unspeakably cruel ways, so perhaps it was no accident that the architect who designed the kentucky state penitentiary more than a century ago, built a structure that resembles a castle where dungeons might have served as torture chambers. for even the most hardened criminals in kentucky today, the first sight of the prison can be overwhelming. during the next hour, we'll take you inside kentucky's maximum security prison, known as the castle on the cumberland.♪ the cumberland river winds through the western kentucky town of eddyville. looming around a bend is a virtual fortress. the kentucky state penitentiary, also known as the castle on the cumberland. >> i was really intimidated by this place. it's an intimidating place to walk into. >> this could be the worst place you have ever been in your life. >> the eddyville castle will get you. somebody will take your life from you if you come through here with that old chip on your shoulder, there's going to be somebody to take it off you. >> ksp is kentucky's only maximum security facility. a group of stone masons from italy teamed with inmates from vari

a deal's a deal. >> back at kentucky state penitentiary, randy haight made it clear he's not as eagerface death as holton. but he's ready for it nonetheless. >> i'm extremely sad for what i've done, and it hurts me knowing that i went to the level that i went. and if there was any way possible for me to be healed or corrected, believe me, it would be done. it's an impossible situation not only for me but for everybody involved, you know. and i'm not saying that there to get out of an execution because like i said, i'm ready. if you want to kill me, let's go. i'm ready to go. but i think that i have something i can offer somebody and i don't really think it's time for me to die. next. ♪ expected wait time: 55 minutes. your call is important to us. thank you for your patience. waiter! vo: in the nation, we know how it feels when you aren't treated like a priority. we do things differently. we'll take care of it. vo: we put members first... join the nation. thank you. ♪ nationwide is on your side still running in the morning? yeah. getting your vegetables every day? when i can. [ bop ] [

still, there are those inmates like alex bennett, at the kentucky state penitentiary, who don't alwaysee with, or abide by, the rules. >> i'm a person that's been in the joint all of my life. i've been told i'm pretty hard core. and i need a certain type of environment. >> now, you got something you want to say to me now? we can get it on national tv here. >> everything about alex's mannerisms, his appearance, and the words that he spoke, said -- convict. alex just embodied that. >> bennett was 54 years old when we met him and had spent 33 of those years behind bars for armed robbery, kidnapping, and murder. >> the system today isn't like the system that i came into 36 years ago. the system today has the majority of their inmates programmed to do what they're told when they're told to do it. and so they get to the point where they expect that from everybody. well, there's still a few old dogs around who like to do things their own way. >> bennett's way of doing things, however, has had horrifying results. after adapting to life in a single person cell here, he was transferred to a lowe

as a group of inmates at kentucky state penitentiary explain to us. >> i fear none of these guys out here. >> more than one i fear the worse is my clique. it's not a clique, my friends i hang with, these 10, 15 people. i probably fear them the most. i know who they are. the rest of these guys, i don't fear none of them. i hope they watch this, so they all know, the ones that don't can all know. they probably do anyway. >> the only thing i fear is them. >> just because i don't fear them doesn't mean they can't take me out of them, though, you don't have to fear a man to get killed or hurt by them. >> in here, especially, he'll sneak up on you with a knife, a rock, a choke. whatever they want to do, they will get you because they fear you. >> to me a coward will hurt you. he's more dangerous than a stone-cold killer is because he's scared. he put hisself in a situation where he's in a corner. >> that's his only way out. >> yeah. >> no group of inmates feels no cornered than sex offenders. rapists and child molesters are the pariahs of the prison yard. >> as far as i'm concerned they ca