. >> we decided that csp could not be a place where inmates could get comfortable and make a life for themselves. we had to treat them differently. >> colorado state isn't just any maximum security prison. it's a super max facility. inmates here are considered a constant threat and are confined to single-person cells 23 hours a day. >> i was astounded by how sterile and stark and what tough time it would be to serve in that particular prison. i think that would be the hardest time possible. >> many of the inmates we spoke to agreed. they say the isolation is too much. >> i've been here a long time. i've seen a lot of guys, seen them snap, you know? any given day they can snap. >> 23 hours a day you're locked down. you come out for five hours a week. essentially it's just another cell. it's a dead room with a pull-up bar. there's one small window. everywhere you go, handcuffed, handcuffed to go in the shower. you have no human contact with nobody at all. >> but roy slagle has had more contact than most inmates here. it's just been all the wrong kind. at the time of our shoot, he held a

. >> here at csp corcoran, we don't discriminate. if you're white, we'll take you., 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.c.k. inmates will hover around you to protect you. when we tell you to get down, you will get down. is that understood? >> before entering the prison, the students get a regulation welcome from the correctional staff. >> if you were an inmate, you would be on the ground in a heartbeat. understand that? you don't move until i tell you to move. >> come crazy with it now. >> you need to straighten up and change your attitude. >> get up on the wall, man. get up on the wall. >> all the games the men play in this joint here, the women play it there. >> this is my house. this is my house. you do what i say, you un