when we met him 15 years later at california state prison corcoran, he was still in prison.two of his former cellmates were six feet under. glenn murdered the first one while he was still in county jail. >> i slashed his throat repeatedly. blood was everywhere. and then another inmate passed me a shank, probably about that long, with a handle on it and i just started stabbing him. stabbed him over 100 times, in the back, sides, the neck. he was crying, telling me to stop, begging for me to stop. he was still alive through all of it. >> you're smiling. >> i like that. that was one of my favorite ones right there. >> he surprised me in that he had a gleefulness about him as he was discussing the violence he had committed in prison. he had this proud little smile as he was telling us these very disturbing and violent acts. >> after murdering his cell mate in jail, glenn came to prison where his predatory behavior escalated. >> while i was there for about a year, i got about 14 assault on inmates. >> why? >> a lot of my violence i've had is like people don't clean up after thems

some of the most violent gang attacks have taken place here at california state prison corcoran's securityousing unit, or shu. we visited the shu's now-vacant exercise yard, which has been the scene of some of the prison's most brutal violence. ♪ >> i could see why fights went on in that exercise yard. because it was literally like a cage. there was nowhere for you to go. and if you really wanted to take someone out, that was the place to do it. it's literally -- like the most extreme ultimate fighting thing you would see. >> correctional officers showed our cameras how they quell the violence with an arsenal of their own. one that includes nonlethal and lethal weaponry. >> get down! get down! >> the first rounds we fire are wood blocks. hopefully the hurt will make them stop. if we really have to escalate with our nonlethal options, we use what we call a scat round. which is really irritating. see, those ar little bit louder. the smoke you see there, that's cn gas. it's no fun. it messes up your sight, makes you, you know, makes your snot roll. and of course, we have a lethal option. we h

respect and don't cross those boundaries, we get treated just like anybody else. >> at california state prison corcoranes living openly as homosexuals at what is considered one of the toughest and most violent prisons in the state. >> okay. if you could just state and spell your name for us. >> regina maiden. well, actually, reginald maiden. r-e-g-i-n-a-l-d. m-a-i-d-e-n. >> in this raw interview footage the three men discuss the possibility of attack and how they would respond. >> it's not being attacked. it's just being like -- you know, the proper word is stalked, harassed, because of rejection. you know, a lot of people here can't deal with rejection, especially coming from a transsexual. >> a lot of other things people don't realize, we're men like them. we're just feminine like them. >> don't forget. women do kill. >> a lot of us don't put up with that and a lot of guys know that and a lot of guys that don't, so you know, when the ones don't, they end up getting beat up. >> and it makes them look bad on the yard. so that's why a lot of people do give homosexuals respect sometimes. they don't know

when we met christian knight, he was serving 79 years for murder at california state prison corcoran. >> just seeing christian the first time, we kind of knew he had some kind of story. he was very dramatic-looking with all the tats, very intense. >> it turns out knighten had several incredible stories but one involved his attempt to attack a sex offender at the los angeles county jail. >> got this freaking child molester on the tier. he's actually in the van talking about what he does. you know, i like to keep myself at, hey, i don't lose my temper, keep myself calm, cool and collected. this dude made me snap. so i get in the van and i tell him, you know what i'm going to do, i'm beginning to rip this toilet off the wall, bust through this freaking glass, drag it down the tier and i'm going to bust through your glass and i'm going to take your fricken ring i'm going to cut you up, you're a dead man. yeah -- boom boom boom boom boom. then all you hear is the steel bending. i got behind the toilet and pushed the whole toilet aside, yanked it all the way back. long story short, i ripped

. >> california state prison corcoran has the largest housing unit or shu in the state. split between two units, the shu houses some of the worst inmates in california. the majority of these are validated gang members or inmates too violent to be housed in the general population. shu inmates are kept in 8x12 foot cells and receive only 10 hours of rec time each week. when moved, they are shackled and escorted by two officers at all times. awareness is vital. >> we have to wear these hard shields for the purpose of the inmates on the tier like to shoot items such as pins, needles, any type of weapon. they like to soak it in feces, urine, shoot it at us. try to get us in the face. we have a mexican mafia, we have the northern structure, the aryan brotherhood and nazi low rider. these guys are here because of their criminal activity. it's either drug related, assaults on staff assaults on other inmates. we do house the worst of the worst here, security is paramount. while you've been validated as a gang member, you're going to remain in shu. >> one of the most dangerous inm

>>> corcoran's a maximum security prison in the california state penal system. we house approximately 5,600 felons. >> this population includes infamous criminals like juan corona, sirhan sirhan, and charles manson. built to hold the most violent offenders in the state, corcoran has seen its share of brutality. today, a fresh group of inmates arrives at receiving and release, no doubt aware of this prison's reputation. >> when i get on the bus, they called your names out to come off the bus, and they're teary-eyed coming to corcoran. it's a shock to them. i guess they have heard a lot about corcoran. >> what do you know about corcoran? >> what i know? i know it ain't no joke. that's what i know. i know this is serious business. >> corcoran is a pretty rough prison here. if you get a draw, it's one of the rougher prisons. >> this is how serious it is. it's a life or death situation. pretty much, yeah. it is like that. i don't care what they tell you. it is like that. okay? it is hardcore like that. >> corcoran's general population inmates are split into three main

. >> among the nation's toughest, california state prison, corcoran, overcrowded and plagued by racial tension. we spent months inside with officers trying to maintain order with an institution with a notoriously violent past. this is "lockup, corcoran, extended stay." inmates have been dreaming up ways to smuggle in contraband since corcoran opened its doors in 1988. >> there is drugs in prison, obviously. >> whether in the form of drugs. >> when we get it, it's usually like this. >> or weapons. >> looks like it's made of aluminum. >> piece of stainless steel here. >> off a food cart. >> it's always a race against time for the officers to find the contraband. >> look at that. before it's too late. during the months our crew spent inside corcoran we witnessed our fair share of searches. today on "a" yard, the maximum security facility, we caught up with an officer beginning his shift with one of three standard cell searches. >> just a random search today. come on, every day. looking for contraband, stuff they're not supposed to have. not too many apples -- razors, they break them apart

>> among the nation's toughest, california's state prison, corcoran, severely overcrowded and plagued by racial tension. we spend months inside, where officers try to maintain order in an institution with a notoriously violent past. this is "lockup: corcoran, extended stay." >>> for me, it was a hard, bumpy road. >> bad decisions have landed thousands of inmates in corcoran. >> that is the life i picked for myself, and it's really hard. >> in prison they've got two choices, do their time and go home -- >> i've got a baby brother who doesn't have anybody out there right now. if i go home and he can look up to that -- >> reporter: -- or become even more destructive on the inside. >> more crazy people in your cell, and crazy things happen. >> stabbings, killings, drugs, weapons. >> the path they choose could determine the difference between life and death. >> you take care of yourself, and the rest will fall into place. >> another alarm. >> i live on corcoran, 3c facility. it's a sensitive needs yard for inmates that cannot program around the general population inmates. people with sex c

>> among the nation's toughest, california state prison corcoran.ded and plagued by racial tension. we spent months inside where officers try to maintain order in an institution with a notoriously violent past. this is "lockup - corcoran: extended stay."

. >> we found an even more unlikely bond at california state prison corcoran. >> like anything. treat it with love and respect. it will treat you with love and respect back. >> we were out on the yard shooting. i looked over and saw these guys petting something. at first i thought it was a kitten. and it ended up it was a gopher that they had tamed. >> shampoo, little baths, and let him run around the cell, feed him apple, let us. take care of them. they're good little pets. >> like the best little companion i ever had. >> a lot of the guys we ran into probably have never had anybody to love or anything or anybody to love them. and when you run into somebody who is -- you know, adopted a gopher, and it gives them some sort of outlet for affection, it's got to be a good thing. >> but we found a very different case of inmate creature bonding inside california's san quentin prison. >> i'm mike miller my real name. and the staff here call me birdman of san quentin. >> the first day i got here at san quentin, the birds seemed to flock to me for some reason. and i don't know they prob

>> among the nation's toughest, california state prison corcoran, severely overcrowded and plagued by racial tension. we spent months inside, where officers try to maintain order in an institution with a notoriously violent past. this is "lockup: corcoran extended stay." inmate interaction in prison is volatile at best. >> dude told me he was going to stab me. i told him to get his knife and i went in and got my knife. >> whether it's with officers. >> you are the captain, man. something has happened to you. >> disputes with other races or gangs. >> i got in a fight on the level one yard. i had lied to some home boys, fresno home boys of mine. and i guess i had it coming. >> or even a prison romance. >> i had sex with my cellie. >> in corcoran it's not a question of if there will be violence, but when. >> everybody down! get down! >> violence flares in the gym on "a" yard and officers move quickly to reclaim control. david salazar, the victim of the battery, refuses to identify his attacker, and the corcoran officers launch a massive investigation. >> let me see your knuckles. >> flip

>> among the nation's toughest, california state prison corcoran, severely overcrowded and plagued by racial tension. we spent months inside, where officers try to maintain order in an institution with a notoriously violent past. this is "lockup: corcoran extended stay." >> get on the ground! on the ground! hold him on the ground. on the ground! >> in corcoran, survival is the number one priority for inmates and officers alike. >> you have to live with it. this is what i want to do. so, i'm here. >> whether it's inmates adhering to racial politics. >> i will probably set off a race riot, if i sat right here. >> or officers keeping themselves and the population safe. >> this is what we're looking for. we're always looking for weapons. any time we remove weapons from a cell, that means one less weapon out there on the yard. one less weapon that could be used against staff. >> when these two sides are fighting to survive -- >> i don't care because he wears green. he bleeds just like i bleed. >> the results can be explosive. >>> in the four months we spent inside corcoran, our producers s

. >> in the exercise yard at california state prison corcoran, we met an inmate whose art is inspiredst name for me. >> my name is kevin moore, m-o-o-r-e. >> what were you convicted for? >> i'm doing a parole violation for sales of marijuana. >> the yard is an interesting place because you never know who you're going to run into, you never know who you're going to talk to, you never know what personality, who they are. i kind of just started looking around and tried to find interesting-looking faces. i happened upon kevin moore. he started telling me that he's a rap artist. he's a ghost writer. >> i have a record deal waiting on me. death row records. for anybody, any rap fans that's listening, my aka is sassoon. and i got a demo coming out in a few months. if you're a rap fan, listen to it. >> when you start talking to inmates you are not sure what to believe. they start telling you these stories. you're kind of like saying, all right. >> i've been a ghost writer in the rap industry for about 13 years. a lot of stuff i have written from behind these walls i have sold to other artists

car engine] [car speeding away] [car engine] ♪ >>> there are nearly 5,000 inmates at california state prison corcoranncentrations of dangerous felons found anywhere. it's rare that inmates and correctional staff on this yard ever unite in a common goal. but when a bus load of teenagers arrive during our shoot there, we witnessed one of those times. >> come on. line them up. let's go. let's go. come on now. come on now. >> so all these kids they brought into corcoran for the day, there is an aura of like, hey, this is going to be kind of cool. we're going to see things on the inside. i will see what it's really like to be a bad ass. >> here at corcoran, we don't discriminate. if you're white, we'll take you. if you're black, we'll take you. hispanic, we'll take you. we do not discriminate. >> the teens, who have all had run-ins with the law, were sent here for a crime intervention program called "reaching out: convicts to kids" or r.o.c.k. it's designed to send a clear message -- prison is not a place to make new friends. >> when we go into the yard, if the alarm goes off, everybody goes down. the r.o