. >> prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty when he goes to trial. >> the two victims were two of my close friends, sam and julie. sam lived in the same complex that me and my fiancee lived at. he had helped me out on several occasions just -- he was -- he was there for me when i needed him. and julie was just a friend in the group. two of the nicest people that i've ever known. >> prosecutors say wozniak was motivated to kill because he was broke and needed to pay for his upcoming wedding and honeymoon. he is alleged to have dismembered and beheaded the male victim. >> i know his body parts, they say, were found in a park. >> the victim's torso was found in the storm room of a theater
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that wozniak had performed. >> there were two that i did there. one was "charlie's aunt." one was "arsenic and old lace." >> i played cary grant's character, a lot of fun. >> two weeks after the bodies were discovered, wozniak was arrested for murder. he was at his own bachelor's party the night before his wedding. >> our meal was over. we paid the bill. all of a sudden, a swarm of police came in, grabbed me, pulled me up, put me in handcuffs, dragged me out of the back of the restaurant. i said, hello, how are you? my name is dan, what can i -- you know. >> wozniak was questioned and taken into custody. a short time later, he attempted suicide. >> i was alone in a room and
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there was a wall. and they're all stoned, so i saw the corner and i said, if i jump and hit my head, maybe all of this will go away? and it's still here. >> wozniak went into a coma after the attempted suicide. he says he tried to take his life because of the shame he felt over being arrested only hours before his wedding. >> if i was given the opportunity to talk to my fiancee right now, i'd either say, can i be out there with you or can you be with me in here? the bond -- i just love her. that's the hardest part of getting through my day, knowing i can't be with her, period. it says absence makes the heart grow fonder. it does, it really does. >> jail has kept michelle culverson isolated from her boyfriend for the past 15 months.
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>> it's very hard, it's very hard, and we miss each other a lot. it's sad when you miss somebody so much and you can't reach out and touch him and he's around the corner from you right now, you know? >> in fact, culverson's boyfriend is only a short walk away in the men's unit of orange county central jail facility. >> oh, my goodness, michelle, that's my love. that's my heart. she has a very outgoing personality, kind, sincere, giving. she's a socialite. sometimes i can be reserved. but then she'll -- she'll bring me out more of the times too. it's like she's the wind beneath my wings. >> it says michelle and beau for life. and so i have it right there.
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just to remind me every day that i love him and he loves me oh, we're in love. i'm getting all blushy. >> i only time they are able to see each other is in court. >> we're co-defendants so hopefully we get to see each other on the bus, yeah, in the courtroom. we get to talk and love each other -- even if it's for five minutes, it still means a lot. >> culberson was pregnant with the couple's baby when they were arrested. and nine months ago delivered their son. as far as being in jail and having a baby, everybody's like, oh, what the heck? they made me feel so comfortable. the deputies, the nurses. i had nine hours with him.
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i got to hold him for nine hours total. and it was the best experience ever. they took pictures of him for me, of us together. and the good thing about it is my boyfriend's mom got the baby. >> while their love story might be considered unusual, so were the charges that brought the couple to the orange county jail. >> me and my boyfriend had a threesome with another woman. and she turned around the next day and said that we raped her. >> this was your boyfriend's idea? >> no, it was mine. i regret it completely. everything thought it was his idea. no, actually, he did it to make me happy. too bad i can't take it back. >> culberson and her fiance have been charged with the rape of an unconscious person and sodomy. they have pled not guilty and have been fighting the charges in court.
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>> for the interviews that we've done, it was just ironic to me they told a different version of their crime and how it was set up and the details they gave us. it was just drastically different. it was supposedly going to be a three-way sex act. but in one of them's reference, no, they were just trying to help out down on their luck and passed out on the sidewalk. >> i was in the process of just picking my nephews up from a party. and i see a person laid out spread eagle on the asphalt, tried to help them. i checked that particular person's pulse, make sure they were all right and okay. then a guy that was under the influence came around the corner from urinating and said, hey, get your hands off her. i said, oh, excuse me. well, if this is a person that
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you're with, why would you leave them laid out like this in front of like a doughnut shop in a parking lot. if that's your girlfriend. if this is your girlfriend, what's your name? come on, fast. something's fishy here. something told me that evidently >> he says that he and his culberson checked the woman in the hotel room and stayed with her. >> i was laid on my back. and one thing led to another. and, you know, one night of fun can lead to a whole lot of turmoil in a nutshell. >> the prosecutors say they drugged, sodomized and raped the woman and that the next day they brought her to an apartment where they raped and sodomized her again and threatened to force her to a life of prosecution. it was the only the woman's screams that prompted neighbors to call the police.
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>> it just reminds me of the story of genesis 39, you know? joseph was in press and accused falsely. things happen like that. things do happen. paris hilton got arrested, i mean, you know what i mean? >> coming up -- >> i'm an alcoholic, native american and irish. so all the experts say that it's in my blood. >> alcohol causes big problems for one inmate. >> and i flipped into like stacie or tracie. i don't know what happens. she's a different person and she's usually violent.
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the best day for an inmate at the orange county jail is the day he or she is released. the second best just might be any day they receive their commissary order. the jail stocks a variety of
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snacks, toiletries, and other basics, which inmates can purchase with their own funds from a debit account. >> we used to do everything hand input. and now we actually have an automated system with scan tron forms that the inmates will fill out three days a week. we scan them and fill the orders through the commissary. the items we have there are top brand items. not just mom and pop items. >> order up some soap. got to have the stamps, you know, stamps more than likely. soups because there might be a meal that you might want to skip out on, believe me. you know? trust me. the hot cheetos and the soup. it's a fusion that gives you that nice spice, the texture. that's good stuff right there. >> beau likes commissary as much as anyone but feels there's room for improvement.
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>> i recommend there's a few that can be added not only for the african-american types. a lot of breakage. using mayonnaise -- please put some grease on here. love, peace, and hair grease. please. >> his girlfriend and co-defendant michelle culberson is housed in orange county's women's wing. she and her cell mate care about their appearance, as well. they take a creative approach to cosmetics. >> me and my bunky, we make different colors with deodorant, crayola pencils. and we mix them together. >> so you cut them with the pencils? you take the deodorant and -- >> yes. >> we mix them up with her
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finger. >> only specific types of deodorants can do this though? >> yeah, the good stuff. >> so you get it all good and mixed up, ready to go on the eye. see? just like that. it looks like a glob of color. >> and where -- where inmates that get up and do this every morning. >> because you stop feeling like a human being. not that makeup is all important. but it's a -- it's an ego booster. >> ortega has been at the orange county jail for the past 15 months. unlike culberson, she's no longer waiting for trial. instead ortega pled guilty to a dui with great bodily damage. >> i'm an alcoholic. i'm native american and irish. all of the experts say it's any my blood. aside from that, i pass out. the average person that would
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drink as much alcohol as i drink would pass out. i usually turn into taste a or tracy and i get hyper and flip out. it's a different person. and she's usually not happy and she's usually not very nice. and she's usually very violent. >> ortega's sentence has been an eight-year sentence. the victim of her crime is a former boyfriend. >> basically i went out with my boyfriend and my best friend. i went to sunday brunch. my favorite, i'm an alcoholic. so i had my mimosa. i thought it would be cool to stop at the bar and we did that. and then i can't tell you what happened after that other than what it states in my police report and my plea bargain because when we left the bar, i don't remember even leaving, which is the tough part, but basically, we left the bar, and
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what essentially happened was i ended up running my boyfriend over with a car and then fleeing and trying to get away. he ended up with a broken leg. he has steel or whatever they put in there. he ended up with a subdural hematoma and they put him into a medically induced coma for purposes of helping his brain heal, things of that nature. >> ortega's boyfriend did recover although he suffered minor brain damage and the damage to their relationship was beyond repair. >> mistakes happen, accidents happen, and i apologized. i said i was sorry, and he just -- he's not accepting that. >> oh, you way did it too long.
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no, no, it was already like that. >> what we're going to do is we're going to fix it. coming up -- >> i'm a very kind, loving, passionate, caring individual, father, man, husband. >> twice convicted of rape, and now of a high-profile murder, an orange county inmate could face the death penalty. orthotic that's best for your tired feet. foot-care scientists are behind it. you'll get all-day relief. for your tired achy feet. for locations, see drscholls.com. thank you...
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on any given day about 400 of the hundreds of inmate at orange county jail are held on charges of murder. one of them was daniel wozniak, who, because of his notoriety, is housed in a single cell at the central jail facility. >> it's small. but you've got the bed. i've got the bible. coffee, milk. jesus with me. >> wozniak has been accused of murdering two friends and dismembering one of them. >> lord, let me know my end, my
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hand, how many days that i may know how frail i am. you've given my days a short span, my life is nothing before you. >> while awaiting trial at the orange county jail, wozniak said he sought comfort from the bible. >> i've sworn with you like a passing stranger h turn your gaze with me and i may find peace before i depart to be no more. so it's one of my favorite ones. >> why? >> it just touches home. to me, it's just exactly how short life really is. it makes it a lot easier in here knowing that our time here is so short. life is a short time, but eternity is forever.
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>> in a state of calm we're flowing together like liquid. >> jason richardson is also facing the death penalty for another murder that made headlines. >> i've been here for four or five months now studying tai chi. gets my energy flowing, flowing in the right direction for all of the channels. >> a jury found richardson guilty of robbing a local home depot store and murdering the manager, a former marine who left behind a wife and young twins. at the time, richardson was on parole for a prior domestic violence conviction. >> well, considering i didn't kill anyone, it's a hard pill to swallow, a real hard pill to swallow. >> been to prison, done a lot of things wrong in my life. made a lot of mistakes. don't do robberies, don't kill people. >> richardson's criminal history
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includes domestic violence, bank fraud and two rape convictioned, all of which, he says, were involved in an abusive upbringing in a riddled home. >> i just was pretty much taught to function on a violent criminal, basically volatile level. >> while all 12 of richardson's jurors agreed he was guilty of the home depot murder, only nine voted for the death penalty. the deadlock means that he'll stay at orange county until a new jury can be convened to decide whether he will be sentenced to life in prison or death. >> i'm not dangerous whatsoever. no, not even close. i'm a very loving, passionate, caring, kind individual father, man, husband. >> the post cards they sent me. we love you, dad. love my babies. love them to death. they're my strength. >> although richardson was uncertain over how many babies he has actually fathered.
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>> i have three from my wife of 20 years and a couple few possibilities out there. actually still a couple few that are pretty for sure out there. i have about six. three from my wife of 20 years. she's an angel. she's one of the sweetest, most honest, hardworking -- if she wasn't a societal person, she'd be a nun. >> richard spent much of his married life behind bars. >> i've got 15 of it in, 5 of it out. just long enough to get out and make another baby and spend a little time together and go to disneyland. she didn't deserve all these years. she's such a good hearted woman. she comes to me from an old fashioned mexican family. and she's so loyal. >> but despite his wife's loyalty, richardson has begun a new relationship. he recently reconnected with a childhood friend who he says is his true soul mate.
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>> we've been in touch back for a year and a half. haven't touched each other in 21 years. every weekend, loyally and faithfully, she comes and visits me. we pour each others' hearts out. she talks about how she misses me. since i was 10 and she was 13. always been so something special and special between us. now she's my soul mate. she's my life now. >> richardson hasn't actually married his new girlfriend, but the relationship has caused a serious rift with his legal wife. >> she can't help but feel any other way but betrayed and hurt. we have grown apart. and those things just happen. coming up, jason richardson is visited by his girlfriend. but first, beau and michelle culberson have a family reunion with their infant son. >> peek-a-boo.
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>> beau and michelle say they are very much in love. but their relationship has been interrupted by their incarceration at the orange county jail in southern california. their charges include rape and sodomy. they pled not guilty. but if they are convicted in court, culberson faced up to nine years in prison and beau could be sentenced to 16. >> honestly, i don't want to hear numbers, i want to hear justice. i want to hear freedom ring, to be honest. >> they are not allowed to see each other in jail. but they can write letters. >> she made me step my game up on my writing. >> dear michelle, what a do. i'm still on a ride from cloud nine. i can see how you get them butterflies the same way you make my nature rise staring into those gorgeous hazel eyes deep inside your heart is where my heart will reside. forever in love, your husband.
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boa u. oh, how sweet. >> while love letters might keep their spirits up, they face serious issues. besides the possibility of going to prison, culberson was four months pregnant with the couple's baby when they were arrested one year earlier. she gave birth in a nearby hospital and once she recovered returned to jail. >> this is my grandson beau james ii. and here to visit his dad. >> my mother is taking care of our son, currently. she's a bit older. and this is kind of hard for her. >> i have applied and obtained permanent guardianship. so as far as it stands right now, i'm his guardian, i'm his
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legal guardian. i will be until he becomes an adult. >> she's carrying over 20 pounds. she just had open heart surgery. triple bypass not too long ago. she has the heart to come up here and bring him up here when she can. >> i had the baby since he was 2 days old. a little bitty thing. but it's good, too, because being an old nurse and having worked the nursery, it was easy to take care of this little fellow. >> that's my daddy. there's my daddy. yay, yay, yay. >> yeah. hey, momma. >> how are you? love you too. >> thank you for coming by. >> it's okay, baby doll. >> did you hear that? >> he's so good. >> he is.
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all the time. never held my son before. never touched him, never embraced him. nothing. it's hard on both of us when he tries to reach out and grab me, he's grabbing the fiberglass and i know it's got to be difficult for him. >> he says, i'm going to touch you. how come i can't touch you? >> i know. i can't hold him. can't feed him, change his diaper, all of the things i want to do. >> come to love, father, thank you for all of your blessings. amen. >> amen. >> love you, son. okay. >> after visiting her son, iris will take beau will go to the women's unit to visit his mother.
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>> we see daddy, we see mommy. we do this ritual every weekend, every other weekend. takes a while to get through the lines and waiting on the lines. but i figure that it's worth it because if i was in here and i couldn't see my baby, i'd want someone to bring my baby to me. >> it's a little hard. i can't touch him. i haven't touched him since he was born. >> does he know where you are? >> i hope so. i think so. he sees me every weekend so i hope he does. >> oh, you look. you're ready, huh? >> i pray he does because he smiles and all smiles and that. but if not, when i get out, he will -- he will get to know me quickly. >> peek-a-boo. >> peek-a-boo with momma. >> going to play peek-a-boo.
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>> peek-a-boo. >> hi, momma. >> he's so happy. >> he is. he wakes up happy. >> it's really hard on me. it really is. ever since he was born, she's been taking care of him. it's a lot of work and i thank god for her every day and just hope this is all done and over with to help her and be able to be a mommy. >> love you. >> love you too. >> okay. bye-bye. >> he's doing so -- he's getting so big. you see how chubby he was. just seeing him play, seeing him smile is the best part. seeing him smile and laugh and play, knowing that he's a happy baby. >> when i visit them, i know they'll see me cry. i have to stay strong for them. because it's worse for them than it is more me because i'm out here. and i just can't help but love
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them. i never let them see me cry. it's bad. but i'm okay. we're okay. we'll be all right. >> coming up -- >> drained the bank account and possibly used the money for -- >> daniel wozniak reads news accounts of his alleged crime. >> that makes me look like satan himself >> jason richardson gets a visit from his girlfriend. >> i know about his troubled past. i love him anyway. in companies embracing the cloud-- big clouds, small ones, public, private, even hybrid. your data and apps must move easily and securely to reach many clouds, not just one. that's why the network that connects, protects, and lets your data move fearlessly through the clouds
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means more than ever.
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inside orange county central jail facility, daniel wozniak has found himself in a very different world compared to the stages he used to perform on as a local actor. >> yeah, you just have little things around here, sink, toilet. it's small but it is what it is. >> wozniak is accused of killing two friends and dismembering one of them. if found guilty, he could get the death penalty. in the meantime, he makes the best of life for jail. >> i have bag lunches every day. sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs. most of the time it's baloney or ham. ooh, extra bread today. look at that. get little carrots like this. and, of course, plenty of mayo. so then what you do is pretty much eat the carrots then you have this like a bowl and mix it in a bowl. egg salad sandwich, stuff like that.
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some days it's really good, vanilla pudding, chocolate pudding, mix it with your milk, stir it up. you've got a milk shake. you learn secrets like that. bon appetit. >> though wozniak learned how to adjust to life in jail, he claims to be less knowledgeable of the press reports surrounding his crime. >> the honest truth of what they're saying, i'm not sure. since i've been here, i haven't been able to read the paper. i don't know what they're saying. one time i turned on the tv, the monitor or whatever and i just saw my picture on the television. it was a mug shot they got from the police department. they put together some old youtube videos of me. i was in theater. so they were splashing that all over the news. >> authorities allowed us to show wozniak some of the published news reports. >> oh, great. that mug. oh, my god.
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we figured was the way he was trying to avoid the deceased so he could continue with his crime. that makes me look like satan himself that i orchestrated and planned all of this. that's -- i'm sorry, ican't. >> this was your friend. >> yeah. >> why did this happen? >> i can't get into that. i can't get into that. i can't, i'm sorry, i can't -- i really can't. i cannot. >> if wozniak is convicted of
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the murders, he could face the death penalty. >> the death penalty is something that they are seeking. whether it happens or not, justice will say. i just have full faith and the truth will set me free and everything will come to be. i just pray daily. that's it. and not so much for myself but for all of the lives that have been shattered through this event. >> just a few miles away at orange county's largest facility, theo lacy, another inmate is also navigating the complexities of a high-profile murder case. >> jason richardson is kind of a famous inmate around here. he's in here for the home depot killings. there was a video released of a guy who broke into a home depot to rob it. he's wearing a paint suit with a mask and he's got coverings over his feet.
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you can't tell who's in there. but apparently he comes up to the manager. the manager is begging for his life. begging for him just to leave, not to hurt anybody. and he grabbed the money, shot the manager, and took off. >> jason richardson is found guilty of killing the manager of a home depot store, a former marine who left behind a wife and young twins. but jurors deadlocked when it came to determining richardson's sentence. >> he was up for the death penalty. there was a hung jury. >> you know the drill. >> it's about to restart again so they can find out whether or not he's going to get the death penalty or life in prison. >> but for now richardson's focus is on his complicated love life. while he has three children with his wife of 20 years, he recently began a relationship with another woman, a childhood friend. >> it's such a blessing. we so know that god brought us back together and created this. it's so powerful and beautiful. it's like, i can't -- i can't put it into words.
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we feel each other so deeply and on such a soulful, powerful, passionately -- where we tell each other, you're my every breath, soul, my heart, your spirit. it's gotten to a point where i love you doesn't cut it so i you -- i absolutely you. i will, i do, and i you will end our letters with. i will be yours forever and ever. i do keep you and take you. and i you -- is basically i love you but a much deeper, a soulful level. >> richardson's new girlfriend asked that we not give her last name and despite knowing about richardson's murder conviction and two prior rape convictions, she says his past is not a threat. >> i don't fear jason at all. i don't fear him one little bit. i knew him his whole life. i've known him his whole life. i've known him as a child. i've known his heart and soul. i've known what type of person he is.
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i know about his troubled past. and i love him anyway. my biggest fear is that -- that he will get -- get the worst -- he'll get the row. that's my worst fear. i come out and pray on saturday. every weekend. sometimes i get to come on sundays. it's important to keep the closeness and to communicate. we talk on the phone every day. but i actually get to see him. and i feel like i get to touch him and kiss him even though it's through glass. that's actually the hardest part was that there's that glass there. >> i you. >> i love you. >> precious.
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>> hi. >> how are you? >> good. just right here today. >> i know -- >> why you do that? >> 12 reasons. yeah. >> no one understands how does somebody as smart as you, as, you know, i hate saying that, as beautiful as you, or somebody who can have anybody you want, how do you get involved with a man who's in prison? a man with no future. a man with nothing to offer you. can't help who you fall in love with. and i love him. and he feeds me emotionally. he gives me everything that i need. >> i you. i do. i will. i you. i am.
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okay. bye. >> i love my life. he's the greatest love of my life ever in jail. yeah. but you can't help but, you know, you can't -- you know, this saying, it's true. you can't help who you fall in love with. he is the greatest love of my life. coming up -- >> you need to tell me how you feel real quick. >> tired. >> stacie ortega heads to prison.
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unlike many of the inmates at california's orange county jail who are awaiting sentencing or the resolution of their charges, stacie ortega knows exactly what's ahead of her. she recently pled guilty to a hit and run dui that seriously injured her boyfriend. >> taking two females at 5:00 in the morning. >> ortega was sentenced to eight years. and this morning she will be transferred to prison. >> go out, veer over to the left. and stop by the front of that. >> they cannot -- i won't sit in the back of that van because i'll throw up. >> do you have motion sickness? >> yeah. >> i'll explain that to them and hopefully they'll take that to consideration. okay.
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>> you need to tell me how you feel real quick stacie. >> relieved to get the rest of my life going. tired. >> be glad to be leaving here? >> yeah. yeah. >> i think spending 15 months here, number one, helped me to get sober. this is the first time in my life that i'm sober 100%, and it helped me realize who i am or who i want to be. just comfortable in my own skin. i guess my biggest fear would be someone killing me. to keep it on the real 100%, things can happen up there. and they can happen pretty quickly. i want to be ready for the worst and try to make it the best i can, period.
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so i don't want to go in there rubbing people the wrong way. i don't want to go in there with something to prove. >> right. >> get on in the back or wherever you want to go. >> so i'm just doing me and i'd rather be happy in a situation and make it that way. than grovel and sdroun in my sorrow and not move forward. not going to move forward unless i'm happy with myself. >> a few days later, michelle culberson received a letter from her former cellie. >> i have a letter here from stacie. you want me to read it? hey, pretty lady, how are things going in county? i'm doing all right today. i miss you so much. she called me michela. i wish you were here with me. it's cooled off here, thank god. you want me to read it? hey, pretty lady, how are things going in county? i'm doing all right today. i miss you so much. she called me michela. i wish you were here with me. it's cooled off here, thank god. i have not missed the yard since i arrived. too nice not to enjoy the outdoors. i think i'm getting some color back and i gave myself a hair
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cut. so now that that has been said, when will you get here. ha, ha, ha. i'll be waiting, homey, hurry, please. love always your best -- bff raven. they call her raven now. >> whether culberson joins her friend in prison or not depends on if she and her boyfriend are acquitted on charges of rape and sodomy. they have been offered a plea deal, which would greatly reduce the amount of time they could serve in prison versus being found guilty in trial. but they have turned it down. >> i don't know. i'm innocent so i feel that i -- yeah, it's a risk that i'm willing to take. i am willing to take it because the jury, there's 12 people there. and, yes, they either are going to feel sorry for her or feel sorry for me. i don't know which one is going to be. >> supposed to hit it again, bunky. >> life is a gamble in general. you don't know what tomorrow may bring forth or i might just be able to be, hey, you can't find
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nothing on this man. all of this stuff is inadequate puffed up charges. more than likely, the jury will be able to see this too. >> for beau who's facing an additional charge of false imprisonment, a guilty verdict could equal as much as 16 years. >> faith in god. the justice system is man's law. and that's a good thing. hopefully they upheld it. but i have a great god that i serve. and you know what, it's a miraculous god and a righteous god and i keep my faith in him, not just what man can do.