i am now joined by former new jersey governor, jim mcgreevey. >> go, alex!se are great stats. >> they're so important. >> they're so sad. >> i know this week you've been talking a lot about gay marriage and your status as a gay american, and we want to get to that. the subject of what you're doing in prisons and the prison population, the notion of grace is so important and i want to get to that first. >> thank you. >> how did this come to be something you wanted to be involved in? >> after i resigned, a dear friend said to me, if you could do anything, what would you want to do? there aren't many people in the middle of their life that have that option. one of the things i always wanted to do was explore seminary. when i was a young person, my grandmother wanted me to become a jesuit. there was something in my heart and soul that said perhaps i ought to explore this. i went to a general episcopalian seminary in new york and the dean sent me up to harlem to work as part of my field education. one of the reasons i went, frankly, i felt safe i wouldn't be subj

joins us now is former new jersey governor jim mcgreevey. when you made that statement, what did you feel when you were doing it? did you feel you were being victimized by a society that's prejudiced or that you had done something that you were somehow culpable for or what? what was your mix of feelings? >> think probably, chris, all of the above. i grew up in a wonderful loving household. but at that time my church said that homosexuality was an abomination. it was worthy of condemnation. i remember when i was 8 or 9 in the local public library, homosexuality was listed under psychiatric disorder. so as a young kid, you didn't want to own this. this was something awful. you know, whether i'm playing baseball or church outings or in school, you were afraid to come out. and so being in the closet was, for me, the only rational response at that time in my life. >> why did you get married? why did you marry a woman? were you just so political that even though you were gay, you figured that this was the only -- you couldn't just be a bachelor an

thank you, governor jim mcgreevey. thank you for coming on "hardball." time you want. >> thank you. if you remember alexander pelosi's documentary. >> yes. it's about you. >> no. it's about the one about jail. >> oh, that one. >>> up next, the latest conspiracy theory from the right wing. how obama care is going to force people to register as democrats? come on. it's not true. anyway, that's ahead in the side show. and this is "hardball," the place for politics. [ male announcer ] how do you measure happiness? by the armful? by the barrelful? the carful? how about...by the bowlful? campbell's soups give you nutrition, energy, and can help you keep a healthy weight. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. but we can still help you see your big picture. with the fidelity guided portfolio summary, you choose which accounts to track and use fidelity's analytics to spot trends, gain insights, and figure out what you want to do next. all in one place. i'm meredith stoddard and i helped create the fidelity guided portfolio summary. it's one more innovative r

and if i can, if jim mcgreevey, if my broken story has any good to come from it. if we can focus on the women and the men behind bars, it would have been worth it. america is 5% of the world's population and we're 25% of the incarcerated population in the world. we're first followed by russia and then rwanda. and 70% of the people behind bars are addicts. that's the reason why they engage in criminal behavior. there was a great study but not in columbia. only 11% of those people get treated. so the sad reality is in american prisons is that two-thirds of people after they're released will commit another serious felony within three years of release. so we're engaging respectfully in a stupid system. it is a 66% failure rate. and this is something that republicans, people like chuck colson, democrats, democrats can rally around. we're spending a prohibitive amount of money, $74 billion on our incarceration system. we have a two-thirds failure rate. and we're not treating the addictions which is the approximate cause of the women i work with, their criminal behavior.

. >> the shocking moment that cut short jim mcgreevey's term as governor of new jersey, announcing heas gay with his wife at his side. the scandal ended his political career but launched a life he said is much more fulfilling. he's the subject of a new documentary and joining me is the film maker and former new jersey governor jim mcgreevey. thank you for joining me. we had quite a show tonight, starting with the redemption of tiger woods. we moved into a weird attempt at redeeming people who i don't think deserve redemption. then we just had an extremely heartwarming, desperate, painful interview with this poor mother and i can't think of a single story outside of sandy hook that has resonated so powerfully. what do you make of that? start with that. when you hear that two young american boys have been charged with murder, one of whom is alleged to have gone off and shot that woman's baby in the head in a stroller, what is going wrong that can allow that mentality? >> i think it's a loss of values, and i see it with the women that i work with. they grow up in some of the hardest, gri

we're joined now by jim mcgreevey and the filmmaker alexandra pelosi. thank you both for coming on.e clock. ten, sa years, when you thought ahead to 2013, you thought a lot more about the white house than a women's prison. >> sure. i think that was the driving impetus, to think about politics and the inevitable. or what i would have hoped to be the inevitable next step. but, the blessing of 2004, in my resignation, i had the opportunity to reassess my values, what was at my core, a dear friend said, if you could do anything at this point in life, think about pursuing what your passion would be. when i was in high school and law school, i thought about entering into the priesthood the jesuits then, i had an opportunity to reassess where i was, and go deeper into my sense of values. >> he calls it a blessing, alexandra, you describe him as a broken man, and what a rich story, to show how a broken man seeks redemption. >> everyone deserves a second act. everybody deserves redemption. we all have made mistakes that we're not proud of. we all think in this time of year it's good to talk

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. >> jim mcgreevey, thank you for reminding us about the importance of grace and reclaiming humanity. it is a wonderful story. an incredible documentary. >> there aren't many people i go on to very bluntly who are as well versed and in this place. so i'm very grateful what you are doing here. >> it is a wonderful team i work with. thank you so much, governor, great to have you on the program. that's all for now. "the rachel maddow show" begins now. good evening. thank you. that was a spectacular interview. >> thank you. >>> new developments in the colorado murder, a second person arrested in the killing. just hours before colorado's governor was due to sign historic new gun legislation for that state, just hours before that bill signing, the head of colorado prison -- he was at home, someone rang his doorbell, he answered the door and he was shot dead on his doorstep. the following day, the governor of colorado announced the murder at an emotional press conference early in the morning and he went ahead with the bill signing as planned. the following day, on thursday, 600 miles away, i

here now is jim mcgreevey along with the producer.t journey? >> i'm in a really good place now and working with these extraordinary women and i'm blessed because as of today, al zandt ra pelosi's camera won't be following me. >> don't be sure. >> it has been an honor working with these women and turning the focus on prisoners in general, if i can, america does so many things right. one of the few blatant things we do very badly is prison. conservative republicans and liberal democrats agree, we have 5% of the world's population and 25% of the world's population and 66% recidivism rate. it's broken and when 77% of the people behind bars are addict and we treat only 11% of those. that's a sin. what alexandra did was shine a bright light in a dark place. >> a two-part question. one you feel blessed because she won't be following with her camera. i read that initially you were surprised when you found out she was making a dot. the first question is, what did you think she was doing? the second question is how many people who you see in fr