this is the pursuit of perfection. >>> boston's suffolk county jail is comprised of two facilities.hose have been convicted, and the nashua street jail for detainees awaiting trial. for the past ten months, delshaun bloodworth has been incarcerated at nashua. awaiting trial on charges of armed robbery and assault and battery, but now he's about to make the move to the house. he's accepted a plea bargain and has been sentenced to two and a half years. >> the judge said this is a gift to me and i should appreciate it because i could have easily got more time. people don't know, armed robbery is a serious, serious charge. so i gladly took it. >> but the plea deal, he admitted his role in the robbery of a woman in downtown boston. >> we roll up behind her and i told her not to yell. i'm experienced. people like to yell and then we run off, no, she didn't yell because i told her not to. she might have if didn't said anything or if she didn't see the gun. but told her to give me everything you got. give me everything. i want everything. i don't want just your money, i want everything. >>

no problem. >>> at the suffolk county jail in boston, both men and women live in the house of correction. one of two facilities that comprise the jail system. they're housed on separate floors but that doesn't stop them from finding ways to communicate. >> it's 192, we get to talk to the guys downstairs. >> how do you talk to them? >> through the toilets. we clear them out and yell through the pipes. you could do it this way which people laugh at all the time. >> what are you doing? >> i'm plunging the toilet with my ass. >> because you can't talk to them unless it's clear so you got to get all the water out. >> yo! >> yeah, say hi. >> hello! this is the only way they'll do an interview. >> this is the only way they'll do an interview. >> life for most inmates at the suffolk county jail is anything but fun and games. inside the jail's nashua street facility is a housing unit for those inmates whose charges have given them a reputation among other inmates. a reputation that could result in grave consequences. >> special housing unit, what we call the shu is typically what most people refe

viewer discretion is advised. >>> the deputies who manage the day-to-day operation of boston's suffolk county jaililities that all fall under one primary goal. safely securing the men and women who are incarcerated here. >> are you all right? >> but jail officials also put resources into keeping young people from ending up here in the first place. >> because jail is glamorized so much in film and music and other places, they really don't have any idea what it's actually like. and this shows them what it is actually like. >> today, four boys ranging in age from 12 to 16 have just arrived at the jail for a visit. all four have had run-ins with the law. >> everybody stand up. >> deputy justin plaza heads up the program known as jailbreak. >> jailbreak is geared towards kids that are headed towards -- in the wrong direction. >> put these uniforms on over your clothes, hurry up. >> not doing the right thing, making bad choices, and we bring the kids in and show them what jail life is really like. >> how old are you? >> 12. >> why are you here? >> i cut a teacher. >> you cut a teacher? look at me, you'r

running man. >> do the running man dance. >> krystle o'reilly continues her time at the suffolk county jail in bostonllegedly robbing two banks. but her life in jail has taken a major turn. her cell mate and good friend, melanie reddy recently had her prostitution charge dismissed and has returned to the streets. >> the neighborhood that i'm from, the armpit of massachusetts, it's gangbangers, drug dealers, prostitutes and addicts. i love it. i don't know what it is about that place because it's disgusting, but i [ bleep ] love it. >> i know how it is like being out there, especially when you're not ready. i want to really try to change, but she blatantly said she wasn't ready. which i respect that. she knew i wanted to get clean, so we didn't talk too much about using, and she wanted to use so i didn't talk too much about getting clean. >> not surprisingly, o'reilly received distressing news about her friend. >> we heard she o.d.'d. so it left me really upset. i haven't cried since i been here. that was the first time i cried. nobody knew anything further than that. they just knew that she o.d.'d so

. >> there is some sunshine in boston suffolk county jail at least on the open air recreation decks.ding on their security level, inmates are allowed out for an hour or more of rec each day. during bad weather, recreation is taken in housing unit day rooms where inmates work out any way they can. >> got to do pull-ups every day. about ten reps a day. ten sets, 100. i do my push-ups, squats. i work on the legs. >> now raise your left arm up. >> over on the women's side, some inmates aim for a mind/body connection for a more contemplative breakfast. >> reach, reach, reef with your left arm and bring the hand onto the chair. >> from time to time the jail allows a volunteer yoga instructor to conduct a class. >> grow like the tree. >> i like it. it's really relaxing and makes your day go by easier. takes away all your stress. >> 23-year-old valerie minacapelli hasn't always been so mellow. she's nearing the end of 90-day sentence for convictions that include assault on a police officer. >> i got in a fight with a girl. when they took me to the police station, they got rough with me so i

i'm veroni roonica de la cruz. >>> doing time in boston's suffolk county jail is a world away from thelocated just miles away. but once a week those two worlds intersect when students from harvard university and boston college come to the jail to help inmates earn their geds. >> for them to come in and do it for us as little convicts, i should say, that's a good thing. looking out for us. showing us, you know, there is a world out there. there is help out there. people want to help you. >> girard cohen has been teamed with alexander, a harvard sophomore. >> it's one of these things, you can do the answers in your head probably, just to be sure, because we all make mistakes and try do it in our head, just write it out. it will take five extra seconds, but it's totally worth it. if you're taking a test, each answer matters for the final score. people have a wall about how they think of prisoners and what this whole community is like and it's just not true. if you work with someone consistently for a while, you really get to know them. that's one of the interesting parts of being here. yo