>>> anamosa is a state penitentiary that houses hundreds of violent inmates.e most prisons, it's a place where faith is often in short supply. >> there is nothing in here. the best thing to do is to try to keep your mind as focused as possible so you don't -- every time you come in here, it takes a piece of you. i don't want it to take a piece of me where i don't have who i am anymore. >> it makes you question religion. it makes you question politics. it makes you question anything you ever believed in. >> prison life can be especially hard for inmates like 24-year-old romeo hardin. >> my original conviction i came to prison at 15 years old for felony murder. and my sentence is life without possibility of parole. so, if i don't get any justice through the penal system, then i will die right here in this prison, probably in this cage. >> when he is not exercising, hardin spends his time writing poetry. >> poetry is one of the things that helps me cope with my confinement. it's like you can escape through your words, maybe no one hears them but you have them. i

we work together.cr/i]- >> our visit to the anamosa state penitentiary in iowa led us to a memorablethem to kill. >> growing up i wanted to be him, you know. he was almost four years older than me. i see him running around drinking. breaking into stuff. doing whatever he is doing.ç i'm like i want to be like him. that's my big brother. that's my idol. so i kind of followed in the same footsteps. >> but as the love brothers revealed to our crew, those footsteps led down a bloody path that ended at a holiday party in the trailer park. >> christmas night, 1992, me and my brother went to a party with what we thought were friends. but they tried to rob us. take the liquor that we brought. >> they started beating me up. four of them. >> they hurt brad. i couldn't let them get away with that. they threatened his life. and i just couldn't handle that. so we left went to my trailer. i got a shotgun. my brother got a knife. machete. we went back out there and did what we did. >> i remember mike standing there, he had the gun pointed at the door of the trailer. and one of the dudes looked out

. >> john ault was warden at anamosa state penitentiary at the time we shot there. >> any time you can have inmates participate in some type of meaningful activity it makes their time easier and staff's time much easier. i would much rather have them participate in something positive than talking about how to do a better armed robbery or plotting against us or fellow staff members. >> during our shoot at indiana state prison, authorities even allowed for a weightlifting competition. >> lions now lifting at 495. >> other penitentiaries get their weight up. this is how they are doing. get your weight up. >> that's 25. 25. on deck. >> go! go! >> good lift. good lift. you've got it. >> of course, in prison, there's also a practical side to staying in shape. >> if you ever come against somebody who wants to approach you in a negative way, attack you in a fight or something, you don't want to be the person that runs out of air first. the person that runs out of air first is the person that gets hurt. >> in the combat zone you have to be combat ready. and we all know that any minute this yard

. >> brad and michael love are serving time for murder at anamosa state penitentiary in iowa. >> i wased with him. when i found out he was getting incarcerated, what he did time for, what he's charged for, they asked if there are any problems if we're in the same prison, i said yeah, i probably would end up killing him. i cannot condone that. >> "lockup" has profiled many inmates who spew hatred to sex offenders. but we've also introduced viewers to those on the receiving end. thomas headley is serving a 15-year sentence at utah state prison. and like many sex offenders says his punishment is unjust and his crime misunderstood. >> i was charged with kidnapping somebody that was under 14. i am a man that is attracted to young women. god forbid. 99% of us are. >> when we interviewed him, headley was serving his time in solitary confinement as a punishment for being uncooperative. but he explained to us that he had his own motives for being in the hole. >> there's not a safer place anywhere in the prison than where i'm at. no matter what you do, how you try to approach it, you are a worth

. >>> at the anamosa state penitentiary in iowa, bullock faces one year in the hole for allegedly assaultingther inmate with a homemade weapon, a lock in a sock. >> anything you say may be used against you in a criminal prosecution. >> our cameras were with bullock as he was about to plead his case during a prison disciplinary hearing. >> have a chair please, mr. bullock. your number? >> 747 -- >> after addressing procedural matters, administrative law judge william suspeen reads the correctional officer's account of the assault. >> determine by the investigation that inmate bullock assaulted [ bleep ] with a weapon and sustained injuries to his head above the right eye and required stitches and broke his right hand trying to block the weapon that required a cast. i have here photos of the scene, of the incident that i will share with you. this is the victim of the assault, and injuries. also before me i have the sock with a padlock and combination lock inside. i have a statement from the staff member that located that. >> i didn't have nothing to do with the assault. when the assault took p

he comes from anamosa, colorado, a family that farmed and raised one of eight children. all the kids went and got a college degree. i won't describe what the rest of them have done, but it's quite extort mary what this family has produced. secretary salazar were not to become a businessman and rancher and farmer and then attorney general for the state of colorado and then united states senator and secretary of the interior. it's truly an all-american story. as a member of the democratic leadership whenever we were trying to figure out what it comes to and he was going to be where, the question was always raised, where he salazar on this? the answer was we don't know. and the reason is that this is truly to try and figure out how do we advance the country's interests. not republican democrat. how do we can't agreements? key is a great friend, i think a great americana and i'm pleased he's accepted our invitation. i'm trying to come here today. thank you, secretary ken salazar. [applause] >> thank you are a much, dorgan. and senator bennett, thank you for being leaders and