this is "lockup: holman extended stay." >>> holman is more than 170 men who have been sentenced to death and are awaiting execution. >> my role is the execution. >> roughly 360 more are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole. >> but there are times when i wake up and think about dying in prison. and that's a bitter pill to swallow. >> all are living with the inevitable. >> i watched a lot of people die here, you know. at holman, nobody leaves. >> but their only chance of getting out of prison will be inside a coffin. for inmates serving lengthy sentences, one day merges into the next, weeks into months, months into years. and a lifetime slips away. the challenge for these men is to find meaning in their lives and not surrender to hopelessness and despair. ♪ baby butterfly ♪ while your hands are dying ♪ and you spread your wings before it's time ♪ ♪ baby butterfly ♪ to survive ♪ only 17 ♪ yeah ♪ when she lost her life >> this musical duo spends every hour either writing, rehearsing or performing and music for them has become a life line. ♪ baby butterfly >> i like that.

walmart. >>> about half the inmate population at holman will never leave.an's death chamber where all executions for the state of alabama are carried out. in 2002 the facility switched from the electric chair to lethal injection. >> this is the control room, the process of carrying out the executions basically happens here. there's the drug concoction. during this process while administering the drug i'm able to have a visual of the condemned on the stretcher. i push all seven syringes, three actual drugs, but seven total syringes. my role is the execution. i can't be any more specific about that. i mean that's what the role is. by statute in the state of alabama, the warden at this facility is responsible for carrying out that duty. >>> holman's barbershop is the perfect place for an inmate to get a cut, offer advice, or just gossip. but when there's an execution, talks take on a more sommer tone. >> i saw an execution yesterday. i couldn't see in the room when they brought him out. the dude's body was so heavy, man, that black body bag on, man, he looked

this is "lockup: holman extended stay." for the officers and staff working at holman, the biggest challenge is dealing with difficult inmates. >> you know you violating the law. you ain't got no business [ bleep ] with my [ bleep ] >> they took my mail and thrown it -- >> that's the part of it. i don't have any problem. me and you ain't never had a problem. ask any officer that walked by here. i don't know [ bleep ] with nobody. >> and with a steady decline in staff, the pressure is on the new recruits. >> if i fail, i don't even want to think about failing because it's not an option for me. i'm going to pass. i feel like if i did fail, i'm letting a lot of people down. not just myself. >>> welcome to the gates of hell. >> make sure they charge him double for an arm band, okay? hey, and then whoever that arm band belonged to, he need to get charged, too. >> in roughly four months of shooting inside holman, warden grantt culliver has shown many sides. >> warden's office. culliver. can i take a message? he'll call you back. y

this is "lockup: holman extended stay." >> the holman correctional facility is a maximum security prison, where the officers are outnumbered ten to one. in an environment that sometimes breeds violence, inmates are constantly making weapons for protection. >> well, i've had knives, i keep knives. i've always heard it's better to be caught with one than without one in prison. >> and the officers must do whatever they can to curb future attacks. >> you don't need to see nothing, so keep your head down. >> not gonna tell you no more. >> this is a security level five facility in alabama. it goes from security level one to security level six. >> last year, we had what we consider like four major incidents happen. and that would have been a stabbing type of a situation, where it was very serious, life-threatening. and over the last four or five years, we've averaged 3 1/2 to 4 of those types of events each year. for this type of facility, that's very good. >> and in this type of facility, many of the inmates are armed to the teeth. >> they seem to always think that everyone needs a weapon. the

. >> tattoos in prison often lead to violence, as we learned when we visited the holman correctionalfacility in alabama. >> you want to be interviewed? put your clothes on. come on. >> steven parker is serving a life sentence for the murder of his stepmother. >> a lot of people, you know, they villainize me for that. i grew up with parents that didn't give a [ bleep ] about me. i'm not trying to excuse my behavior, you know what i mean? i take full responsibility. i pled guilty. >> parker claims to be a leader of the aryan brotherhood prison gang. >> i wasn't racist until i started landed in jails and prisons and kept getting jumped on over and over again. then i became racist. i wear it proudly. i got the swastikas and got the bolts. >> when we met him, he was serving his time in administrative segregation because his desire for another tattoo nearly turned deadly. >> about six months ago, i cut a dude's throat down in population. he was supposed to do some tattoos. i was going to get some swastikas tattooed on the side of my neck. he didn't want to run them. i said, well, you just

kwame holman explains. kwame? >> holman: gwen filed a blog post on what to look for in tonight's results, plus patchwork nation profiles the types of communities most likely to support mitt romney. on our health page, there's voting of a different sort about the future of health care. a new report lays out four scenarios for the average american's care in 2025. cast your ballot for the most likely one. on our social entrepreneurship page, read about how a haitian- american is helping neglected and vulnerable children in her homeland. and examine what's happening in many of the biggest housing markets around the country, and how much prices may have fallen in your area. paul solman has an interactive chart on his making sense page. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. gwen? >> ifill: and that's the newshour for tonight. on wednesday, we'll follow the g.o.p. presidential hopefuls as they move on to colorado and nevada. i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff in tampa. we'll see you onli

here's kwame holman. >> holman: the republican majority in the u.s. house voted today against raising the national borrowing limit by $1.2 trillion. it was symbolic only, since the democratic-run senate is not expected to go along. but the issue still sparked an afternoon of argument, as republicans railed against the increase, and democrats argued the deal was already done. >> where i come from down in north charleston, south carolina, we have a trouble digesting exactly what $1.2 trillion really means. why is it so hard to simply say, "we can't afford it?" simple question! why is it so hard to say that we can't afford another $1.2 trillion of debt? >> this is all monday night quarterbacking. it's after the fact. the money has been spent. the money has been spent; 147 republicans voted in december to spend $915 billion in the and now the credit card bill has come in january, and here they are saying, we don't want to pay that bill. >> holman: president obama notified congress last week that the debt ceiling increase was needed. under last summer's de

here's kwame holman. >> holman: there was new fallout today from a video that appears to show u.s. marines urinating on dead taliban fighters in afghanistan. officials said investigators have identified and interviewed the four enlisted marines seen on the video and all are still in the service. and the marine commandant general james amos named a three-star general to oversee the case. a fresh outpouring of protesters filled cities across syria today. the opposition reported president bashar al-assad's troops shot and killed at least 10 people. up to 20,000 turned out in idlib province. thousands more demonstrated in the streets of hama. and in homs, where amateur footage showed an armored vehicle in flames after allegedly being targeted by army defectors. the government of myanmar has released some of its most prominent political prisoners. they were among some 650 detainees who received a presidential pardon today, in the asian nation also known as burma. we have a report narrated by john sparks of "independent television news." >> reporter: the fence is high and the walls are t

here's kwame holman. >> holman: wall street got the new year off to a good start. stocks rallied from the opening bell, on positive economic news out of china and germany. the dow jones industrial average gained more than 179 points to close at 12,397. the nasdaq rose more than 43 points to close at 2648. the u.s. navy will continue sending warships to the persian gulf, despite threats from iran. that word came today after iran said its just-completed naval drls could close the strait of hormuz, if the west tries to embargo iranian oil. the commander of iran's army pointed to the u.s. aircraft carrier "john c. stennis," which left the persian gulf last week. >> my opinion the enemy has gotten the message of the military sdril. we want to emphasize that we have no plan to begin any irrational act but we are ready against any threats. we warn the american warship that was previously in the persian gulf it is a threat to us and it should not return. we are not used to repeating our warnings. >> holman: in washington, a pentagon spokesman said u.s. naval deployments in

he will most likely not leave holman until his 30-year sentence is complete. >> i have two daughters.from that perspective. do i want these people around my family? no. but there again, some day in this case robert teter is going to walk out this door free. so you have to look at it from that side. he's going to go free. he's going to eos his sentence in 2014 and he's coming out. and society's going to have to accept that. >> see you later. >>> coming up -- >> i'm making a birdhouse right now. >> two inmates seek a creative respite from hell. >> art is my sanity and my salvation. that's what keeps me stable. you tell us what you want to pay, and we give you a range of coverages to choose from. who is she? that's flobot. she's this new robot we're trying out, mostly for, like, small stuff. wow! look at her go! she's pretty good. she's pretty good. hey, flobot, great job. oops. [ powers down ] uh-oh, flobot is broken. the "name your price" tool, only from progressive. call or click today. [ female announcer ] nature valley granola bars, rich dark chocolate, toasted oats. perfect combina

. >> mcmillen and tunstall had been friends for about three years when we met them at holman. >> it done got to the point to where it's like if i'm thinking about something, before i can get it out, he can say it. and it's vice versa. >> do you identify as gay? >> do me -- do i do? yes. >> you're gay? >> yes. >> i was fascinated by the friendship between kenyatta and tommy. kenyatta is openly gay and tommy was openly straight. and it seemed to me that their friendship was truly platonic but very bonded. they were obviously an amazing support system for each other. >> we mainly came across each other going through the struggle. helping each other out and stuff like that. you in here by yourself, you're going to have to look for somebody to confide in. mainly they got to be on the same level as far as thinking and outlook. >> i love him.

>> not guilty. >> during our shoot at holman, inmate ivan johnson faced a disciplinary hearing for a rule 38 charge. >> i looked up toward the main camp. this j-3 was standing at the red door with his body halfway behind the door. he was fully exposed, and he was masturbating. >> i was not exposed nor was i masturbating watching officer barnes. i stepped outside the old jail with an associate whom i was horseplaying with. i never saw miss barnes because my attention was not focused on the officer. but i wasn't disrespecting miss barnes by exposing myself or masturbating while watching her. >> johnson, however, is no stranger to rule 38. >> he's got 39 disciplinaries total in his file. many of those disciplinaries are for a violation of rule 38, indecent exposure. he has a history of it. >> despite his denial, johnson is quickly found guilty of his charge. >> officer bonds has no apparent reason to lie about you on this. she got another officer to identify you. i'm going to find you guilty of violation of rule 38 and i'm going to give you 45 days disciplinary segregation. i'm through.

. >> at the time of our visit bobby gilbert had been at alabama's holman correctional facility for only four years. but he first landed in prison at the age of 18. he told us how a minor dispute over money led him to murder an acquaintance from his town. >> he said basically the only way i would get my money is over his dead body. you know. i was hot-headed then. so that's how i got it. >> how much money did he owe you? >> he owed me $36. i paid $37 for the gun i killed him with. so, you know -- >> once behind bars, gilbert's violent temper led to numerous other crimes, including stabbing another inmate to death. this time for much less than $36. but gilbert made it clear to us, in prison, things aren't always as they seem. >> everybody wants to talk about i killed somebody over a carton of cigarettes. you know, it's not a carton of cigarettes. that may be the catalyst that leads to something, but, you know, if somebody owes me a soda pop or i owe him a soda pop and they come to me and say i need to get that soda pop you owe me, i spit in their face and talk to them like they a bitch or

night. >> by all appearances, tommy "cheese curl" tunstall, serving life for robbery, was one of holman'stes. >> tommy was an interesting inmate to interview, actually, because he seemed very calm and confident. quietly confident. >> bring your ass on. [ bleep ]. >> more often than not, when we would start interviewing tommy, inmates would start yelling things at him. >> you've got to tell me what the deal is with you. everybody -- you could run for president in here. >> i guess i get along with everybody. >> but tunstall chooses to spend much of his time with just one man, kenyatta mcmillen, who is serving life without parole for murder. >> i love cheese because he always been there for me, no matter what, and he ain't never changed or turned his back on me on nothing. >> mcmillen and tunstall had been friends for about three years when we met them at holman. >> it done got to the point to where it's like if i'm thinking about something, before i can get it out, he can say it. and it's vice versa. >> do you identify as gay? >> do me -- do i do? yes. >> you're gay? >> yes. >> i was fascin

night. >> by all appearances, tommy "cheese curl" tunstall, serving life for robbery, was one of holman'ses. >> tommy was an interesting inmate to interview, actually, because he seemed very calm and confident. quietly confident. >> bring your ass on. [ bleep ]. >> more often than not, when we would start interviewing tommy, inmates would start yelling things at him. >> you've got to tell me what the deal is with you. everybody -- you could run for president in here. >> i guess i get along with everybody. >> but tunstall chooses to spend much of his time with just one man, kenyatta mcmillen, who is serving life without parole for murder. >> i love cheese because he always been there for me, no matter what, and he ain't never changed or turned his back on me on nothing. >> mcmillen and tunstall had been friends for about three years when we met them at holman. >> it done got to the point to where it's like if i'm thinking about something, before i can get it out, he can say it. and it's vice versa. >> do you identify as gay? >> do me -- do i do? yes. >> you're gay? >> yes. >> i was fascina

here's kwame holman. >> holman: the big three u.s.omakers turned in upbeat sales reports today, for 2011. all three saw their business rise substantially. chrysler led the pack with a 26% gain over the year before, as it continued its comeback from bankruptcy. general motors sold 13% more cars, just two years after its own bout with bankruptcy and ford gained 11%. the company sold two million vehicles for the first time since 2007. japanese automaker nissan also reported surging sales. but honda's business was down nearly 20%. and toyota sales were flat. the auto sales news did little to boost wall street. trading mostly was quiet, after yesterday's big open to the trading year. the dow jones industrial average gained 21 points to close at 12,418. the nasdaq fell less than a point to close at 2,648. in syria, opposition leaders said today the government is misleading arab league peace monitors. activists said the regime is hiding armored vehicles and tanks in dugouts, and painting other vehicles in police colors to make it appear the

kwame holman explains what's there. kwame? >> holman: we have a story we dubbed "honey, i blew up the ants." the discovery by scientists that they can create supersized ants with giant heads may be a key to evolution. don't miss the slideshow. on the rundown, judy ponders whether the internet and social media signal an end to the tradition of candidates meeting voters face-to-face. and on art beat, jeff reflects on the past year and what's ahead for our arts and culture blog in 2012. all that and more is on our web site: newshour.pbs.org. jeff? >> brown: and that's the "newshour" for tonight. i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. we'll see you online and again here tomorrow evening with mark shields and david brooks, among others. thank you and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. and with the ongoing support of these institutions a

. >> holman: in washington, a pentagon spokesman said u.s. naval deployments in the persian gulf would continue, as they have for decades. and white house spokesperson jay carney said iran's warnings show that global sanctions are hurting. >> it reflects the fact that iran is in a position of weakness. it's the latest round of iranian threats. it's confirmation that tehran is under increasing pressure for its continued failures to live up to its international obligations. iran is isolated. and it's seeking to divert attention from its behavior and domestic problems. >> holman: iran's warnings to the west have escalated as it faces the possibility of curbs on its vital oil exports. a string of bombings struck southern afghanistan today, killing at least 13 people. three separate explosions erupted in the city of kandahar, one in the morning and the others in the evening. one of the bombs was onboard a motorcycle that blew up at a police checkpoint. four police officers and a child were among those killed. the other blasts went off within minut

. >> warner: kwame holman reports on a key component of president obama's re-election strategy highlighting the political gridlock in washington. >> president obama says this 112th congress-- as divided and partisan as it is-- should work with him on behalf of the american people. >> brown: ray suarez looks at today's jobs problem and the future role of manufacturing. >> warner: and, we have a conversation with veteran reporter tom edsall about the political landscape in a time of scarce resources. >> the fight now is a much more serious and brutal fight over basically sxhix and how do you cut up a smaller and smaller part? >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy productive life. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank

. >> ifill: then, kwame holman has reaction to last night's state of the union speech and we examine the rhetoric and the reality with glenn kessler of the "washington post." >> brown: plus, we debate the president's overall approach to the nation's economic woes with economists heather boushey and douglas holz-eakin. >> ifill: betty ann bowser reports on how spanish television soap operas are leading the way in health education. >> "cross roads" tackles just about every health issue affects latinos from diabetes to asthma to alcohol and drug abuse. >> brown: and margaret warner updates the latest tensions in egypt, one year after the revolution. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the c