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." >> this place is infested with child molesters, rapists and murderers. >> you happen to be in the most beautiful place in the world, as a matter of fact, this place should be a resort instead of a prison. >> you are surrounded, you know. you're trapped in more than one way. >> i'm training myself always physically and psychologically to be able to combat these officers. >> if a guy comes up all belligerent, that's what he's going to get back. if he wants to dance we'll dance. >> you think you're a bad ass? >> not at all. >> don't cop attitude. >> i'm not copping attitude. >> it's supposed to be a no-no but it happens. >> i want a guy that wants me to be feminine and all the things that he should want and get if he's with a woman. >> this is cell 13 downstairs. >> i read about that. i killed mommy and i'm getting out in 20 years, blah, blah, blah. >> i pulled up the sheet and wrapped it around his head and said, say hi

i'm john seigenthaler >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >>> there are two million people behind bars in america. we open the gates. "lockup." >> don't be weak in prison. that's a downfall. >> i didn't like the way you allowed them to punk you. >> facing 15 to life in prison was the scariest thing i've had to go through. >> when i walked back here, it was horrifying. >> i want to see the outside. i want to see some beauty, try to forget about this place. >> studies show that women are one of the fastest growing segments of america's prison population. since 1995, the total number of male prisoners in america has grown 29%. the number of female prisoners, nearly 50%. so what does it mean to society and to our justice system? we first visited valley state women's prison in california back in 2000, one of the largest all-female prisons in the world. we returned five years later to see if reforms made any difference to a system troubled by overcrowding and the inmates caught in a seemingly hopeless circle of abuse, drug addiction and violence. >> everybody tries

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." >> this is what you call a dog cage. >> a lot of them complain that the walls are closing in on them. >> i'm just keeping my eyes open, that's about it. >> and i'm pregnant. i -- >> contraband. >> my sentence is life without parole. there's no way you can say sorry for something like that. >> they didn't allow me to go to the funeral, the viewing or even to the hospital. >> a lot of women here messing up. they lie on you. >> mostly everybody in here has some type of hustle. >> this is my 6-year-old and my 2-year-old. >> teresa, that's my wife. >> you all put some space between you all. >> women like women, men like men, oh, well. >> these people are here making bad choices. they start pairing up. >> we got a really strong bond, you know. i mean, it ain't all about the sex. >> i love you! >> at first glance, the prison we're about to visit might seem like a college campus. but make no mistake, the north car

i'm john seigenthaler >>> a good day for the defense or a wash?let's play "hardball." . >>> good evening. i'm joy reid in for chris matthews. leading off tonight, the final seconds. what happened in the last moments before the shooting death of trayvon martin? in court today, one of george zimmerman's neighbors, john good said he heard what sounded like a fight that night and stepped outside his town house to see what was going on. what he saw, according to the neighbor, was what appeared to be zimmerman lying on his back with trayvon martin straddling and punching him. he used a mixed martial art term, ground and pound, to descri

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." >> jail is hell. jail is hell. >> willie, will you come to the door, sir? >> a lot of the mental state hospitals have closed down, and the only options to the police agencies are bring them to the jails. >> it's dirty. the shower's dirty. the toilet's dirty. the floor's dirty. point-blank, dirty. >> anything can happen, any given time, at any moment, just like that. very fast, very quick. >> let's go, let's go, let's go. >> i'm not even looking for shanks. i just happened to stumble upon these. >> you never know what to expect. all we do all day is sit here like a time bomb waiting for something to happen. >> this is as close to a living hell as i think i ever want to come. >> when someone breaks the law, there is a distinct difference between going to prison and jail. prison is for convicted felons, many with long-term sentences. jail is where suspects spend a relatively short time, either while waiting for trial or

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

for msnbc investigates, i'm john seigenthaler >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >>> just trip over something? >> i don't remember, man. >> you don't remember. somebody help you fall? >> prison staff suspect an inmate is covering up his own brutal beating. >> i don't like using the same broom that everybody else uses. >> two cell mates share deeply disturbing charges. >> i was younger, i was a very, very bad person. something was broken. >> i ended up buying a chain saw and cutting her corpse in about 15 different pieces. >>> one victim's mother still lives the nightmare. >> i go by the dumpster and wonder is that is one of my daughter's last resting places. >> ♪ everybody locked up. >>> plucked from death row an inmate tries to make a difference. >> note amazing grace. >> at the end of the day life is about choices. all of this stuff is an illusion. >>> indiana's wabash valley correctional facility houses nearly 2200 inmates. more than one-third of them are doing time for serious violent crimes. unless isolated in solitary confinement, the vast majority

i'm john seigenthaler >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >>> there are 2 america. we open the gates. "lockup." >> this place is infested with child molesters, rapists and murderers. >> you happen to be in the most beautiful place in the world, as a matter of fact, this place should be a resort instead of a prison. >> you are surrounded, you know. you're trapped in more than one way. >> i'm training myself always physically and psychologically to be able to combat these officers.

i'm john seigenthaler. . > >>> ♪ >>> i got 30 years for probation.f the judge got sentenced to 30 years, he'd be freaking out. >> i don't think about the days. i just go day by day. like i go by each meal. i try to be good each meal. >> i never heard of such a thing. 12 years old, we're going to treat him like an adult. i. just ridiculous. >> it's rough. i feel sorry for them. >> 25 years, i couldn't comprehend write a goodbye letter to my family and hung myself. >>> wabash valley correctional facility is a maximum security if facility unlike any other in the state of indiana. it's home to a cell block of 53 kids, sentenced as adults. >> i'm colt lundy. it's overwhelming to know that there are kids that could be like my grandpa. it's really quite -- everybody calls me youngin' and i'm always treated like a little kid. on the news, they made it sound like i was just horrible. like cold-blooded. my crime might seem like that. but like i'm not the person that they may think i am from reading something. like i'm way different than that. >> 15-year-old co

i'm john seigenthaler. . > >>> ♪ >>> i got 30 years for probation.sentenced to 30 years, he'd be freaking out. >> i don't think about the days. i just go day by

for msnbc investigates, i'm john seigenthaler >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is trip over something? >> i don't remember, man. >> you don't remember. somebody help you fall? >> prison staff suspect an inmate is covering up his own brutal beating. >> i don't like using the same broom that everybody else uses. >> two cell mates share deeply

for msnbc, i'm john seigenthaler. >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised.re 2 million people behind bars in america. we open the gates. "lockup." >>> this is a new institution. inmates are trying to establish their own territory. a lot of inmate-on-inmate assaults. >> you're surrounded by 1,000 killers. every one of them is a stranger. >> watch out for this guy on the yard. something's going to happen, it's going to happen soon. >> obviously this has been tampered with. the inmates have restitched it back up. >> why won't you take a cellmate? >> i feel threatened to be placed in a sell with another inmate.

i'm john seigenthaler >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >>> there are 2ars in america. we open the gates, "lockup." >> you get close to somebody, but you can't trust that person because that person might be the one to stab you. >> down here on the floor, one of the inmates was actually brutally burned. >> you step back to the door. >> they can smell fear, especially in a female. >> this system needed a wake-up call. i broke my tv, made a couple shanks and assaulted them. >> i was covered from my neck down with bl

i'm john seigenthaler. >>> msnbc takes you behind the walls of america's most notorious prisons, intodanger. now, the scenes you've never seen, "lockup: raw." >>> when you come to prison you have to join a gang. you have no choice.

i'm john seigenthaler. >>> this sunday, national security versus freedom of the press. political fallout as the attorney general appears to backtrack. republicans have their sights set on attorney general eric holder. did he level with congress about whether he sought to criminalize the work of journalists? >> with regard to the potential prosecution of the press for disclosure of material, that is not something that i've been involved in, heard of, or would think would be a wise policy. >> holder reportedly regrets the treatment of the press in recent leak investigations and tries to reach out. has it worked? how should the administration balance the protection of secrets and the free flow of information. we'll ask the c

i'm john seigenthaler. >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. there are 2 million people behind bars in america. there are 2 million people behind bars in america. >> got the browns and the whites against the blacks. the first rule of the game is watch your back. it's either kill or be killed. life and the next [ bleep ] will. i will find me some steel and make a strap. cut like a mercenary death trap. 'cause if i got to do time, i rather do it like a real [ bleep ], be down for mine. >> who is going to stab who? who is going to kill who? who is going to beat who bad? >> guys stomping each other on the head, knocking each other unconscious. >> what we got over here? >> escort! >> you have to join a gang. you have no choice. ♪ ♪ 15 to life, doing 15 to life ♪ ♪ 15 to life doing 15 to life ♪ doing 15 to life. that's it. >> in an isolated part of california's central valley is corcoran state prison, one of the state's largest maximum security institutions, housing many of its most violent criminals. now, corcoran first opened in 1988 and was the si

i'm john seigenthaler >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >>> there are 2tes, "lockup." >> jail is hell. jail is hell. >> willie, will you come to the door, sir? >> a lot of the mental state hospitals have closed down, and the only options to the police agencies are bring them to the jails. >> it's dirty. the shower's dirty. the toilet's dirty. the floor's dirty. point-blank, dirty. >> anything can happen, any given ,

i'm john seigenthaler >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >>> there are 2pen 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'm john seigenthaler. >>> this sunday we're covering the breaking news this morning.edward snowden on the run as the government files formal charges against him. >> plus, our own congressional summit on the hottest issues of the president's second term. the immigration fight is coming to a head with high stakes and big leadership tests for both the president and the gop. the stock market stumbles. how much volatility is ahead in the economy? and what should washington do? >>> and the debate over spying. is the country still behind the nsa surveillance program, or does the president need to make a public case to keep it going? with us 14 capitol hill voices.

i'm john seigenthaler. >>> msnbc takes you behind the walls of america's most notorious prisons, into a world of chaos and danger. now, the scenes you've never seen, "lockup: raw." >>> when you come to prison you have to join a gang. you have no choice. it's a must. >> once i opened the door with the drugs i got recognition. >> many of them have this warrior mentality. >> by getting that recognition, i get power. >> my job was to go in there and kill him and went in with the intention of killing him. with the power, i get controlover every one i go to. >> you're surrounded by, you know, a thousand killers. and every one of them did a stranger. >> once i control the yards i control the drug situation. i control the inmates as well. >> we were actually killing people that didn't deserve to be killed. >> this is california's san quentin state prison, one of the first prisons ever profiled on "lockup." >> for a photographer, san quentin was a really interesting place to shoot because it's the old-style tiers and the big exercise yard and there's a lot of corners and shadows and things to

i'm john seigenthaler. >>> this sunday we're covering the breaking news this morning. nsa leaker edward snowden on the run as the government files formal charges against him. >> plus, our own congressional summit on the hottest issues of the president's second term. the immigration fight is coming to a head with high stakes and big leadership tests for both the president and the gop. the stock market stumbles. how much volatility is ahead in the economy? and what should washington do? >>> and the debate over spying. is the country still behind the nsa surveillance program, or does the president need to make a public case to keep it going? with us 14 capitol hill voices. assistant democratic leader dick durbin of illinois. the top republican on the senate homeland security and government affairs committee and immigration, key conservative voice, tom coburn of oklahoma. democratic congresswoman from california, loretta sanchez, and the chairman of the house intelligence committee, republican congressman mike rogers of michigan. then our political roundtable on obama's ro

i'm john seigenthaler. >>> america's prisons. dangerous, often deadly.down on your feet, down! >> among the nation's most notorious institutions, san quentin state prison. our cameras spent months documenting life on the inside where gangs, drugs, and sheer boredom make up a violent mix. this is "lockup san quentin: extended stay."

i'm john seigenthaler. >>> this sunday, national security versus freedom of the press. the tension and the political fallout as the attorney general appears to backtrack. republicans have their sights set on attorney general eric holder. did he level with congress about whether he sought to criminalize the work of journalists? >> with regard to the potential prosecution of the press for disclosure of material, that is not something that i've been involved in, heard of, or would think would be a wise policy. >> holder reportedly regrets the treatment of the press in recent leak investigations and tries to reach out. has it worked? how should the administration balance the protection of secrets and the free flow of information. we'll ask the chairman of the house intelligence committee, michigan congressman mike rogers, about that. and the expected nomination of former bush administration official jim coemy as director of the fbi. >>> also, the president back to business and tries to shake off scandal. will the irs investigations undermine work on job creation and immigra

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." >> you get close to somebody, but you can't trust that person because that person might be the one to stab you. >> down here on the floor, one of the inmates was actually brutally burned. >> you step back to the door. >> they can smell fear, especially in a female. >> this system needed a wake-up call. i broke my tv, made a couple shanks and assaulted them. >> i was covered from my neck down with blood. >> i have heard and i've seen what he's done to other officers. >> i would just like to get on with my life and get my freedom back. >> one of the greatest challenges facing prison officials across the country is protecting the safety of both inmates and officers in an extremely predatory environment. with many facilities overcrowded and understaffed, that task can be difficult, if not impossible. in the next hour on "lockup," we'll go beyond the scenic desert landscape to the penitentiary of new mexico, a prison that

i'm john seigenthaler >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >>> there are two weak in prison. that's a downfall. >> i didn't like the way you allowed them to punk you. >> facing 15 to life in prison was the scariest thing i've had to go through. >> when i walked back here, it was horrifying. >> i want to see the outside. i want to see some beauty, try to forget about this place.