at iowa state penitentiary, we found that the most brutal violence is sometimes against oneself. >> open1. 22-year-old inmate caleb etter, suffered severe burns over two-thirds of his body when the methamphetamine lab he was running exploded. when we interviewed etter, he was also serving time for both sexual assault and for attacking a peace officer. >> i just push everything to the limit, because as you can tell, i think i'm unstoppable. i think nothing will stop me. nothing will ever kill me. i thought i was god. reality check, i'm not. >> in spite of his calm demeanor, a few hours after this interview, etter got into a verbal confrontation with a female correctional officer that quickly escalated. c.e.r.t., the correctional emergency response team, was called in to extract him from his cell. >> he's been banging his head on the door, spitting at the glass, refusing to move or comply with any orders. we have permission to use force to extract him from his cell. >> for security reasons, the prison videotapes all extractions. >> you ready to move? >> put your hand out. >> open b-11. >>

but the sex offender we met at iowa's state penitentiary has a very different existence.ll. where he never sees the sun. >> what happened is they accused me of killing a little girl back in 1994 and next thing i know i'm in prison, and then there is people talking about a contract supposed to be out on me. >> morgan was convicted of kidnapping, raping and murdering a 9-year-old girl. he is serving life without the possibility of parole. >> there has been a lot of threats against me, and it was a high profile crime at the time and everybody in the system knew about it and of course they are all trying to stand up and be some sort of righteous convict like oh well i only rob banks or i only do drugs, i only sell crack to kids, but this guy, he killed one, so now we're going to go and kill him. >> protective custody inmates like morgan are locked in their cells 23 hours a day. to keep them from other inmates. >> at first it's claustrophobic being in a cell 23 hours a day but it's after a while you get used to it. what i miss most about freedom is just probably being able to

. >>> james "t-bone" taylor was one of the most respected inmates among inmates at iowa's anamosa state penitentiaryut for being a two-time cop killer. but when a survivor of one of his victims forgave him, taylor claims to have grown a conscience. in response, he and some other inmates were inspired to start a group they called s.a.v.e., seriously acknowledging victim's emotions. >> not enough attention is paid toward the victim. this group here is like after okay. it gives guys a chance to come and sit down and understand and find out why they have the behaviors that they have. >> our cameras rolled as inmates involved in the program met with families of victims. >> our past action implied that we held no regard for human life. today we know what it is to feel, see and hear all the insanity an destruction we've caused. this whole thing is not about us coming up here looking for pity. because we're not looking for pity. what we're looking for is an understanding that we know we did wrong. >> well, it affects me in a sense because i know the impact in these later years what i done. i don't do this t

. >> anamosa state penitentiary is a maximum security facility located in eastern iowa. home of some of the state's most violent offenders. one would think that the overcrowded conditions would lead to a constant barrage of bloody confrontations. well, think again. behind the walls of anamosa is a world of unusual contrast. >> to the security office. >> for new inmates arriving at anamosa state penitentiary, the very look of the prison can be intimidating. more than 100 years old, it was built entirely of limestone from nearby quarries. over the years, as the criminal population increased, so did the size of the prison. today, some 1,300 inmates live behind the massive 35-foot-walls and, like any prison, the threat of danger is everywhere. >> around our perimeter we have seven gun towers. they're manned throughout the day. >> the danger is there each time you walk through that gate, you know. you don't know what's going to happen from the time you get on shift to the time you get off shift. >> there's only two types of people in prison. you got the predators and you got t