my cohost today is john seigenthaler, a highly respected journalist who also served as special assistant to attorney general robert f. kennedy during the civil rights movement. after retiring from newspapers, john went on to found the first amendment center. john and i are delighted to welcome a pulitzer prize-winning author and journalist whose recent book, called the children, focuses on the work of courageous young people in the civil rights movement, and whose earlier book, the best and the brightest, was the definitive study of american policy in vietnam. david halberstam. [applause] i have to ask the first and most basic question. you graduate from harvard in 1956. five. '55. with great distinction. no, i was a terrible student. [laughter] i was in the bottom third of my class. that was the heart of my question. how badly did you do at harvard? [laughs] i think i had-- i mean, i think it's true of a lot of people in journalism. i had in those days what we didn't know was attention deficit disorder. i did not focus well on schoolwork, but i was good at something called journalism. i

i'm john seigenthaler. >>> not enough jobs. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening, i'm chris matthews. in washington leading off tonight, the numbers game, what are we to make of the latest jobs number. the economy added 115,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate dropped to 0.18%. and the chief economist and nobel peace prize winner paul krugman says that things would be bet ter if the republicans gt out of the way. he joins us. and dirty angry money. governor david switser does not like money and politics, and he is hoping to have a prairie fire out west. he will join us here. and plus, why do the gay republicans want to be in a political party that won't defend them? isn't that a fundamental question? if people don't like it, why are you there? we will ask congressman foley. and also clint hill who is a great man will join us to tell us what he saw back in november of 1963. and let me finish tonight with overdue praise for the secret service. we begin with today's jobs report. paul krugman is a columnist for the "new

i'm john seigenthaler. >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >> they're the whose lives have taken twists you'll never believe. now we reveal whatever became of paul komyatti. >> never see ame in khaki again >> twin brothers sleigh l and tye. >> thy wedded wife

i'm john seigenthaler >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >>> there are 2 million people behind bars in america. we open the gates. "lockup." >> i'm not disappointed in anything i've done. i've made the decisions that i've made. you have to be a strong-minded individual. >> i have seen staff assaulted. i have seen staff die. >> i have lost over a pint and a half of blood. and the doctor says i don't know how much more you could have taken. >> i wish i could touch and hug them but i guess this is better than nothing. >> i shot a man and i burned him up in a car after i had shot him. >> i've got to be here until i die. i got double life and i've got to stay here until i die. >> i don't know how you feel about it, but i'm ready to receive something from god. >> with my retirement pending, i was in jail for having taken someone's life. >> the day of an execution, the entire facility goes on lockdown. if there's no last-second appeal, the offender is then advised the execution is to commence shortly. >> denial is rife in the death penalty. i don't think my mothe

i'm john seigenthaler. >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >>> there are 2 million people behind bars in america. we open the gates. "lockup." >> open 11. >> i plead guilty to sexual assault. with intent to commit sexual -- >> yeah, i love pain! yeah! >> i try to go through everything in their cell looking for contraband, everything from matches to guns. >> i look more female-like more than any of the other ones here. >> for me, being here, i guess the sooner i die, the better for me. aside from getting caught, i don't regret it one bit. once i was away from here, i felt pretty good. i'm not going to lie. >> the crime rate in the historic town of fort madison, iowa, is almost nonexistent. and yet many of the state's most violent offenders call this small town home, sort of. they live at the iowa state penitentiary. behind this 40-foot stone and concrete exterior is a population of drug abusers, murderers, and the mentally ill. on the west bank of the mississippi river is one of the oldest prisons in the country, iowa state penitentiary. there is a separate

i'm john seigenthaler . >>> due to mature and graphic subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >it's not our job to extract justice. it's our job to keep these people in these cells here. >> pretty rough, you know. >> you eat yourself. >> it's an adventure every day.

i'm john seigenthaler. >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >> they're the inmates whose stories we'll never forget. and whose lives have taken twists you'll never believe. now we reveal whatever became of paul komyatti. >> never see ame in khaki again >> twin brothers sleigh l and tye. >> thy wedded wife. >> finally, the answers you've been waiting for. >>> mr. bill, are you ready for your picture? >> yep. >> all right. >> when we met paul komyatti at indiana state prison in 2008, he had an inmate job as the visitation room photographer. >> keeps my mind occupied, keeps me not counting the 6,471 hours i have left or the 36 weeks or 8 months, however you want to break it down. >> right from the start, komyatti was good natured and full of optimism for the future, despite having been incarcerated for the past 26 years. komyatti entered prison at age 17 for his role in a bizarre family plot that ended with the murder of his abusive father. >> my dad was an alcoholic. i was like a little kid, you know, 7, 8 years old. i crawled up under the kitchen table and he

for msnbc investigates, i'm john seigenthaler to subscribe to our newsletter or for information go toou want me? >> a brutal stabbing puts the prison on edge. >> will it be a thorough one? >> a brash new inmate gets taken down a notch. >> it ain't your business to take care of that, man. >> two buddies do their time together. >> my first cat saved my life during a contract hit. he woke me up when the guy tried to take me out. >> oh, no!

i'm john seigenthaler >>> due to mature and graphic subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >>>ates. "lockup." >> i pray to god that somebody recognizes what's going on here. you know, we in here just rotting away, you know. >> today we have about 756 inmates serving a life sentence here at folsom. >> i was state raised, federally funded. >> we're dealing with murderers