we begin with judge greg mathis. he's host of "the judge mathis show." he's a retired district court judge. he's launched a prisoner program called p.e.e.r. which encourages inmates to change their lives. how did this start? >> well, it started from my own reflection on my experience. many of your viewers, or those who watch my show, certainly know that prior to becoming a lawyer and a judge, i was a street youth, high school dropout, and was in jail for nine months carrying a gun, and was able to turn my life around through education and so i decided after seeing the overwhelming black population of prisoners who had left their sons in the inner cities to fend for themselves, which perpetuated crime, i wanted to intervene, because there's a 70% recidivism rate. so they go right back to prison within 18 months. so i wanted to try to break into that cycle. >> larry: and what does p.e.e.r do? >> it stands for prisoners educated for empowerment and reform. what we attempt to do is i go in and i go and speak and encourage and inspire the prison population, a

with us is judge greg mathis. joining us is duane "dog" chapman. star of "the bounty hunt er" going into his seventh season on a&e. he's also served time at the texas penitentiary in huntsville as accessory to murder. and an actor and author, she started the tv hit "the wire." she served six years in prison for first degree murder. dog, you are certainly proof you can turn a life around. did prison help you in any way? >> yes, sir, hi, larry. prison helped me all the way. i mean, i did not like it back in the '70s. texas was the only self-sufficient prison. that meant we had to raise our food, get up in the morning and work. and it was terrible. i did not want -- there was no crime that was fun enough to equal the punishment of prison. there just wasn't any. so, yes, prison helped me. >> larry: so the system itself rehabilitated you? >> the system itself rehabilitated me, because i hated -- you know, when i hit the texas penitentiary, i was 22 years old, and the first thing they told me is there's no rehabilitation here, dog. you're here to be puni